S Basu wrote:

Hiiii Members,

I am new in this forum. Let me introduce myself on my little set up of pue stereo music.

Speaker: Focal Chorus 706s
CD Player: Marantz CD 5005
DAC: Maverick Tube Magic
Amplifier: NAD 326BEE (Already sold)

Recently I sold my amplifier NAD 326BEE reason lack of detailing some of song. The sound is muddy. Want to upgrade some amp as follows;

1. Naim Nait 5i
2. Exposure 2010
3. Quad 606
4. Arcam FMJ 19

I have no option to audition, this shortlisted amplifier in personal choice according to review. Kindly share your experience. If other amplifier have your personal choice plz express. I am in Indian so amp should available in India.

The Exposure and Arcam amplifiers are amplifiers I can recommend. I have less experience with that others.

Another one I would recommend is the Musical Fidelity M3si amplifier.

As for the 326BEE sounding "muddy", that seems strange. It is not as detailed as the Arcam or Exposure, but muddy? It is fairly good.

I wonder if your DAC is not at fault, but without knowing how you are connecting it in your system I can't comment very much.

If you are using the DAC between the CD player and amp, I would advise you to NOT do this. I think you should connect the CD50005 analog outputs directly to your amplifier for best audio quality.