OK Come Clean, whats in your closet ?

Joe: It was probably a blessing in disguise that Bud's ST-1200 blew up. The 2600 is a far superior sounding amp. Good on you for taking care of him : ) Sean
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Sean, you are right as usual. When I spoke to Bud about how the NAD was working out, he told me he was really very impressed with it. He said it was clearly superior to the B&K, and commented specifically on the dynamic range.

It's pretty impressive that one can pick one up for probably $200 used, proving that you can gain a pretty decent foothold into this hobby no matter what your income is. Personally, I love the fact that the input level controls allow you to run CD direct, and attain a very immediate, powerful sound. No, it isn't the best amplifier I have, but it certainly does a yeoman's job, and the bass is better than any of my tube amps.

When I went through a list of amps I had, Bud jumped all over the NAD, as he told me he was the force behind them in the USA in thea early days based on hearing their stuff in Europe. Since he also uses an NAD turntable and tuner, he does believe in the marque.

Fascinating how the man has provided us with so many of the big (especially, European) brands that we take for granted. Lowther, Quad, Dynaudio, NAD, and the list goes on and on. One person who he went on about that I had no knowledge of a connection is Ray Kimber, he has tremendous respect for and friendship with Ray. Now I finally understand what Ray's inspiration for the DiAural crossover came from.

Joe, 2600's typically sell for about $325-$375. The lowest price i've ever seen one sell for was about $275. Other than that, i wasn't aware of Kimber's connection to Bud, but i guess that after looking back, the crossover design might be more visible in hind-sight. For that matter, i wasn't aware of his "zeal" for NAD gear either. Then again, there's a lot of stuff that i don't know. It seems like i find this out everyday : ) Sean
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Sean, you mean to tell me my amp is worth about 75% more than I thought? WOO HOO!!!

Well, I have to say that I don't have much gear sitting in my closet these days as over the years, I have sold most of my gear as I have upgraded. But needless to say, I do have a couple of pieces sitting around collecting dust in my closet at the moment.

And they are:

a B&K ST-140 Stereo Power Amplifier, a Perreaux SM2 Dual Mono Preamplifier, and an old 80's NAD 4155 Tuner. All of which I have bought used in the late 1980's/early 1990's (none of which I no longer use).

But, I may hold off on that amp for now. When I assemble my next system in my next house, I may pull the B&K out and put it back in service. But that may depend on which route I'll taking at the time though.

--Charles--