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In Reply to: Re: Cambridge Azur 640 posted by Bold Eagle on December 18, 2004 at 13:16:05:
Most of their receivers have a compressed sound that makes the top rolled-off and the bass punchier, which results in a "louder" perceived and "smoother" sound from sources that are not ideal. Much in the same way that tube amps can compress a signal. I think that in the case of the SS units that "shaping" may be more acurate. I don't know that that is really true of the Integra line though as the only demo that I have heard (which was a professionally set-up system to give the absolute best presentation, using special material and highly paid salesmen (spokes people even), in an acoustically optimized space) actually had me wishing the demo was over sooner rather than later. I can't say anything really positive about the experiencee, so I'll just stop there...
A lot of people find the standard Onkyo fare to be rather warm and easy to listen to and I actually can recommend it for a low budget system. So as you put it, "It all really boils down to matching up the pieces to get the effect you want." and I would say that the pieces that we are discussing should do the job at your price. You know what your speakers sound like to you in your space, so you will have to find what you feel works best. We can only help to describe some general characteristics of the amps and the specifics related to your system will have to come from you. You obviously know what you like so you should not have a difficult time finding a suitable amp.
-Bill
Follow Ups:
I understand what you're saying now about the Onkyo. I have measured the frequency and power responses, and they are very flat. They also image exceptionally well for a unit with a single power supply. Notably better than the NAD, in fact. One thing I do have against the C350, and probably the other NAD's is that the input capacitance is rather high, spec'd at over 400 pF. A lot of sources (Sony CD players, for example) hate that much capacitance. The Onkyo receiver is buffered right at the input jacks and has very low input capacitance. I think this has something to do with the smooth and non-sibilent highs. I did modify the CD input circuitry, as that alone of all the inputs had quite high input capacitance. Looks to me like the designers, in their zeal to bypass as much circuitry as possible with the CD Direct input, threw the baby out with the bathwater. Moving the pickoff point for the CD Direct signal path to after the CD input buffer, reduced the capacitance to under 30 pF, so the interconnect became the dominent source of capacitance. I use a 12", 25 pF interconnect with the Rotel, and I think it pays off. This had the effect of significantly smoothing the highs and got rid of a hard, bright edge in the CD inputs. What used to be called "glare".I really want to thank you guys for the inputs and advice you've all contributed.
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