32.5/110 to 72/140 - Should I do it?

Posted by: Stephen Bennett on 03 July 2001

Hi all.

I've been offered a 72/140 'second gen' for a good price. Its recently serviced & from a dealer. Is this going to be that much better than my 32.5/110 silver end combo with thru cards? Would I be better off getting my 32.5 '72'ed' and buying lots of CD's & LPS? I will of course buy the Hi-cap involved anyhow and have a listen with my CD3.5 (back from Naim soon!) and Intro IIs.

What do you lot think a good price for a 32.5/110 would be?

Regards

Stephen

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Mike Hanson
Yes, a 72 is better than a 32.5, and a 140 is better than a 110. However, these upgrades will not seem as big as adding the Hi-Cap to the 32.5. I would do that step first, and then decided whether you want more. My own feeling is that you are better to jump further from your current position. Probably best would be an 82, when you can find one used that you can afford.

I recently moved to a house, so all of my gear was boxed up. To listen to tunes, I hacked together my office system (Cambridge CD6/32.5/SNAPS/110/RoydMerlins). This is actually a nicely balanced system, and does a good job of entertaining me while I work.

Just for fun I replaced the CD6 with my CDX, and the difference was significant, seeming much more "real" in comparison. Then I replaced the 32.5 with the 82, and the system really opened up. Anyone who says that the 82 needs two Hi-Caps to sound good is full of it. Even with the lowly SNAPS, it was sounding great.

BTW, if that Hi-Cap is your first, I suspect that you will prefer it on your 3.5. Of course, try it both ways and decide for yourself. If you have two supplies, though, then put the better one on the pre-amp.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Mike Hanson
I thought I should clarify my advice, before someone accused me of messing things up. Assuming you're starting with 3.5/32.5/110, your best path is this:

1. Hi-Cap for the 3.5
2. CDX (move the Hi-Cap to the 32.5)
3. XPS for the CDX, or 82 to replace the 32.5 (audition them to see which you prefer)
4. Get the other thing that you didn't get in step #3
5. Come back for more advice wink

My guess is that you'll get the 82 before the XPS, since the improvements offered by both units are comparable, and you can easily find an 82 used.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Stephen Bennett
I was thinking of a 72/110 and I'm now getting a CDX & 82! smile

Thanks for the advice though - I was going to do the hicap audition first. As for a CDX - I haven't even used my 3.5 yet (it was damaged when it was posted to me), so I'll live with that for a while.

I should have said that I mainly listen to vinyl at the moment (Moth record cleaner I love you) using my LP12/RB300/Klyde combo.

Regards

stephen

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
I should have said that I mainly listen to vinyl

If that's the case, then you should put the Hi-Cap on the 32.5, as it will benefit both sources. If you continue listening to vinyl as your primary source, then the 82 comes next. If you ever shift your balance more to the CD end, then start considering the CDX.

In my case I've got a CDS2, and I listen to CDs all of the time. However, I'm just waiting for the delivery of my Rega Planar3 w/Dynavector 10x4mk2, and I'll probably listen to vinyl about 5% of the time. That's why I'm willing to settle for a deck that's decidedly below my CD source. If my listening balance changes, I'll be looking for a better TT.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Steve G
quote:

32.5/110 to 72/140 - Should I do it?

My system was quite similar to yours (3.5/32.5/SNAPS/110/Credos) and my recent replacement of the 110 with a 140 was certainly worth doing - the bass quality in particular has improved a lot. Can't comment on the 72 as I've never tried one in my system. I did recently swap the 32.5 for a 92R and that gave an improvement (especially with vinyl), but only a small one. I've got a 22 pre-amp (yes really!) coming in a few days so I'm going to give that a try as well -should be fun.

By the way SNAPS makes an appreciable difference with both of my pre-amps.

quote:

What do you lot think a good price for a 32.5/110 would be?

I paid £250 for mine used but I think that is towards the low end of the normal price. There is a 32.5 on ebay at the moment which I think is currently at £72 but there is still 5 days to go (the bids have slowed down in the past 2 days).

Regards
Steve

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by Rico
Ensure the 140 is indeed a late one (lets say, series III), with the Naim o/p devices. Early 'new style' 140's still ran the sanken (?) o/p devices as in the early 140. They're still a great amp - just not quite as good.

Rico - all your base are belong to us.

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by ken c
Early 'new style' 140's still ran the sanken (?) o/p devices as in the early 140.

do you know if an early 140 can be converted to series III?

enjoy

ken

Posted on: 03 July 2001 by ken c
FWIW, long time ago, i upgraded from 32/hicap/250/isobariks to 72/hicap/250/Kan I's and never regretted it. OK i was using the 250, but thats further down the hierarchy...

enjoy

ken

Posted on: 04 July 2001 by Robbie
Stephen,

Do it.The 72/140 is a very good combo,but I advice you to add a power supply to the 72.Without it it sounds a little bit brightin the upper regions and also the bass reproduction benefits from the add of a power supply.

Greetings,Rob.

Posted on: 04 July 2001 by Stephen Bennett
friday afternoon should be interesting!

Regards

Stephen

Posted on: 04 July 2001 by Steve G
quote:

David Scott wrote:

Have you had the 32.5 serviced yet? You probably should - send the phono-boards too.

I forget whether you've got the 729 boards?

I haven't had my 32.5 serviced yet and I don't know what boards are in it (I don't think it has any 72 ones as yet).

I've got a spare pre-amp coming soon so I'll probably get the 32.5 serviced and get the 72 boards installed in it within a few months.

Regards
Steve