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best sound I have ever heard from hifi

Some of the Behringer's are QSC rip offs...

I've yet to hear a "pro" type amp truly up to good hi fi levels... including the Behringer A500. The old Crown DC-300A comes closer than most but still only lasted a day in my system.
 
There is again another secret gem from the professional world amplifier wise, yes class d but implemented to an audiophile's taste to a very high degree. Musical crystal clear fast clean bass . I used these along with my pass labs aleph zero and pye hf25 and they were not that out of place . Commissioned by the BBC they are the canford compact amplifiers I have 6 of these for home cinema duty. Still made by canford if you go to their site. Trust me you will not be disappointed.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
I've yet to hear a "pro" type amp truly up to good hi fi levels... including the Behringer A500. The old Crown DC-300A comes closer than most but still only lasted a day in my system.
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My Amcron PSA 2 is there, I'd say. The fan is a drawback but it's every inch a match for every hifi amp I've heard. It's just unfortunate that my 4x ESL57s are power limited so most of its 200-and-some wpc aren't used.
 
stevec67 said:
My Amcron PSA 2 is there, I'd say. The fan is a drawback but it's every inch a match for every hifi amp I've heard. It's just unfortunate that my 4x ESL57s are power limited so most of its 200-and-some wpc aren't used.
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That may be an exception... it was marketed as being suitable for high end hi fi as well as pro use. I remember it being demoed at the Harrogate show in the early 80's and still have a rave review by Angus McKenzie in an old HFNRR mag of this and its matching pre amp.The fact that a pre amp was made gives away its dual role....
 
Arkless Electronics said:
That may be an exception... it was marketed as being suitable for high end hi fi as well as pro use. I remember it being demoed at the Harrogate show in the early 80's and still have a rave review by Angus McKenzie in an old HFNRR mag of this and its matching pre amp.The fact that a pre amp was made gives away its dual role....
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A lot of them were installed in recording studios too, I think they were the favored amp to drive the UREI time-aligned monitors.
 
I remember seeing the protection circuitry demonstrated by them turning it up and then shorting the speaker cables, making showers of sparks, and then plugging it back into the speakers to show it still worked... Don't try this at home folks!
 
Shan't be rushing to do that. However I think that there was one connected to a washing machine at some point, as part of the blurb. I suspect that might have got a motor turning, albeit at reduced power because it wouldn't generate 240V. Of course they might have put a trafo in the circuit, thereafter 250WPC might run a motor, if not the heater circuits.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
I remember seeing the protection circuitry demonstrated by them turning it up and then shorting the speaker cables, making showers of sparks, and then plugging it back into the speakers to show it still worked... Don't try this at home folks!
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The Crown MacroTech amps were capable of this as well.
 
Yank said:
A lot of them were installed in recording studios too, I think they were the favored amp to drive the UREI time-aligned monitors.
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Though actually I use one of these

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Be quite prepared to try a PSA 2 though if one came up...It would have to be bloody good to oust the Luxkit though.
 
I still would feel confident that those tiny Canford boxes will be as good if not better than what has already been mentioned, i.e just IMHO
 
Many years past, Quad 33/303 with the original electrostatics. Don't know what the turntable was but probably a Garrard with SME arm and Shure cartridge.
So impressive compared to any others I'd heard at the time. It started my interest (and my spending) in hifi.
I suspect though that if I heard it today against a decent modern set-up it wouldn't sound so impressive.
 
zippy said:
I suspect though that if I heard it today against a decent modern set-up it wouldn't sound so impressive.
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It wouldn’t sound “impressive” against many of today’s hyped-up lean and forward systems, but it would likely take them to the cleaners in most other respects! The ESL is one of the best handful of loudspeakers ever made IMO and has a knack of making others sound very wrong in comparison.
 
The ESL 57 is a speaker in my opinion still unmatched in the midrange, add a super tweeter and a sympathetic subwoofer Dipole and stack them and then you are getting a sound in many areas still unmatchable today in my opinion. The transparency the speed of the microdynamics the lifelike realism in the midrange is uncanny. I think Pye valve amps are still some of the best amplifiers ever designed. Trust me there is no short changing at the top or bottom end, those Partridge Output transformers are something very special probably never to be repeated again.The prices they go for IMO still makes them a BARGAIN !!!! at 4-5K for a pair of 1950's amps.
 
" I think Pye valve amps are still some of the best amplifiers ever designed. Trust me there is no short changing at the top or bottom end, those Partridge Output transformers are something very special probably never to be repeated again.The prices they go for IMO still makes them a BARGAIN !!!! at 4-5K for a pair of 1950's amps "

Except the HF25's were not manufactured utilizing Partridge transformers......
 
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zippy said:
Many years past, Quad 33/303 with the original electrostatics. Don't know what the turntable was but probably a Garrard with SME arm and Shure cartridge.
So impressive compared to any others I'd heard at the time. It started my interest (and my spending) in hifi.
I suspect though that if I heard it today against a decent modern set-up it wouldn't sound so impressive.
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The ESL's are still state of the art but I don't rate any of the rest of that kit.
 
I believe all the Pye models have a similar sound signature and by all accounts are equally as good a one another
 
The best system i've ever heard was in Les W lounge - his own speakers, some ridiculously modded Naim CD3, 821 pre with custom power supply and a pair of voyagers.
I've been to a few shows as well.
Not saying that is the best hifi fullstop, but it was great best i've ever head, didn't even have a Grad 1 in it!
 
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'Best sound I have ever heard from hifi.'

Horns of Oxford, 1969.
Thorens TD124 / SME 3009 / Shure V15. Quad 33/303 and Quad Electrostatic speakers.
A Nana Mouskouri record was playing and on one track there were bells.
They 'hung in the air' in a way I had never heard before or since.
 
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