The most expensive Chartwell LS3/5a speakers bought on Ebay!

[Adywebb]

Having read the reviews, it sounds a great amp! - problem now is the SE Mk2 sounds even better!!, how am I going to justify raising the cash for one of those?


Back to reality - the standard one seems great for what I want, and if I can get the one on eBay for under 180 I can give it a go and always upgrade later if the opportunity arises and sell it again.

Why is it whenever you start looking - you always end up wanting the next one up?

 

[Quadophile]

I got a call from a close friend of mine last night, telling me that there is a possibility for him to get the JM Lab Utopia, and wanted my advise on it as well as suggestion as to which amp will be suitable to drive them. The Utopia's are second in line and the new ones are available at a cool $30,000, the one he is considering is just 8 months old and have not even been properly run in. I have no idea what the final price will be for him but he did mention that he wished it was the Grand Utopia instead of the Utopia. This is the same guy who owned the Kef Reference Two and had hardly listened to them all while the speakers sat in his living room. He gets pleasure only in owning things and not listening to them. In ten years his music collection has grown only by 10 albums and that it. Do you really think he is a listener? According to him the CD's are very expensive. Now tell me honestly, does it make any sense to you?

Dreaming about good things in life is good, provided you also enjoy what you have in the present, otherwise one can never sense of satisfaction so to say. I have known many people who keep upgrading and getting frustated in the process as they never enjoy what is in hand, they are too busy thinking of the next best thing. I enjoyed my Paradigm speakers immensely for about 3 years till I got the Kef Reference Two. Having used something properly is more important than just owning it. Just because someone owns a particular hifi setup does not mean he knows how it sounds until he really sits down comfortably and starts listening without worrying about anything else.

Just for your reference here are a few other interesting reviews of the amp in question which I had also not come across earlier. You will find it an interesting read for sure.

AudioFile

Home Theatre HiFi

Soundstage

Audiphilia

 

[Quadophile]

Adywebb,

I hope you are following the ebay auction as things look a bit brighter since there is still only one bid so far.

 

[Adywebb]

Yes I am Quad, but the problem is I go on away to Lanzarote tomorrow evening and the auction finishes on Thursday!

If I put in a max bid before I go away - what do you think it should be?

 

[Quadophile]

At this stage putting the bid at £180 would look absolutely foolish, not sure how serious the first bidder is and how bad he wants the amp. Its a very difficult situation. Anyway tell me if you have an idea since its your money and I do not want to influence you to bid more than it is necessary. I have a figure in mind but do tell me what your gut feeling is.

 

[floppybootstomp]

This is the same guy who owned the Kef Reference Two and had hardly listened to them all while the speakers sat in his living room. He gets pleasure only in owning things and not listening to them. In ten years his music collection has grown only by 10 albums and that it. Do you really think he is a listener? According to him the CD's are very expensive. Now tell me honestly, does it make any sense to you?

Dreaming about good things in life is good, provided you also enjoy what you have in the present, otherwise one can never sense of satisfaction so to say.

Oh, how I can sympathise with how you feel there Quad, what a waste

I don't have a very good system, really, but I do listen to a lot of music and enjoy it.

I'm seriously thinking of a new amp at the moment.

My main system:

Kef Cresta Loudspeakers on Gale stands.
Kenwood KA-1080 Amp
Marantz CD52-II CD PLayer (About 15 years old now)
NAD 4020A Analogue Tuner
AIWA ADF 450 Cassette Deck
Dual 505 Turntable with Shure SC35 cartridge
All interconnects made with low loss cable and gold phonos, by myself.
Speaker cables (bi-wired) 2.5mm Speaker cable from RS Components with banana plugs.

Now, in my opinion, this is a budget system, but I still enjoy listening to it.

I really think the amp is the weakest link. I rarely use the cassette deck and turntable these days, mostly listen to CD's. And my DVD player is plugged into Tape Two.

And in the kitchen:

Another Marantz CD52-II CD Player
NAD 3030 Amp (the 1st one they ever made, wooden case)
El Cheapo wall mounted small Ariston loudspeakers.
Cables: whatever I had handy at the time.

Sounds good while I'm doing the washing up and still beats spots off any boogie box or midi system you care to name

So, just thought I'd share

I was once a Hi-Fi nut, less so these days, but I'm still a music nut.

 

[Adywebb]

I was thinking of 150....

 

[Quadophile]

Flops,

You are knowledgeable enough to decide on your own what to get but if you want me to be part of a brain storming session I would happily oblige. I am sure I would enjoy it as much as you would in the process. Just yell, on your marks, get set...........and I will be there!

