Why Are All British Amps Underpowered And Weedy Sounding?

[Yasvanth]

Hi

I Have Listened To Many British Amps At My Hifi Dealers, And I Always Find That The Are Underpowered And Lack That Big Powerful Sound Except For Musical Fidelity Amps, But They Do Have Great Speed And Detail.

Yas

[NMyTree]

I don't know, I use the Rega Exon 3 monoblocks in one of my systems and they perform very well.

I guess it depends on how efficient the speakers are, one is driving. My Exon 3 monos do every well driving my Castle Conway 3.

[Briz vegas]

From what I have read it is difficult to get both qualities that you refer to in the one amplifier. Krells are know for their bass and energy, tube amps give your a more delicate detailed sound (generally).

I have english speakers and CD player but went with an American amp (which I think does both power and speed and detail very well). I had heard Quad amps but no other english brands - it was more about availablity rather than a choice to avoid them.

Factors that get mentioned in the press are
- the house sound of amplifier companies
- the timber construction of American house vs UK houses more solid construction
- customer preferences

Maybe you should contact Naim and ask them about their choices in voicing amps.

There is one other possible factor. That you prefer excessive bass where as English amp builders prefer a natural bass the reflects the actual recording. Could this be true ? Personally I prefer tight natural bass.

[jack667]

AVI make fairly high power amps.

[Yasvanth]

Hi Briz Vegas,

I have listened to many British amps at my hifi dealer eg Arcam, Cyrus, Quad. I do agree they are very natural sounding to the best of there abilities, with a tight natural bass. I myself do not like excessive bass and are more after a fast bass punch with fantastic detail.

But I do feel by listening to these amps they do sound underpowered and weak. But the only British amp manufacturer that I know that thinks that power and musicality is it's number one priority is Musical Fidelity. I have listened to many MF amps and also own the A5cr Pre & Pwr amps and you get the feeling that you are actually listening to the power of the music. But with the other amps like Arcam and Cyrus they do sound underpowered and artificial especially in the midrange department.

But anyway that is my opinion. I'm sure someone will disagree with my comments.

Yas

[Briz vegas]

This place would be pretty boring if we all had the same opinion and taste. I can appreciate why folks like a full bass sound as I enjoy it myself on occasion (as long as it is tight).

I auditioned two way Naim Allae speakers driven by a 5x and powered by a 100watt Arcam integrated (picked because we wanted 100watts similar to my amp at the time). If you can try the Allaes driven by a naim cdp and maybe a supernait (not heard supernait yet I'm just trying to think of a combo that will be easier to find) you may be surprised. Even at modest levels I could feel the kick drum in my chest - its a punchy little setup powered by English gear. Classical violin pieces even had my foot tapping.

That being said power is the MF trademark. That is what they do. Probably the only big name brand that has the same focus is Krell.

To me bass should be well integrated in the sound. I first heard my CJ CA200 with some Kiwi speakers and the bass was just too much, even with something like the Buena Vista Social Club - Cuban stuff. Hook that same amp to the much better 804s and the bass was spot on - tight, plenty of it giving the music energy, but not ramming it down your throat so that it detracted from the music as a whole. Its a fine balancing act.

[Karma]

Hi

I Have Listened To Many British Amps At My Hifi Dealers, And I Always Find That The Are Underpowered And Lack That Big Powerful Sound Except For Musical Fidelity Amps, But They Do Have Great Speed And Detail.

Yas

HI Yas,
"Weedy" is a first for me. Can you describe what this term means in detail? I don't have a clue about what you are talking about.

Thanks, Sparky

[Yasvanth]

Hi

When I describe the sound of British amps as 'weedy' I actually mean thin or underpowered and lacking that grunt or oomph. In simple hifi terms 'POWERRR'.

Cheers
Yas

[bigburner]

Why Are All British Amps Underpowered And Weedy Sounding?

I think you'll find it's a requirement enshrined in Magna Carta to protect the rights of the king's subjects, whether free or fettered, to be protected from excessively loud music.

For you homies who didn't study the history of England at school, Magna Carta is an English charter issued in 1215 that has subsequently influenced many common law and other documents, such as the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.

By the way Yas, have you visited www.allmusic.com as I suggested in this thread http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...92#post369492?

[Yasvanth]

Hi Bigburner,

I did visit the allmusic.com site, and I found it very useful.

P.S What has the Magna Carta got do with British amps being underpowered?

Well except for Musical Fidelitly of course. I can't thing of any other British amp manufacturer that takes power so seriously. Can you?

Happy Listening

Yas

[george_k]

Underpowered? At comparable price points Naim comes to mind (50-90 watt offerings) but they aren't weedy sounding.

[Briz vegas]

HI Yas,
"Weedy" is a first for me. Can you describe what this term means in detail? I don't have a clue about what you are talking about.

Thanks, Sparky

blip plop little weeeeeeeeeeeed!

next thing you know you will say you have never heard of Bill and Ben the flower pot men. :roll:

What I don't get it why Bill and Ben were on such good terms with Weed. After all don't weeds take over flower pots.

I love the way the internet audience is occasionally confused by lesser known phrases that we assume everyone knows. Weedy is well known in Australia and NZ also.

[Karma]

blip plop little weeeeeeeeeeeed!

next thing you know you will say you have never heard of Bill and Ben the flower pot men. :roll:

What I don't get it why Bill and Ben were on such good terms with Weed. After all don't weeds take over flower pots.

I love the way the internet audience is occasionally confused by lesser known phrases that we assume everyone knows. Weedy is well known in Australia and NZ also.

HI Briz,
No, never heard of Bill and Ben. Do they make ice cream?

Don't you know that it is the responsibility of the rest of the world to learn American Englsh and not the other way around?

How else can we be civilized? :rofl:

Sparky

[Yasvanth]

Do they show Bill and Ben in New Mexico?

[valvesnvinylfan]

Weedy British amps...

I've heard that the reason why British amps sound under-powered is due to people in the UK having smaller living spaces in general, hence the need for less power and choosing instead to focus more on sound quality per dollar (or, per pound as it were). And while I hate to lump every Brit together with that one general statement, I can only assume this is the reason why some legendary but inefficient British speakers, a la the LS3/5a, seem to love the modestly-powered but very musical Brit-integrateds they're often partnered with over there. Having said that, I do own an Exposure 2010s that is rated for 75 wpc but really does sound much more muscular and powerful than that. :T

[neil_wong]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I am from singapore. I owned a MF Dr thomas preamp and power amp. However, one channel of my power amp is not not working - emitting sounds like fire-crackers. I have tried several technicians to repair it but to no avail.

Can any kind persons out there has any solutions to the problem?

Regards, Neil

[Lex]

Weedy huh? weak huh?

Sounds like it's ready for service there Neil, tough break.

[Hamblis]

Hi

I Have Listened To Many British Amps At My Hifi Dealers, And I Always Find That The Are Underpowered And Lack That Big Powerful Sound Except For Musical Fidelity Amps, But They Do Have Great Speed And Detail.

Yas

I don't think that British amps are generally weedy or underpowered. Many are designed for speakers with high sensitivity where the quality of the first few watts is more important than outright power. My impression is that Naim make amps with high current output rather than high wattage and I'd be really surprised if a well matched Naim based system sounded thin or weedy.

In addition to Musical Fidelity, Chord make high powered amps, as do Meridian. I have a Meridian 559 which is 300 watts per channel dual mono design and I would need to step up to products like Chord, Simaudio Moon monoblocs, Ayre MX-R's or Karan, etc., to better it.