Curious about opinions on which is the CTH-8550 stronger at, amp or preamp? In other words, if I was going to step into the Dartzeel separates, should I get the NHB-108 or NHB-18NS first. And let’s assume any could handle my speaker load.
The 8550 is a little more powerful than the 108, so speaker load may determine which way to go. Also, in case you didn’t know, a Mk.2 8550 has just been released.
IMHO the CTH8550 strongest feature is the amplifier - as referred in the previous post it is more powerful than the 108. Although I do not have experience with the new NHB108 mk2 I would never buy the NH18 and the NHB108 separately - they are very expensive and IMHO unless used together they are not competitive .
Having previously owned the 8850 and 108 and currently running the 18NS and 458s I would agree with the comment above. The current 108 and 18NS are considerably superior to the old 8550. I have not heard the 8550 MK.2
So if I am hearing comments so far, you would recommend going with NHB-18 first. micro recommending unless you are going with NHB-108 or 458, the NHB-18 isn’t competitive for price. Does that sound right?
Please remember that there are now 2nd generation models for all three of the above. All told, there are actually four iterations of the 108 over that last, almost, 20 years.
As far as I know, 8550 means 85% of the sound for 50% of the price vs 108+18NS. The CTH-8550 is "one", you shouldn't consider it as a separate preamp or power amp.