 

[Quadophile]

Adywebb,

Good thinking, I was off by £10, on the higher side

Good Luck! I will keep checking the auction and see if you succeed when it fially closes. I wil keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Adywebb]

I was thinking 160, but I'm cheap lol

One other problem I forsee - if I win, I won't be able to contact him for a week - he might think I'm a time waster and re-list!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Flops,

You are knowledgeable enough to decide on your own what to get but if you want me to be part of a brain storming session I would happily oblige. I am sure I would enjoy it as much as you would in the process. Just yell, on your marks, get set...........and I will be there!

Quad: I am totally out of the loop at the moment, I haven't been keeping up with things at all

I was considering a Cambridge amp, dunno, really.

Also I have here 2 x 10 watt Valve Amps I built twenty years ago, pair of EL84's on the output, they are real Hi-Fi, came from a design in Elektor magazine back then. Also have a Quad 33 pre-amp, there's a problem on one channel though, can't remember what it is now.

The valve amps may only be 10 watts, but they sound great. I've mounted the two monoblocks in a 19" silver rack case, the whole thing weighs a ton.

But.... that's by the by - you got any amplifier recomendations?

The amp being discussed here atm, from all the reviews I've read, seems suited to classical music.

I rarely play classical music, I'm afraid this phillistine likes Indie, rock, folk, trance and all things that are probably bad for me

On your marks, get set..........................

 

[Quadophile]

Flops,

As for the 33 pre-amp it has aged beyong reasonable repair, the reason being that most of the stuff inside is push and pull boards which by this time must have oxidised as far as connectors are concerned and if you do serius cleaning they may come apart, funny as it may seem one of my friends builds amplifiers and he repairs hifi for select friends only. Last week another friend had approached me with the problem similar to yours with his 33/303 combo. My friend who is the builder although fixed the problem but told him clearly that the amp is no longer servicable and that he should be looking for a new one soon.

Now coming to your other problem, amp choice, let me know how much you can streatch and I will come up with something in the range. If you are looking for a 50 watter, a great amp I can recommend is, NAD 320Bee. A budget amp but really a killer in its class. If you can afford to spend more let me know so that I can propose something else.

Well the Puccini is with my friend and most of the time he is listening to music which is far from being classified as classical, he is really happy with it. His taste in music includes, but not limited to Dead can Dance, CCR, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Patricia Barber etc etc. Mind you he owns the Wadia/Cary/McCormic/Alon/TNT combination also in his living room which is worth over £15,000 and to top it off he is someone I consider to be a serious listener. The reviewers somehow seem to put the Puccini in a category which it actually does not belong to, It is a great amp suitable for all kinds of music, I have heard it many times myself.

 

[Quadophile]

Adywebb,

I wish I could help you in any way to get that amp. Is there no way you can log onto the net and just get in touch with seller if you succeed? Can you not trust someone to operate your ebay account to see it through?

 

[floppybootstomp]

Quad, you mean this one Here?

I had noticed that and it's quite odd cos I just included the 80wpc version in a quote for some work for a customer.

I could go for that, would have preferred it in black, will have to have a shop around for a black version.

I'm not spending £15K, that's for sure But I could probably stretch to £170.00.

 

[Adywebb]

I'm going to put the bid in, then contact the seller and let him know the score if I win - hopefully he will be OK with that.

Fingers crossed!

 

[Quadophile]

Flops,

I know for sure there is the usual NAD colour 320BEE also available so do look it up. I am positive you will be pleased with the performance/price ratio. This amp is generally considered to be having same type of sound as the one from the 70's albeit refined due to technology advancement. We both have the Nad sound in our household and we both like it so going for this amp should be no brainer. By the way the darker shade amp should be slightly cheaper in comparision to the Titanium finish one you have in the link, but I could be wrong. For your information Bee are the initials for the original designer and he has himself tweaked all amps that bear his initials. The ones without his initials are cheaper.

 

[Quadophile]

Adywebb,

I really hope you get it for the price you have in mind.

 

[Adywebb]

Quad,

The bid is in, fingers crossed.....

 

[Quadophile]

Yes I noticed your being the highest bidder at the moment, but why £122? How will this be managed in your favour once the auction is concluded and if someone bids higher than yourself. Have you sent a message to the seller? I am curious!

 

[Adywebb]

I've put in a max bid of 150, it automatically bids for me up to this amount. So if someone now bids 124, it will automatically bid higher.

I have sent a message to the seller telling him the situation, and I am going to try to find an internet cafe whilst I'm out there.