General Asylum: REVIEW: Nakamichi PA-5 Amplifier (SS) by Neville

I drove to Phoenix and got a chance to listen to this model along with the ATI AT1505 (see review). I also reviewed the Sherbourn 5/1500 today (see review) and the Sherbourn can't hold up to either the ATI or the Nakamichi. The set up was as follows

Setup
ARCAM Alpha 7 CD
Rotel pre amp
Audioquest ruby interconnects
B&W 603 speakers.

I started out listening to some Jewel "Adrian" and the sound was just wonderful. Full of life, great depth and lot of air in the vocals. I then went on to listen to some Rush "Xandu" and the intro was right on. All the detail was there, the windchimes rang, and the chirping birds a had lots of depth. I wish I could have auditioned this amp longer, but the store was getting ready to close. Knowing that I wouldn't be buying today and decided not to keep them there. The main thing I notice about this amp compared to the ATI and Sherbourn, was that the base seemed to be a lot tighter and quicker then the others. I also noticed that all though it had a good sound stage it seemed that the amp was more detailed than deep.

If given my personal choice between this and the ATI, my first instinct is with the ATI. Better warranty and build quality seemed superior. However, I think I would need to give these two a listen again before I can say for sure which one I prefer. Both sounded very nice.

REVIEW: Nakamichi PA-5 Amplifier (SS) Review by Neville at Audio Asylum