A Saturday afternoon of music and hifi daftness.

[jammy395]

Deep Breath - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.....and exhale.

Of course your kit, you can do what ever you deem fit Britpop, but i do feel (what Docs trying to get across) that your missing a trick by the mix n match approach. Ive junked most of my previous kit and reaped benifits by using mostly all NVA gear....Its a synergy thing.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

All the comments I am reading are about the A40's with this speaker cable, that interconnect, this pre-amp, and now that phono stage, even a bonkers idea of using a valve pre as a buffer . OK thank you for buying NVA power amps BUT nva is a philosophy and a synergy and until you explore THAT you have NO understanding of what nva is and where it fits in. Having done that, then compare a fire bottle with a NVA phono 1 or 2 then I (and others) can listen to your comments. It is not as though it costs you anything to try, and I really do not understand anyone getting involved with nva without realising it. On the most basic level the amp must be used with nva speaker cable, I haven't a ferkin' clue what this Belden stuff is but it was not designed to be used with nva amplifiers. Yet again nva amplifiers are conditionally stable so changing the speaker cable is an unpredictable process that is simply not worth the hassle involve if something goes tits up!

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Follow up - I have absolutely no respect for "I have used a fire bottle with my nva and it sounds wonderful", Where as I have complete respect for "I compared a fire bottle with a nva phono 1 or 2 and the fire bottle was wonderful" has my full acceptance and respect of *your* opinion.

[brit-pop]

Couple of points for clarification, I don't use the vandamme cable. It made a heck of a difference in Steve's system as opposed to the Witchhat Audio stuff which I didn't care for at all. That's it.

I do understand the synergy thing, remember I was a Rega man, I used Rega cable with it as it sounded best.... I get it. My current NVA cables are budget ones, I will try better ones when funds permit.

I prefer a valve phono stage to my Phono 1. I have a croft phono/pre. I'm quite happy with it. I don't use it as a buffer, after trying it as such I ultimately preferred sources direct to my passive.

I offer up my Phono 1 for sale or swaps for better cables if anyone's interested.

[brit-pop]

Also add I don't own a Firebottle phono stage, Steve owns both the firebottle and a VTL stage. His Lenco has a MC cart and the Firebottle was set up for MC so I never got to hear it with my deck. Nor would I have sought to compare it with a Phono 1 as it would have been with a different deck/cart and just too many variables. We weren't there to bake off an NVA phono stage.

I got to hear 2 phono stages yesterday, one with my deck after we'd loaded the VTL for my deck and one with Steve's deck. Of the two I heard, I preferred the MC firebottle overall which had Steve's deck as a source.

No NVA phono stages were harmed in the making of this post.

[southall-1998]

Also add I don't own a Firebottle phono stage, Steve owns both the firebottle and a VTL stage. His Lenco has a MC cart and the Firebottle was set up for MC so I never got to hear it with my deck. Nor would I have sought to compare it with a Phono 1 as it would have been with a different deck/cart and just too many variables. We weren't there to bake off an NVA phono stage.

I got to hear 2 phono stages yesterday, one with my deck after we'd loaded the VTL for my deck and one with Steve's deck. Of the two I heard, I preferred the MC firebottle overall which had Steve's deck as a source.

No NVA phono stages were harmed in the making of this post.

S.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I find it impossible to believe, so what have you been comparing the phono 1 with in your own system to reject it. You have now managed to totally confuse me.

[brit-pop]

I find it impossible to believe, so what have you been comparing the phono 1 with in your own system to reject it. You have now managed to totally confuse me.

I don't understand why you're confused, crossed wires somewhere here clearly. All I took to Steve's yesterday was my deck, my a40s and some cables which had been loaned to me by someone else which I'd not used in my main system as they were too short.

In my own system I compared the Phono 1 to the Croft Micro Basic which has had valve upgraded by its previous owner.

If you really want me to write up a comparison of these then I will rather than divert this thread further. Pray Mrs B doesn't drag me out on more new bathroom errands tomorrow and if I get a couple of hours to myself I'll put on a fresh pair of ears and give them both a shot in the interests of fairness.

[jammy395]

Look forward to your findings Britpop.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

All I see going on is an isolated pair of A40's being used with just about anything than the things they were designed to be used with. Now that is fine, it is your amps. But when that is written about in an authoritative way then I react. We never leave customers with product they are unhappy with, why didn't you send it back on the return basis if you are so unhappy with it. Has it been set up for the cart you use. Did you buy it new or 2nd hand, if new then you should have talked to me.

If you are going to compare them tomorrow then go and switch the bloody thing on now, doesn't need to be connected, it just needs to be fed.