Some Thoughts on My Acurus A250 Upgrade (long)
Cal Lott
Greetings!
I paid a visit to my dealer yesterday (The Sound Lab, Inc., in
Palatine, a suburb of Chicago.) I had a lot of fun auditioning three
amplifiers against each other, and comparing a couple of CD players.
All in all, I spent three hours and wound up taking an Acurus A250
power amplifier back home.
I though I would share my thoughts on the upgrade and the
audition with rec.audio and the subwoofer mailing list. (Which I happen
to be the administrator of! 8-) ) The addition of the amplifier has
made a big difference in the integration of my Velodyne F1200 with the
rest of my system.
(rec.audio denziens: to subscribe to the subwoofer mailing
list, send email to "bass-r...@gsbux1.uchicago.edu" with the single
word "subscribe" as the title. If you have questions or problems, feel
free to email me directly.)
Any comments would be greatly welcome.
THE EQUIPMENT
Auditioning equipment at the store was as follows (all prices
are list, and model designation on the Classe stuff is from memory):
CD Player: Denon DCD-620 ($400) This is a decent mid-fi
player that I have owned for a couple of years and currently use in my
system. It was the source component for the amplifier comparisons.
Preamplifier: Classe Twenty ($1195) A line-level preamp with
both balanced and unbalanced outputs, and one balanced input. (Again,
this is from memory.) The balanced inputs and outputs were not used
for the audition, as only one of the amplifiers could be run in
balanced mode.
Loudspeakers: NHT 2.1 (~$800) Basically an updated version of
the earlier 1.8. It is a slim floorstanding model with a 1" soft-dome
tweeter, 6-1/2" woofer, and dual 6-1/2" passive radiators in the lower
part of the cabinet. This model has the distinctive NHT front baffle
that is angled at 21 degrees from the listener.
Interconnects: Cardas Hexlink (unbalanced, $695/pair) Thick,
massive interconnects that will always be out of my price range,
barring an unusual act of fate. The sales person was quite
enthusiastic about wanting to use them for the audition, so I just
went along with him.
Loudspeaker Cable: Cardas Hexlink (10 foot pair with gold
spade lug termination, $800) Again, one of the salesman's fave raves.
LISTENING MATERIAL
Billy Bragg, _Don't Try This At Home_ (Elektra 9 61121-2)
Eric Clapton, _Unplugged_ (Reprise 9 45024-2)
K.D. Lang, _Ingenue_ (Sire/Warner Bros. 9 26840-2)
U2, _Zooropa_ (Island 314-518 047-2)
THE AMPLIFIERS
The three amplifier models auditioned were as follows:
Classe Seventy ($1195) Rated at 70 wpc RMS into 8 ohms. It
has both balanced and unbalanced inputs.
Acurus A250 ($995) Rated at 250 wpc RMS into 8 ohms.
Unbalanced inputs only.
Parasound HCA-500 ($375) Rated a 50 wpc RMS into 8 ohms. This
little Parasound is obviously outclassed by the two models above, but
it was being auditioned against them because it is that amplifier that
I upgraded from.
THE AUDITION
The Classe Seventy was the first model that we listened to. I
was immediately struck by the nice midrange presentation on the first
track of K.D. Lang's _Ingenue_, "Save Me". The guitar and K.D.'s voice
both sounded full and clear on the NHTs, which can have a somewhat
polite midrange.
What really sold me on the Classe's midrange was the fourth
track on the Billy Bragg disk, "Cindy of a Thousand Lives" -- the
Classe just opened up and threw a gorgeous, lush soundstage. The
individual instruments on this complex track were clearly and
unobtrusively delineated. The Classe enjoys a very sweet and detailed
midrange.
Hooking up the Acurus A250 next was a very revealing contrast
-- the beefier Acurus just clamped down and viscerally grabbed the
NHTs on U2's "Numb", a track with prodigious low bass content. The NHT
1.8 and 2.1 are both basically two way designs that have their bass
response extended by dual passive radiators. It has been my experience
that they can misbehave and become a bit flabby at the low end of
their usable response, especially at certain frequencies.
"Numb" revealed certain weaknesses in my system at home -- the
bass could become a bit flabby and uncontrolled, but the Acurus A250
was having none of that. This amp's control of the bass was exemplary
and showed up the more modestly powered Classe by comparison.
The Acurus could not match the slightly more expensive Classe
in the midrange, however -- it sounded somewhat reticent and less
detailed. "Cindy of a Thousand Lives" was noticeably less lush and the
soundstage somewhat less convincing.
There were also differences in the treble and upper treble --
the Acurus sounded more forward and slightly less detailed. The Classe
was smooth and natural throughout.
We then put the little Parasound into the system to see how it
stacked up. I was expecting a disaster, but the little guy acquitted
himself quite well. The major thing missing in comparison to the two
more expensive amps was a lack of detail. It was quite well-behaved
overall, but without the prodigious bass response of the Acurus or the
midrange and treble clarity of the Classe.
The Classe was the best amplifier overall, with a clearly
better treble and midrange than the Acurus. The modestly powered
Seventy could not match the A250's prodigious bass extension and
control, however, which is not surprising considering the large
difference in power levels between the two components.
I liked all three amps and can honestly recommend that anybody
looking for equipment in their respective price ranges give them a
listen.
BRINGING IT BACK HOME
I decided on the Acurus A250 and brought it back home. The
components in my home system are now as follows:
Tuner: Parasound T/DQ-260 II
CD Player: Denon DCD-620
Preamplifier: Parasound P/FET-900 II
Amplifier: Acurus A250
Speakers: NHT 1.8
Subwoofer: Velodyne F1200
Interconnects: Audioquest Turquoise, Monster Cable Interlink CD
Speaker Cable: Audioquest Type 4 (unterminated except for
banana plugs on the speaker end)
Adding the Acurus A250 in place of the Parasound HCA-500 has
made a world of difference in the system, especially in the
integration of the main speakers with the subwoofer.
I was never able to seamlessly integrate the Velodyne with the
mains while I had the Parasound in the system. I would try different
crossover points and gain levels on the sub, and different positions
in the room for the mains and the Velodyne, but nothing seemed an
improvement on what I initially thought to be the best settings and
positionings. No matter what I did, the midbass could get boomy and
congested on certain material, especially at high volume levels.
The Acurus has changed all this. I lowered the crossover level
to 50 Hz from 55 Hz and upped the level control a bit, and the
integration is seamless. The Acurus can easily damp the main speakers
down to the crossover point and the Velodyne does the rest. The bass
is now fast and tight without any boominess or congestion. It's
great!
Those considering the addition of a subwoofer to their system
should not assume that they can get away with an underpowered
amplifier for the main speakers and expect the subwoofer amplification
to carry the rest of the load. The amplifier for the satellites can
make a tremendous difference in the integration of the sub with the
rest of the system. It made a difference in my system to a degree that
I had never previously suspected.
Regards,
-Cal
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"From all us Slackers to all you Boomers ... HAHAHAHAHAHA! WE HAVE
SATELLITE MOUNTED RAIL-GUNS! HEH HEH. Who's laughing now?"-- S. Lang
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Moss
Please subscribe me to you Sub-woofer mailing list!
Andy...@canrem.com
---
þ Magical Mail þ Brewer's droop? Try drinking stout!