Amplifier advice for quad z4

[heliumflight]

Quad will solve your shouty treble issues, I know cause it solved mine.

 

[vinothkumar]

Cables make so much of magics. Could you please post a complete picture of your setup and also all of your gears and all the cables involved in this.

 

[mpw]

firearm12

there is only so much cables can do

yours seem to be issues of

amplifier headroom
and the room itself reacting in a different manner to floorstanders
better source - is last - for your case at the moment IMO

to my mind - you must visit a good dealer in NCR area and take a more powerful amp home ( i mentioned in the earlier post ) on a demo basis and go from there...

a full pic of your room and the current speaker placement will help in getting more comments..

This is no way reflects on the quality of your current amplifier or the Quad speakers..

Just that in your room they arent meant to be as a pairing - is my reading....

good luck !

regards

 

[firearm12]

I acquired Audiogd master 1 preamp and master 3 power amp. So far very good and seems like massive upgrade in terms of power from Naim nait xs2 and not missing any timing also. All previous power problems solved. Very smooth sound. Voices are heavenly on good recordings. Only downside is it tears apart poor recordings. Playing with different cables now to tame it more.

 

[heliumflight]

Cables make so much of magics. Could you please post a complete picture of your setup and also all of your gears and all the cables involved in this.

+1

 

[soundbuff]

I think there is a problem of power. Looks like the Quads need lots of power. Its not just a matter of loudness. You need some 150 watts that double at 4 Ohms for relaxed listening. The Naim is seemingly not up to it. It looks like the Audio GD pre-power is also in Noida. Why not explore that combo. If you were in Bangalore I would have had you over to check out the Xindak I use. The high end Chinese is not to be scoffed at.

 

[soundbuff]

Oops. That was careless. Can my last post be deleted.
Thanks

 

[audiocrazy]

I acquired Audiogd master 1 preamp and master 3 power amp. So far very good and seems like massive upgrade in terms of power from Naim nait xs2 and not missing any timing also. All previous power problems solved. Very smooth sound. Voices are heavenly on good recordings. Only downside is it tears apart poor recordings. Playing with different cables now to tame it more.


View attachment 33643

Nice amp bro.
Could u compare what changes u
Felt in speakers mids and bass.. When
Switching from Naim to Audio GD

 

[goget]

After changing the spdif cable from digione signature to my dac, the sound has become much less wooly in bass and more immediate in midrange, more musical to me. I never thought spdif cables can affect sound like this. I am now using cablesetc spdif cable bought from Amazon.

Hi When you heard the demo of Z4 you must have liked the speakers...so what cable and amp did the shopkeeper use ...you can use the same.
Another point is the demo room acoustics and speaker positions may be replicated as much as possible.

Many cables are system specific so please get the recommended cable or try experiment with ordinary speaker cable too.
I am struggling with cable change issues too ever since I changed to Mogami cables.

 

[firearm12]

Nice amp bro.
Could u compare what changes u
Felt in speakers mids and bass.. When
Switching from Naim to Audio GD

Changing from Naim to a-gd, immediate change that I observed was that a-gd was able to drive the speakers better compared to Naim. With Naim, bass was not controlled and was loose all over the place(due to low power). With audiogd, it's all clean and tight. Resolution and transparency is also high in audiogd that makes it a little analytical but it retains its musicality in a subtle way. I can hear any changes in system more clearly now. Naim had a midbass hump that attributed to its musicality that I miss sometimes but I also realised now that this also made it colored. With Naim, it attacked notes in a little aggressive manner, and had a certain harshness in mids and treble( it somehow pissed off the ribbon tweeters in my quad speakers which are too refined for any harshness). With a-gd, it subtly presents notes in a very precise manner with no coloration, instrument separation is high and vocals always stand out. Treble is especially very airy now and very finely structured, it's a strength of this amp. In summary I think Naim is a more aggressive amp with a midbass hump which some people term it as PRAT. A-gd on other hand is very precise and clean like water. It will just show whatever is there in recording in a clean yet musical way not emphasizing notes, it doesn't add or remove anything. One thing I like to add that even at very low volumes, all detail is present in music which was never the case before. Strength of Naim is the timing and musicality it has got or I can say the way it Colors the music, but I am not missing those things actually. I will say a-gd is a better amp out of two.

 

[mpw]

Hi

Try the Naim XS Amp with the new power line.

The comparison is not correct as its not an apple to apple comparison

The Audio GD is a wonderful kit no doubt

It's a much more powerful amplifier

Regards

 

[firearm12]

Hi

Try the Naim XS Amp with the new power line.

The comparison is not correct as its not an apple to apple comparison

The Audio GD is a wonderful kit no doubt

It's a much more powerful amplifier

Regards

Yes you are right, it's may be an apple to orange comparison but what I wrote is exactly what I felt. It also depends on speaker - amp synergy, I feel Naim was more than excellent for my older Dali mentor menuets but not for quad z4. Quads turned out to be too much for naim, that's what I can make.

 

[audiocrazy]

Yes you are right, it's may be an apple to orange comparison but what I wrote is exactly what I felt. It also depends on speaker - amp synergy, I feel Naim was more than excellent for my older Dali mentor menuets but not for quad z4. Quads turned out to be too much for naim, that's what I can make.

I think Naim needs systematic components matching.. Thats why it doesn't suits well with all the speakers..

 

[firearm12]

I think Naim needs systematic components matching.. Thats why it doesn't suits well with all the speakers..

That's correct, even naim cables and speaker plugs are part of the naim sound, btw I had quad s2 bookshelf speakers for some time and they were fine with naim, problems started when I got bigger quad z4, I suspect it was due to power issues only. A-gd though sounding a little thin than naim has all the power and finesse to drive these speakers.

 

[Shefwed99]

A simple visit to my house can solve your problem. I have a similar setup. Speakers 89db 4ohm load; Quad 100wrms.

HiFi Rig: Cambridge Audio Cxn + Quad 405 MK2 + Piega Classic 3.0

What's your thoughts on the Piegas? I have the classic 40.2 driven by a Croft Epoch Elite Pre and Croft Twin Star 1 modded to 100 watts by Glenn Croft they sound fabulous.

 

[heliumflight]

What's your thoughts on the Piegas? I have the classic 40.2 driven by a Croft Epoch Elite Pre and Croft Twin Star 1 modded to 100 watts by Glenn Croft they sound fabulous.

Their ribbon tweeter is outstanding. A bit analytical sounding.