NHB-108 model one
- Thread starter Drikus
- Start date
According to this Stereoplay test, minimum impedance is 3.2 Ohm. The speaker doesn't look to be too difficoult to drive. dart 108 should do fine current wise.
http://www.music-line.biz/cms/fileadmin/pdf/test_ovator600_stereoplay.pdf
http://www.music-line.biz/cms/fileadmin/pdf/test_ovator600_stereoplay.pdf
At the prices you guys are talking about for 108s, it's a no brainer.
The CTH is an exceptional integrated, but again, at the 108 prices you guys are seeing, I'd definitely go for that instead of the CTH.
The CTH is an exceptional integrated, but again, at the 108 prices you guys are seeing, I'd definitely go for that instead of the CTH.
The Dart separates will cost you more than double a CTH in the US at least. It should sound better.
The CTH is the best SS integrated i've ever heard - and I a/b'd it with the 42k Dagostino and preferred its tonality and flow. The Dag will give you more power of course.
I'm not planning to buy the pre-amp. I will use the integrated pre-amp of my Puccini Player when I buy a 108.
Contacted the seller of the 108 again today and offered him cash if I could pick it up and he refused this, said he only accepted a bank transfer, then I could pick it up. Suggested that we go to his bank together so that they could check my cash but he refused this also. If this isn't a scam, I don't know what is...
Given that you'd be severely underutilizing the 108 by not using a preamp and going direct with the dCS (something I did try at some point), perhaps you'd be better off with a CTH-8550.
Drikus, I have a pair of B&W 802 Diamonds on the end of my 108 which are a much tougher load than your Ovators. While it may not have the last ounce of drive and control on these it is certainly loud enough and has plenty of slam and pazazz to enjoy. I had Naim DBL's & 3 X NAP500's previously and while the 108 doesn't have the slam and control of these amps it certainly has enough and offers things that the 500's only just hinted at. Hope this helps as the 108 is a fine amplifier by anyone's measuring tape. Hope you manage to track one down.
Under this conditions do not go on. No seller would refuse cash on pick up for an amplifier that is being advertised everywhere for a long time ...
Is the dCS preamp that bad? I might change my mind later on and get a dart preamp after all, who knows. Can't do this if I buy a CTH-8550 now.
I won't. Asked him about all these ads of his amp everywhere and he said that they were all from other people using his photos. Maybe a coincidence but all these so called other people seem to have the same name...
It's really fatiguing, and the 108 does need all the extra gain (and body/fullness) a true preamp provides.
I did start with the CTH, then got the preamp, and for a while, I used the CTH as a stereo amp, through the 18NS preamp. It was awesome, but of course, the 108 was better still.
You may have posted this somewhere, but I fail to see why you would want to get rid of your CAT amps and go to a ss design. Particularly the ML??
Instead, why not go up in the CAT line...Ken's newer Black Path models are a step up over his non Black Path models. For instance, I hear the new Statement Black Path is actually worth hearing, LOL.
There are several reasons .
First my wife left me , incl my creditcards and motorbike , lol .
Okay now serious .
I live in a normal housing environment which means I have to be sensible in system volume , if I had a custom room I might have kept the cat and have thought differently , although its more noisy then SS which I don't like , through the speakers as well as the 50 hz transformer hum .
I use the capabilities of my current full range speakers only for maybe 25 -30 percent
Ml amps got me in the high end in the first place , so they have a special place .
Changing gear once in a while keeps it interesting , plus I might need a bit coloured gear to keep CD s listenable
I haven't sold the cat though I might just keep it as well as SS for switching once in a wihle .
Ps I am more then 60 % of the time abroad and sometimes I just want a no nonsense 1 button amplifier no warm up time what ever .
Also I think the better the speaker and the easier it is to drive the more you can skip on amp power and to a certain extent ¨ quality ¨.
The person who bought some of my mdf designed smaller speakers brought a NAD integrated to try with his future purchase , and we also tried it on my XPE speaker.
I was astonished just how nice a 500 euro integrated of maybe 50 watts sounds if it doesn't have to supply a heavy load
First my wife left me , incl my creditcards and motorbike , lol .
Okay now serious .
I live in a normal housing environment which means I have to be sensible in system volume , if I had a custom room I might have kept the cat and have thought differently , although its more noisy then SS which I don't like , through the speakers as well as the 50 hz transformer hum .
I use the capabilities of my current full range speakers only for maybe 25 -30 percent
Ml amps got me in the high end in the first place , so they have a special place .
Changing gear once in a while keeps it interesting , plus I might need a bit coloured gear to keep CD s listenable
I haven't sold the cat though I might just keep it as well as SS for switching once in a wihle .
Ps I am more then 60 % of the time abroad and sometimes I just want a no nonsense 1 button amplifier no warm up time what ever .
Also I think the better the speaker and the easier it is to drive the more you can skip on amp power and to a certain extent ¨ quality ¨.
The person who bought some of my mdf designed smaller speakers brought a NAD integrated to try with his future purchase , and we also tried it on my XPE speaker.
I was astonished just how nice a 500 euro integrated of maybe 50 watts sounds if it doesn't have to supply a heavy load
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Thanks , you re always welcome for a listen if you re interested no obligations , I also live I brussels now , but am often abroad for work , I'm now in Dhaka Bangladesh as I write this
If you have a custom room my XPE speakers are a blast , they will toy with something like an Magico S 5 / alexia which go for around the same price ,on authority / extension/ dynamics
I'm curious how folks characterize the 108's bass. 0.33ohm output impedance, so a damping factor of only 12 in to 4 ohms.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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