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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 318 Registered: Mar-04 | i've been curious about norh le amp IIs and ird MB-100s (same thing as le amp I) after coming across some favorable mentions here and there online. professional reviews for these pieces of gear are few and far between does anyone own these, or has had experience with them? all i've really heard about le amp IIs is that they might not even be available as there have been delivery issues. i did come across one favorable review for le amp Is though. http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/norh/leamp.html which is kind of vague and wandering. it sure sounds like a rave, but it doesn't get too much into the "whys" other than bass and power. what about speed & imaging etc.? are these truly giant killer amps at entry level prices? i'm planning on going from superzeros to MMGs, and need an amp that can handle 4 ohms (my onkyo can't) and that will have more power than my 20-25wpc NAD which is still broken anyways. besides... i think that NAD amps are too warm and polite based on my experiences with my reciever. are IRD MB-100s the very best quality that can be had in the $500 range (new or used) that can handle 4 ohm loads? i'm interested in these as they sound more like the neutral/detailed kind of amp that appeals to me. their exceptional bass sounds like a good match for smaller bass shy magnepans too. eventually, i'd like to get a benchmark dac-1 and drive whatever amps i get directly. if anyone here has experience with norh or ird amps, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. |
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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 342 Registered: Mar-04 | hmm... i guess most of you are more willing to spend big bucks on audio than i am. that's why i canceled my subscrition to stereophile. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 532 Registered: May-05 | Le Amp? Sounds like the Renault Le Car. Remember that POS? I'd like to help you, but I've never heard of the Le Amp. Sorry. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 538 Registered: May-05 | By the way - You should really stop basing your opinion of NAD on an old 20-25 watt amp (3020?). When I think of "polite," I think of a laid back, almost lazy amp, mainly Marantz and somewhat Rotel. NAD is generally characterized as a more forward amp than polite. Your old amp really didn't have enough power to drive your NHT's, which are notoriously power hungry. Unless it's an old 25 watt tube amp like McIntosh, nothing 25 watts is really going to do NHT's much justice. |
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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 343 Registered: Mar-04 | it isn't a question of power. once you factor in NAD's 3dB of headroom, 20-25wpc = 40-50wpc which is a negligible difference compared to my 5 channel onkyo rated at 55wpc. it isn't a question of power. it's a question of HF extension. the onkyo is very TONALLY different from the NAD at all volume levels, and i prefer low volume anyways. i bought my HT reciever because of it's rating to 100KHz and i believe it DOES make a difference because it totally brought my zeros back from the dead and made them start imaging like they should and remember... alot of people were calling zeros "bright" speakers back in the day. perhaps i didn't use the right adjectives to describe my NAD... when i say polite, i really meant to say "unbearable dull, lifeless and muted as if a wet sleeping bad were draped over my speakers". the NAD flat out SUCKS. i'm not the only person who feels this way either. while browsing another forum (planar only) where a member was talking about amp matching with maggies, he described the sound as "dark" which had me silently shouting YES! that's what i've been saying all along. NAD is an "anti-treble freak" make as far as i'm concerned, and is also notoriously unreliable. something is always going wrong with mine. i will say that the NAD can shake my walls driving my 12" sub though. i'd definately consider myself more of a bright "house sound" rotel fan. NAD annoys me. i hate it! i hate it! i hate it! full range at least. it might work better with my mission M71s which are painfully bright on onkyo though. i've never tried that combo as the NAD was doing subwoofer duty until a wire came lose and shorted. i'd bet that pairing would cancel each others weaknesses to some degree. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 540 Registered: May-05 | If the NAD sucks so much and is always breaking down, why are you contemplating getting it fixed? Should you just start over and get the Le Amp? Curiosity question - What other NAD amps have you heard? To base a whole company on one amp isn't very smart. I wouldn't base every product Onkyo makes on that great old amp they used to make. I can't remember the model number - 2 channel amp around the mid-late 80's with the big meters. I personally feel Onkyo sucks. They made some good stuff about a decade or 2 ago, but have fallen off. This however, isn't based on one under powered receiver trying to accomplish the impossible in driving a notoriously power hungry speaker. Put a NAD C352 or even a C320BEE at the other end of your Super Zeros, and then you could say how bad NAD is. |
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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 348 Registered: Mar-04 | if i got the le amp 1st... i wouldn't have a preamp to drive it it would have to collect dust while i save up for the maggies after i save up for a preamp that collects dust for just $100, i can have something, not perfect, but USEABLE to get started and then build on. when i get an amp upgrade... then the NAD can become a preamp. it's just a cheap stepping stone, not a life partner. besides... if i get it fixed, i can eventually sell it and get half of my investment back easily instead of it collecting dust. besides, even before i get MMGs, i can connect it back to my finally assembled, never to short out again, sub where it blows my radioshack integrated away easily. fixing it has flow into several OTHER goals. i could even keep it around if anyone i know ever throws a party and wants to shake the floor. eventually, one or both of my recievers are going. one thing at a time. i only give ANYONE one chance to screw me over. second chances are for suckers. fool me twice, shame on me. besides, i'm positive i'm more of a treble happy rotel kinda guy. |