Info on Cambridge Audio amps please

Hairybaws

New Member
Hi Folks

I have just acquired, when clearing a relatives home, some Cambridge audio equipment which looks to have been pretty serious kit.
I haven't even had the chance to set it up and test it yet but would really appreciate any info/opinions. I'm not even sure if my current speakers would be suitable. (They're a nice set of celestion ditton 33s so don't want to knacker them!)
The amps are C75 pre and a pair of A250 power amps.
I have the specifations which I can post if required .

Thanks in anticipation
 
I've got an integrated, tuner, and CD player, roughly contemporary to your separates. I like them a lot. Never runs out of gas, when I push them a bit, 65 wpc compared to your 200wpc amps. I'd expect some pretty good synergy with your Celestions. I'm running a pair of Tangent RS4s, myself, and I've always been happy with them.
 
Are the speakers these? :
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/celestion/ditton-33.shtml

Type: 3 way, 3 driver loudspeaker system

Frequency Response: 58Hz to 20kHz

Recommended Amplifier: 20 to 100W

Crossover Frequency: 3000, 8000Hz

Impedance: 8Ω

Sensitivity: 87dB


They appear to be fairly efficient. You could not drive them well with (less) than 20 watts but up to 100, would imply they are fairly stout! To little power, driving an amp ... "Clipping" kills more speakers than to much power does. It sounds like the A 250's if 250 is indeed watts??? Is wayyyy more power than you "need!" But ... if you exercise some kinda "common sense." :)

The combo can live happily together for years! The Amp/s are pretty much just gonna loaf along, that's not a bad thing. :)
 
I expect the OP is looking for info other than the specs - how they sound, reliability, issues to watch out for, etc.?

Doesn't seem to be a real common amp, the A-250. Built around 1990 but I am not seeing any results at AK when searching "Cambridge A250" (or "A-250").

I would love to run across a pair and try em out!

Edit: crossposted with the above post so: 87 db is not sensitive at all and so the 33s are power hungry speakers and will love the power available from the 250s. Just take it easy at first and get a feel for the system. I think you will be happy.
 
Many thanks for the replies so far. I bow to the superior knowledge you guys have, I don't have great knowledge of electronics so the specs don't mean so much!
I've also never had a lot of cash to get higher end audio equipment but have picked up some ok second hand stuff.
I have been using a Nikko TRM-750 amp which admittedly gives a pleasing sound with the ditton 33s but guess that the Cambridge audio ones would be a big step up in quality?
Yes chip18sw that's the very speakers & I've found at lower volumes with the Nikko amp they come & go a bit. I know 250w is a tad excessive & I'm not looking for crazy volumes but would it be correct to say that the more powerful amps will drive these speakers better at low volume?
Yes Toxcrusadr, I couldn't really find any info online and wondered if it hadn't been a great seller at the time. I found one article from 1986 saying the A250 was the pride & joy of designer Stan Curtis & at the time sold for £700 per pair!
 
Often happens with older gear that came out pre Internet, and if it wasnt' made in large numbers there isn't much incentive for people to post about it now either.

Whether they will sound better than your Nikko only you can tell. Often there is more to it than the few specs we usually look at. There is sometimes a synergy between pieces of gear that is impossible to predict. But I suspect it will sound pretty good.
 
Was there speakers with the electronics? Let us know your thoughts once you get things hooked up and give it all a listen.
 
There wasn't speakers imral3 just a pair of empty stands! Someone beat me to it, I bet he had good ones though.
Found an old ebay listing as follows ...


CAMBRIDGE AUDIO A250 MONOBLOCK'S

WORK DONE WITHOUT GETTING INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL:
ALL COMPONENTS CHECKED

OPAMP POWER CAPS REPLACED WITH PANASONIC FC
OPAMP AUDIO PATH INPUT CAP AUDIOPHILER POLYPROPYLENE
AUDIO OUTPUT CAPS REPLACED WITH NICHICON MUSE BYPASSED WITH WIMA
OTHER POWER CAPS REPLACED WITH PANASONIC FC
OUTPUT TERMINALS REPLACED WITH GOLD PLATED VERSION
BIAS POTS REPLACED WITH BOURNS
CHANNELS BALANCED
NEW PADS AND THERMAL GREASE APPLIED TO TRANSISTORS


THESE AMPS ARE VERY VERY RARE AND IN PRETTY MUCH DUE TO AGE EXCELLENT CONDITION. STAN CURTIS LATE 80'S DESIGN. 2 MASSIVE TOROIDAL TRANSFORMERS PER MONO BLOCK. YOU WILL FIND LITTLE TO NO INFORMATION ON THE NET BUT THE DESIGNER WAS WELL RESPECTED. THIS WAS BEFORE CAMBRIDGE AUDIO WENT BUDGET.

