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Please tutor me on some integrated amp basics.

I’ve recently purchased Magico A3 speakers and a VPI Classic 2 SE turntable with an Ortofon Black 2M moving magnet cartridge. I have a Marantz SA 8005 CD/SACD player to play the few (maybe a hundred or so) CD’s in my possession.
I’ve mostly vinyl albums and no streaming sources. I’m next going to upgrade my old amp/preamp purchased back in the late 70’s with a new, probably integrated, one and am starting to do some research.

Here’s where I need some tutoring. A lot has changed since the seventies with the advent of digital technology. As well as I need to learn more about amplification components in the high end of audio technology. I keep running across terms I don’t understand. I’ll give you a list and if someone would be kind enough to explain these basics I’d be obliged.

For instance I was reading about the Hegel H360 integrated amp that Magico’s Alon Wolf recommended for their A3’s. The review mentioned they were a Class A/B amp, another person commented Class A’s were better, and a third person said he didn’t care for Class D amps. What do these classes signify? 

A second question is about DACs. I generally understand their purpose of the DAC, converting a digital to an analog signal. However my only digital device, the Marantz SA 8005 already has a DAC, ostensibly of good quality. The turntable ’s Ortofon cartridge would not need to play through a DAC, I presume. Would I bypass the CD’s players DAC if I purchase the higher quality Hegel H360 integrated amp?. Or could I find an equivalent integrated amp without an integral DAC?

On the other side of the equation I understand the turntable’s cartridge cannot play through the Hegel without first going through a phono stage. My old Phase Linear 4000 preamp you just plugged the turntables RCA cables into the back of the preamp and you were done. What’s that about? Do they make equivalent integrated amps to the Hegel H360 with integrated phono stages already in place, so I can just plug my turntable in as I’ve been able to do before. The amps don’t seem to be well integrated at all if you have to add a pricey phono stage to make them work, and end up having an extra DAC. That’s just me whining.

Third question is what are monoblocks, how are they used, and what are their advantages to a system? They were used at one of my speaker auditions.

I figured out the answer to what amplifier damping was myself, so I’m sparing you that one, but what does the term impedance mean? I keep coming across that.

Thank goodness I don’t have to figure out the cabling nightmare yet. Thanks for any help.

Mike
skyscraper
skyscraper OP
829 posts
 
Inna,I will be contacting again the Magico rep who does their demos at shows to find out what cables they use there. I'd only use Bluejeans as an interim measure before investing in expensive cables and interconnects.  

I did read your post on record cleaning on my other thread. I did reply to it and the previous poster's, but must have neglected to hit the green "Post Your Response" button. I just went ahead and retyped my reply there. 

Builder, thanks for the recommend on the Silversonics. I'll look them up. I do have to figure what a good baseline standard should be. 

Mike
skyscraper OP
829 posts
 
Geek,, I quite likely will be finding out how good they are, until I find out more about,or purchase, some of the big (i.e, expensive) boys.. Hopefully they’ll be a pleasant surprise.

Mike
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Geoff, I’d appreciate if you didn’t head my thread off in a related, but different direction, while I’m trying to figure this out with your and other’s valued advice. Are there any $1000+ cables you’d consider to be a sure bet and should be on my short list? Preferably ones by not too esoteric a manufacturer with a a decent track record? I read your thoughts on cryogenic treatment of cables, and had read some others who passed this off as gimmickry. Not to focus on cryogenics, I’m curious what aspects of cable design you’d recommend I should avoid as gimmicks and what might be legitimate design factors to look for. I really have no way of knowing what’s legitimate design or manufacturing practices, and what’s not, and opinions on the internet are all over the place. I am trying to learn though, best I can by asking questions. Thanks for your advice,

>>>Almost all high end cable manufacturers cryo their cables, otherwise they could not compete in the high end marketplace. It’s not a gimmick. I was one of the very first to explore cryogenics for audio applications twenty years ago. Of those companies with a range of prices for cables, including modest cost cables, I’d suggest Audioquest, Shunyata, Anti Cables and other progressive cable companies. Most enlightened cable companies control directionality during the manufacturing process. Good luck in your quest.

Geoff Kait
Machina Dynamica
Advanced Audio Concepts
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
Mike, PLEASE read Galen Gareis' articles on PSAudio. These articles are as good a primer as you're likely to find. Although Gareis works for Belden, he's not grinding their axe.

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-1/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-2/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-3/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-xlr-interconnect-design/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-speaker-cable-design-part-1/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-speaker-cable-design-part-2/

6 9's of the verbiage on some cable manufacturer's sites is only suitable for lining birdcages. From an engineering perspective, many cables are akin to holy jeans: Fashion Over Function

Cables [and connectors] are part of the circuit that connects amplifier to loudspeaker.

Different amplifier, different cable, different speaker ALL SOUND DIFFERENT! Add in source and room distortions and the probability of predicting performance is VANISHINGLY SMALL!

IMO, many manufacturers are preying on the ignorance and insecurity of a well-heeled market. Nearly 30 years ago Ken Kantor opined "Contribution pricing is useful when production runs are smaller, and sales lower. In this scenario, materials cost is not the driving factor. Rather, the manufacturer uses their sales level and overhead to determine how much a product has to sell for to be worth making. This is an iterative process, as sales volume and price are interrelated."

Since you mentioned Nordost, their speaker cables are distinctive and eye-catching. From an electrical perspective, not too brilliant as they maximize rather than minimize inductance, the last thing most engineers would want in a speaker cable. They do have a 'sound' and the listener is told that it is an improvement, which it may very well be with the system on demo. The probability of the same improvement on a likely very different system is vanishing small, hence "They need [5 - 50 - 500] hours to burn in." Balderdash!
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Excellent name dropping of people nobody’s ever heard of. 😬
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