Sugden A21 integrated amp gain

To Saab and all Sugden A21 owners:

I know Saab has a Sugden CD21 connected to a A21 integrated amp. I have a Naim CD5 (to be replaced with a Meridian 507 soon) connected to the same amp. What I found is that the gain from the CD5 is far too high for the Sugden. The A21 has a sensitivity of 150mV for its full output. I am only using a tiny portion of the volumn control. I have owned older Naim preamps such as 32.5,72, and 82 in the past with the same problem, the gain is too high for CD players. Most people don't like the sound of Naim's variable sensitivity boards, but using the straight through boards, the volume control can only be used with a limited range.

I will probably make a pair of DIY interconnects with attenuation (10K and 33K resistors as potential dividers) to attenuate the standard 2V output from CD players. I don't want to spend 40 pounds on a pair of Rothwell attenuators with 10dB attenuation.

What is your experience with the high gain of the Sugden A21 and what have you done to reduce the sensitivity?

Many thanks.

Regards
Hon

 

I used 86bd speakers and cranked it up

sorry,don't really know,what does it sound like? If its great,does it matter if the volume nob doesn't move much? I go to 11oclock with the missus out,and 9 oclock will usually get me a bollocking if she wants to read,how does that compare to the CD5?

not an obvious match though

 

Hi Saab

Strange but true, the Naim CD5 has a mellow sound and it matches the Sugden A21 very well in my opinion! I never got on with the sound from my previous ATC Active 10/CA2 pre with the Naim CD5, being very dull and lifeless. I will receive a Meridian 507 CD player tomorrow, so I will leave the flat earth Naim planet completely!

I am concerned about the 2V output from the CD player connected to the Sugden A21. Sometimes, I can hear "distorting" high frequency from the tweeters. These two days, I connected two 25K log potentiometers set at 5K on the output between the Naim CD5 and the A21. I can use a larger range of the A21's volume control and whether it is pure psychological or not, the distortion seems to have gone. The sound is also more natural.

The original owner of my Sugden A21 recommended a pair of Rothwell attenuators, but I don't want to pay 40 pounds for two resistors and some phono connectors. In the next few weeks, I will replace the potentiometers with fixed value resistors soldered to a pair of DIY interconnects and find out what it sounds like.

Regards
Hon

 

I have tried to like Naim and just can't live with them,although I can understand why some do,just not my cuppa

good luck,and report back,would be interesting to find out what happens