ALL OLD CAPS WERE REPLACED AND UPGRADED TO AN AUDIOPHILE GRADE. A LOT OF WORK WAS DONE TO COOL AND BALANCE THE CHANNELS. OUTPUT TERMINALS REPLACED WITH SOMETHING THAT ALLOWS BANANA PLUGS AND IS GOLD PLATED.

ALTHOUGH THE MODEL SUGGESTS 250 WATTS I WOULD ESTIMATE IT TO BE MORE 150 WATTS AS ITS BASED ON THE STEREO A75 VERSION WHICH IS 75 WATTS BUT IT PACKS A REAL PUNCH PLENTY OF POWER IN RESERVE. THE CAPACITANCE PER AMP IS 27,000UF!


THE SOUND IS AS YOU WOULD EXPECT. IN ANOTHER LEAGUE! EXCELLENT STEREO IMAGING. BASS, MID, TREBLE ALL ON POINT. I WOULD REALLY RECOMMEND A TUBE PRE WITH THIS BUT ANYTHING HIGH QUALITY WILL WORK OBVIOUSLY JUST MAKE SURE ITS QUALITY LIKE THE MONO BLOCKS. I HAD THIS DIRECTLY HOOKED UP TO MY MODDED MISSION DAC5 AND COMPUTER AND FOUND THE MID UPPER TREBLE DETAIL UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAVE HEARD BEFORE. CLARITY IS JUST AMAZING VERY PRECISE EVERY INSTRUMENT IS HEARD CLEARLY. BASS TEXTURE IS GREAT AND QUITE NEUTRAL. I WOULD SAY THE BASS IS MORE ON THE SOFTER SIDE RATHER THAN BOOMY. REAL ENJOYABLE LISTEN VERY EASY ON THE EARS LOVE THE DETAIL AND CLARITY!

DUE TO THE MONO BLOCK DESIGN THE OUTPUT IS FULLY FLOATING WHICH MEANS THE CHASSIS SHOULD NOT TOUCH ANY SPEAKER TERMINALS OR OTHER GROUNDS (METAL UNITS, AMPS, CD PLAYERS) THERE IS A SMALL THUD ON START UP BUT THIS IS PRETTY NORMAL. AND FOR PROTECTION THERE IS FUSES INSIDE. THESE FEATURES ARE PRETTY STANDARD ON OLD AMPS HENCE THE QUALITY THEY PRODUCE! TO MATCH IN MODERN AMPS ONE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND DOUBLE OR TRIPLE THE PRICE!

BEATS EVERYTHING ELSE I OWN IN TERMS OF CLARITY AND MID UPPER RANGE. REALLY SPARKLES! AND I OWN A LOT OF AMPS!

START UP PROCEDURE AS WITH ANY POWER AMP IS SOURCE ON FIRST THEN PREAMP THEN POWER AMPS.
 
I'll make some time to get them set up soon & see how it goes. If they show real promise but need work perhaps you folk can recommend somebody.
My local expert in Ayrshire Bill Millar retired some years ago.
 
Thanks Dazaa...I hope so.

I've had quite a few amps designed by Stan Curtis and can confidently say that they all sounded very nice. Your amps are typically British and pretty high end. Celestion 33's are amazing speakers too, had a few pairs and they never disappoint.
 
Well folks, finally got some time (without kids & other such distractions) to set up these amps & unfortunately it was rather an anticlimax!! I'd been looking forward to potentially my best audio experience to date but never mind.... hopefully they can be salvaged.
I don't know whether there's been damage due to poor storage (they were in a loft unboxed) or failure of internal components.
I bought all new decent cables so connections should be all good
All 3 units power up fine, one of the power amps produces a quiet, low hum (what I'd consider normal) and the other a pretty loud abnormal hum (from the unit not the speakers).
Once playing some music, a CD, sound from one speaker was very promising, the other pretty raucous yet muffled and cutting in and out.
Switching both on produced a rather alarming pop through the speakers (would it be safer to instal speaker on/off switches too for this kind of equipment?)
As ever any suggestions of how best to proceed would be welcome. Basically I have good practical skills, all the tools but sadly electronics other than the very basics is beyond my capability .
 
If you don't get advice soon here, you might head over to the Solid State forum where a lot of technical types hang out, put the make/model in the subject line, and post the above description of the issues.

Possibly just some corroded relays, dirty input jacks, volume controls, etc. that are not too difficult to fix.
 
May just need a good deoxit cleaning. That's step one, anyway.

I have a small form factor Cambridge Audio receiver that sounds really good. I like your chances of transforming your CA gear into something pretty special.
 
Thanks musichal, all advice appreciated. I'm totally comfortable with opening them up & following any cleaning/diagnostic instruction, I wouldn't tinker beyond my experience level.
If there was really obvious bulging caps for instance I'd probably be ok for changing them and I have a decent multimeter. I wish I'd actually studied electronics as it does fascinate me.
 
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