Should I buy new Nad or old Simaudio?

[eyeteeth]

Wanting more power for my insensitive speakers (manufacturer recommended 100-300W amp) and, not able to afford very good quality for quite a long while, I have narrowed things down to two options. Other options?

$350.US for a C270 to be bridged with my bridged C370, 300W per channel/ 2.4dB dynamic headroom.
http://207.228.230.231/info/NAD_C270.pdf

Or a 4-8 year old Simaudio W-4150se-balanced & unbalance inputs/ 150W per channel/6dB dynamic headroom for $750.US.
http://www.simaudio.com/celew4150.htm

The Sim would have greater refinement, but I am nervous if it is more than 5 years old.
Thanks

 

[00940]

I've never heard a bridged amp sounding as good as a single more powerfull amp or a biamp setup. Can you biamp ?

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by 00940 I've never heard a bridged amp sounding as good as a single more powerfull amp or a biamp setup. Can you biamp ?

I don't have biamp speaker cables right now & wouldn't want to hastily grab cheaper wire. I've got to be cautious with the cash.

 

[markl]

eyeteeth, the Simaudio has a chance at being much much better than the NAD. 5 years in digital is an eternity, 5 years in amplifiers is not so long.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl eyeteeth, the Simaudio has a chance at being much much better than the NAD. 5 years in digital is an eternity, 5 years in amplifiers is not so long.

Very good points, thanks markl.

 

[elnero]

I would say the Sim Audio if it's decent condition. I haven't heard that particular model but I used to sell Sim and it was pretty decent stuff that has only gotten better over the years.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by CRESCENDOPOWER Hey! After you buy the Simaudio how much are you selling your C-370 for?

I'll need it's preamp function for a while.

 

[tom hankins]

Get the Sim. Good old amps(five years is not old) are still in the league as good new amps.

 

[Trawlerman]

Personally i'd go with the SimAudio.

As Markl pointed out. Overall, amplifiers do not change that much over the years.

My current amps are 4 x Rotel RB970s that came out in 1996 and appart from some minor cosmetic changes are still in production today with slight increased model numbers.

The Tube Amps that I have are still being manufactured exactly the same after 12 years.

I'd expect that the Simaudio amps would last you many many years if you so wish them to.



BTW, power is not everything. My Exposure X sounds and big and muscular at 35w as my Rotels do at 180w! Use your ears and go with what sounds best to you. In the end you will be listening to them, not us so use whatever information you can get to guide you but go what what you feel is right for you.

Try to get a home dem if at all possible. If not a good dealer will let should ley you listen to them for a while.

 

[eyeteeth]

Thanks so much guys!

I didn't expect the opinions to be so unanimous. Three different private owners in my area have this amp. I'll try to determine which is in the best condition.

 

[Wodgy]

You might want to consider a Simaudio integrated to completely replace your C370. IMHO the strength of the C370 is its amp section -- the preamp section is rather average and is really the part that's holding it back. I'm not the only person who's made this observation; in the Positive Feedback review, one of the reviewers tried each section (amp/preamp) independently with different ancillary components and made roughly the same observation:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue4/nadc370.htm
By the way, can you share where you found the C270 new for $350?

 

[Edwood]

Buy two NAD components and you can say you have NADs.

[rimshot]

OK, sorry. Couldn't help myself.

-Ed

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wodgy You might want to consider a Simaudio integrated to completely replace your C370. IMHO the strength of the C370 is its amp section -- the preamp section is rather average and is really the part that's holding it back. I'm not the only person who's made this observation; in the Positive Feedback review, one of the reviewers tried each section (amp/preamp) independently with different ancillary components and made roughly the same observation: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue4/nadc370.htm By the way, can you share where you found the C270 new for $350?

I like the simaudio I-3, but the ATC's want more than 100 watts. Although the I-3 would have rather excellent 100 watts. And you are right about the "1 noteish" & "plodding" character of the C370's preamp section. I just woke up & having a tea was remembering Larry cox's description. And was thinking it's a shame im replacing the better 1/2 of the integrated. If I was upgrading just for the sake of upgrading, the preamp would be the target. I had to smile when I saw your referal to the same review. This is a review that helped me buy the C370 in the 1st place. The C270 was selling for $380US/$500Canadian last month, it's being replaced by the C272 & Xmas is over so I was just estimating a price.

*Regarding positive-feeback.com, it is a coincidence they have an older review of the companion preamp of the Sim power amp. Which is very good & I think I would grab if I spot it for sale (& headphone output too).*

http://www.positive-feedback.com/amb...s/SimP5003.htm

Thanks Wodgy, you're spot on again.

 

[Wodgy]

Interesting

I think that's part of the reason why the NAD preamp (the C160, which I owned very briefly) rarely gets glowing reviews anywhere. The interesting thing is if you use a passive preamp (i.e. just a potentiometer from source to amp input) with the C370 the sound improves quite a bit. In my experience, tube preamps also mate well with the C270/C370 amp section, and can lead to a killer combo at a very decent price. I'm surprised NAD sticks with the same old preamp design year after year. (They claim in their marketing brochures that they revise it every so often, but all they seem to do is just use newer transistors in roughly same circuit that they may have used since the mid-80s.) If you open up the unit, you'll find that they could probably even achieve a substantial cost savings in terms of parts and assembly by switching to a class-A preamp stage using op-amps. These days there's no reason not to do that, though in the 80's op-amps were terrible and it was definitely the right choice then.