This could be a bit of a gamble - Chi-Fi amp

[Mr_Sukebe]

Despite having bought a new power amp not long ago (Quad current dumping one), couldn't resist taking a punt on one of these last night:

Spotted one at a sensible price and fancy trying it out.

Apparently it's based on a design by a group called Lindell, who are a Swedish electronics firm. Looks like Thomas Lindell designed it, outsourced it to China, and they've decided to release a copy (hopefully to the same standards).

Being class A, it'll run hot, and is pretty low powered (not a big deal as I have high efficiency speakers). Based upon what I've read, hoping that it'll be more than a match for the Quad, which itself runs Class A for something like the first 3 watts.

Will report back next week on how it's going.

 

[Dsteviedee]

Tobias Lindell?

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Time for a quick update.
The amp arrived 3 weeks ago. Took about an hour to identify that even with some fairly efficient speakers that it was not going to be able to recreate "concert" level volumes for those times that you fancy having GnR in your lounge (and unhappy neighbors).
At that, I packed it up, ready to be sold on and advertised it on a well known auction site. So nearly the end of the story.

Whilst awaiting a buyer, had this niggling feeling that maybe I'd not been fair to it, so after a week, dug it out again, plumbed it in and gave it another go.
From a far more extensive listen, turns out that whilst it certainly doesn't have the headroom of the Quad QSP I've been using (hardly surprising as the Quad is rated at 140watts/channel, so approx 9db more headroom), but it most certainly doesn't sound bad. Quite the contrary, it's ultra quiet in use, smoother in it's presentation (typical of class A amps) and digs up more information in a lovely natural way.

I spent a week weighing up which one to keep, but was eventually swayed by another detail side by side, also including a Sugden A21 (25watt class A integrated). In short, the Xindak was easily the most transparent of the 3.

So the Quad has gone to a new home and we get to have a lounge heater. Possibly a good time of year for it.