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Top 5 Worst Sounding Integrated Amps

Nothing I managed to do with a Nait 3 ensured the safety of teeth enamel. Your demo completely reflected my fortnight of trying to add it to the suite of amplifers for testing. it was beyond help.

Clearly you never connected it to a pair of Vandersteen 1Bs!
 
A long time ago I listened to a big Tandberg integrated amp as a possible upgrade to my original Nait 1. The Nait absolutely blew it away, to the point that even the shop owner commented on it. No clue re model number.

I was also very disappointed in a conrad-johnson integrated - CA50? - which sounded dull, lifeless, and boring. Ditto a Jolida tube integrated, which sounded dead.

I love Tandberg kit and use a huge TR2055 receiver in my workshop system. It would blow most Naim gear out of the water! I ain't heard all the many models they made but the 3 or 4 I have heard have been very good.
Myself and a few others once compared a Nait 1 to a Rotel RA820BX. There was very little in it and 3 of us had a slight preference for the Rotel, the fourth a slight preference for the Nait. The difference is the current S/H prices of the two!!:eek:
 
I remember walking into a fairly well known dealer and seeing a big pile of boxes near the door. I made a comment that they must be selling really well only to be told that was the ‘warranty returns pile’.
My "calculator" Nytech (as pictured) hasn't missed a beat in the 30+ years that I've owned it. Touch wood! ;)
 
With the proviso that I only ever used mine in one specific system with Celestion UL6 speakers (a second/bedroom system) and so I can't say how it performed with a range of speakers then no. It sounded impressive. Clean, crisp, transparent, grippy, no edge etc. I recall thinking that anything of that crude, 60's tastic, transformer driver etc design had no right to sound that good. Vastly better than it's main rival the Leak Delta 70.

I'm tempted to buy one to see if it is as impressive as I recall... I'll not though as I have loads of much higher end gear that defo will beat it and so it would end up in a cupboard with all the rest...

I had a Ravensbourne back in the 70s. I bought it new back in 74, I think. I recall that it sounded really quite good when it was new and far better than the competing Leak Delta 70.

The worst integrated I ever owned was a Linn Intek; part exchanged it for a Naim 72/140, which was an improvement!

The worst integrated amps I ever had experience of were the Sinclair Project 60s and 80s. Every one I ever set eyes on had either just blown up or was just about to!
 
I repaired and recapped a pair of XA50 monoblock power amps a few years ago and thought they were superb for the money and very good by any standard. Particularly impressive for the lack of "edge", "tinsel", transistoryness" and for the very good stereo depth. I was quite taken aback at how good they were TBH! I haven't heard the integrated.

As you say, not an integrated but we had a disproportionate amount of XA50s back as faulty, I always thought they lacked generally, horses for courses I suppose. The few 200s we sold stayed out there and were solid performers, possibly the star of the XA series.
 
As you say, not an integrated but we had a disproportionate amount of XA50s back as faulty, I always thought they lacked generally, horses for courses I suppose. The few 200s we sold stayed out there and were solid performers, possibly the star of the XA series.

One of these had a blown output transistor but had been reliable for its owner for over ten years... it hasn't been back here since I fixed it maybe 3 years ago now. The 200 is very good yes.
 
I must have cloth ears I have enjoyed a nait 5i and currently enjoy a naitXS .
Been fortunate not really had a bad amp. Only one I did not get on with was the brio-r with tannoy DC6T I had at that time felt thin and bright. Rotel various versions always pleases MF X1 I think it was the round one with external power supply was ok not great but certainly not bad. Nait5i really gelled with old nam402 speakers wish had kept them. Nait XS seems at least as good the 5i just the crap intros let the side down hence not using the system much
 
To me, most of the McIntosh solid state amps sound grainy and harsh but I’m not 100% sure if it’s the selling price or the sound that makes me want to turn them off...........
Their vacuum tubes amps sound very nice though.

A mate recently was giving the Mac 252 a home trail and wanted to hear it with my Focal floorstanders.
I really liked the Mac so sweet and the soundstage was huge.In between the speakers but right out either side.
But at £4500 and only 3 inputs I thought it was to much dosh.
The 252 has the valve pre section in it.Very nice sounding amp.
 
I was surprised not to see any 70s Cambridge Audio in either list, I quite liked the P50 I had until it died but I could never really determine how good it was as I was kid and never had any proper speakers in the 3 years it survived.

I always thought that the Stan Curtis 'P' series was well regarded. I had a P110, for about 20 years before I sold it on, still working well.
 
So, how come same amp are represented here and also in the opposite thread "Top 5 best amp" ?
:cool:
 
So, how come same amp are represented here and also in the opposite thread "Top 5 best amp" ?
:cool:

Because we're human, and quite subjective.

I expect the use cases vary too. Interesting the Audiolab 8000A and Pioneer A300/400 are so polarising it seems, although in the Audiolab's case it got better with age so some may have had earlier ones than others.
 
Audiolab 8000A ( I didn't like the pre + monos either)
Naim Nait 3 (the worst Hifi demonstration I've ever experienced)
Linn Majik (sounded like an Aiwa midi system)
Musical Fidelity XA-50 + x series monos (heard a few other MF amps and didn't rate them)
Audion Sterling (Gutless)
Audionote (uk) Ongaku (not bad just disappointing given the extraordinary price tag at the time)

Of course we don't listen to an amp in isolation, there's also the source and more importantly the speakers to consider and it may be the case that it was the speakers or source I really disliked, all sources on first four were the matching CD player from the same companies, Audiolab was demonstrated with Monitor Audio, the Naim was with something a Naim/Linn dealer would have sold/stocked when the Nait 3 was released, the MF and Audion both with Triangle and finally the Audionote with a pair of Snell/Audionote speakers.


I was waiting for some one to include the Audiolabs ;)
Depends what you are looking for. I still have my 8000Q+8000Ms and like the sound. I once visited a guy who had all Naiim gear and my ears hurt at the raucous nasty sound. How on earth could some one want to listen to that!
 
Beyond disappointing - Audiolab 800A and Nait1 - I ended up with a Magnum IA125 (still have it 40 years on :))

Pioneer A something - 300 or 400? The one that won loads of shoot outs

Quad grey/orange 34/44/306/405 Pre/Powers - bought loads of different Quad amps last year to finally scratch the itch from my cash strapped youth, never meet your heroes - the later QSP was a star though

re the Auudiolab 800A I think you bought a cheap clone knock off by people who didnt pay attention to detail
 


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