Jerome W
Active member
- Thread Author
- #1
Hello folks,
So I like so much the MSA that I ordered an other one to use them in mono on the Harbeth 40.1.
The only "faulty" point of the Nagra MSA power amp is the stereo image. Very focused and stable but not as wide as tube amps.
So I thought that a second one could give me better in this field.
Listening only to the MSA in mono for about 2 hours, I am getting mixed feelings. More time will be needed to see if my initial impressions are confirmed or not.
For sure, the stereo image is not wider.
There seems to be a bit more density and weight. The bass gets slightly more definition and slam but all these points seem to be very marginal.
On the opposite, I have the strong impression that I lost a large part of musicality. The mids and the treble do not sing like the stereo "little" amp.
There is clearly also a feeling of decrease in speed, life and light. The bass seems more defined in mono, but it appears also to be clearly slower !
A possible explanation :
- the MSA stereo is optimized for 8 ohms speakers. 60W.
- in mono, each amp is set on an output of 4 ohms. 120W.
The 40.1 are rated at 6 ohms, but the impedance curve show clearly that the average impedance is around 10 ohms.
I get an impedance impairment when going from a single amp in stereo to monoblocks.
Time will tell if these first impressions are right or not.
But once again, my experiences show that:
- more power does not necessarily mean better sound. It all depends on the speaker matching and the room.
- low power amps are often more musical than their big brothers. Even on 85dB speakers !
So I like so much the MSA that I ordered an other one to use them in mono on the Harbeth 40.1.
The only "faulty" point of the Nagra MSA power amp is the stereo image. Very focused and stable but not as wide as tube amps.
So I thought that a second one could give me better in this field.
Listening only to the MSA in mono for about 2 hours, I am getting mixed feelings. More time will be needed to see if my initial impressions are confirmed or not.
For sure, the stereo image is not wider.
There seems to be a bit more density and weight. The bass gets slightly more definition and slam but all these points seem to be very marginal.
On the opposite, I have the strong impression that I lost a large part of musicality. The mids and the treble do not sing like the stereo "little" amp.
There is clearly also a feeling of decrease in speed, life and light. The bass seems more defined in mono, but it appears also to be clearly slower !
A possible explanation :
- the MSA stereo is optimized for 8 ohms speakers. 60W.
- in mono, each amp is set on an output of 4 ohms. 120W.
The 40.1 are rated at 6 ohms, but the impedance curve show clearly that the average impedance is around 10 ohms.
I get an impedance impairment when going from a single amp in stereo to monoblocks.
Time will tell if these first impressions are right or not.
But once again, my experiences show that:
- more power does not necessarily mean better sound. It all depends on the speaker matching and the room.
- low power amps are often more musical than their big brothers. Even on 85dB speakers !
