To be honest I am not sure yet but given that I have s couple of Linn streamers I may invest in another one of their pre amps to use with it.
I have however considered adding it to my main system in place of the Nord I currently have driving SCM 19s. The amp may add a touch of warmth and of course they all have tone controls which give an element of flexibility when needed.
Seems like the Yamaha's are highly regarded. They are a slightly cheaper option than the others too.
If you're mainly hoping that an amp change will bring this touch of warmth to your system, I'd suggest that you are never going to get a "warm" sound with ATCs. Neutrality is what they do.
Yes CK. I did investigate getting a pair of active ATC 100s, but as noted above, they did sound a bit cold in the dealer's system. I'm still weighing up whether I should try the 150s in my own system.
There is something 'so right' in the looks of the Luxman and Accuphase range of kit.
Why so?Interesting, having been down the ATC active route myself i can see your POV.... DBLs are probs not the best partner for the A-480
Sansui make some lovely amps too.
If you are UK based and want Class A amplification I would choose Sugden. It will be easier to get it serviced when the time comes and they sound great.
Funnily enough...In my quest to reduce box count (for good reasons I won't elaborate on) I borrowed my dealer's Accuphase A-480, more out of curiosity than anything else, as a possible replacement for my Naim 552DR/500DR. I've also realised that, for this amp, you can buy a DAC card which, I understand, is rather good, so I could potentially lose five boxes (amps & DAVE DAC, Chord M-Scaler).
Anyway, once I'd managed to get it in the door and up on the rack (it's bloody heavy!) I gave it a fair listen yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised, but it did sound rather harsh. It's a pretty new unit, so I left it playing for a couple of hours this morning & it definitely sounds a bit more mellow. Interesting! As others note, it's beautifully made; a real old-fashioned, Japanese receiver-type appearance, it oozes quality and is a pleasure to use. Having to physically switch over to amp only for my A/V system's a bit of a fag, but not a huge problem. It doesn't currently have the DAC module fitted (my dealer's demo unit's out) but I think the next stage is to borrow it.
Does it sound as good as the Naim? No, of course it doesn't! And once I hook that back up it'll sound better, but increasingly, I realise my audio memory either isn't what it was, or I'm more inclined to relax into a good sound and forget about how much better it could sound. Mmmm...
Why so?
You've owned a pair then? I completely disagree.I personally never found them very agile or delicate with transients - but that's the naim thang ...