Qute and a power amp

Posted by: QoS on 09 January 2012

Hi everyone,
Have you tried the Qute+power amp? Which have peserved the sound quality among the ones you have tried?
I have hooked up the Qute with my Adcom gfa7500, I have heard no improvement in the power and Inhave noticed a sensible quality decrease in the sound.
Posted on: 09 January 2012 by 0rangutan

I have tried mine with Sugden, Bel Canto and Linn power amps, before settling on a NAP200 and finally a NAP140.  All sounded great, the Naim amps being the best sound match (understandably) and also providing the extra low level control that I was after.

Posted on: 09 January 2012 by Bruce Woodhouse

I added a very old s/h NAP 250 to my Qute nSub/nSat system and extremely impressed. Better at low and high volumes. I felt it really freed up the speakers. Absolutely would not go back.

 

Bruve

Posted on: 09 January 2012 by RaceTripper
Originally Posted by Bruce Woodhouse:

I added a very old s/h NAP 250 to my Qute nSub/nSat system and extremely impressed. Better at low and high volumes. I felt it really freed up the speakers. Absolutely would not go back.

 

Bruve

+1

 

I am using a NAP 250.2 with my Qute. I find lower volumes far more satisfying and higher volumes have a lot more grunt and grip, especially in the bass. Better detail throughout at all volume levels.

 

I will be adding a NAC202/HiCap2/NAPSC this year at which point eh Qute will serve just as a digital input for streaming, etc.

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by QoS
Thank everyone for the inputs, you are confirming my impression that it should improve the sound at lower volume giving more dynamic.
I'll start with a basic config using the Nait5i as amp and the Qute as preamp as I have a 5i.
Then i'll start looking for a used Nap.
Posted on: 10 January 2012 by Tog
Nap 200 - changed far more than just the highs and lows for me - fantastic

Tog
Posted on: 10 January 2012 by Clay Bingham

Honestly, I have never understood why anyone would want to add a bigger amp to an elegant one box solution. Change speakers to something more efficient and full range, maybe. Add an amp, I just don't see it. But I have a NAP 200 recently made redundant by a 250.2 . I'll just have to see what all the fuss is about as plenty of you are making the change. Sometimes there is benefit to being faster on the buying end of the equation than on the selling end!!!

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by RaceTripper
Originally Posted by Clay Bingham:

Honestly, I have never understood why anyone would want to add a bigger amp to an elegant one box solution. Change speakers to something more efficient and full range, maybe. Add an amp, I just don't see it. But I have a NAP 200 recently made redundant by a 250.2 . I'll just have to see what all the fuss is about as plenty of you are making the change. Sometimes there is benefit to being faster on the buying end of the equation than on the selling end!!!

OK. Why is changing speakers a better solution than adding an amp???

 

That is a very confusing claim/statement to make, especially if one is very happy with the sound and setup of speakers, but merely wants to play them louder and better.

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by Clay Bingham
Originally Posted by RaceTripper:
Originally Posted by Clay Bingham:

Honestly, I have never understood why anyone would want to add a bigger amp to an elegant one box solution. Change speakers to something more efficient and full range, maybe. Add an amp, I just don't see it. But I have a NAP 200 recently made redundant by a 250.2 . I'll just have to see what all the fuss is about as plenty of you are making the change. Sometimes there is benefit to being faster on the buying end of the equation than on the selling end!!!

OK. Why is changing speakers a better solution than adding an amp???

 

That is a very confusing claim/statement to make, especially if one is very happy with the sound and setup of speakers, but merely wants to play them louder and better.

Retaining the single box just seems the simpler solution which is presumably why the UnitiQute  alternative was selected in the first place. If more power was needed, the Uniti would have seemed the way to go at the time of purchase and, of course, now there is the Superuniti as an even more powerful single box alternative. I have several boxes in my system. In my old age I guess I'm just growing to appreciate the beauty and elegance of the simple solution. There are some excellent examples of simple elegance in the System Pics 2012 thread. Individual choice as always.

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by RaceTripper
Originally Posted by Clay Bingham:
...Individual choice as always.

Yes, choice indeed. I chose to an external amp to my Qute, and it made all the sense in the world. Not for you, but for me. I would have been crazy to get rid of my beautiful Dynaudio Contours for something more efficient. Now they really sound terrific. 

 

As it is I started my system with a Qute, not for simplicity, but for the price point. I also considered the Nait XS, but the Qute sounds better, so that's what I got.