Hi there. This is my first (introductory) post on the forum. I bought a 2nd hand UK integrated amplifier on ebay more than 10 years ago. It was probably 10-15 years old when I bought it. The amp was an AudioLab 8000a and it served me well for more than 10 years.
About 6 months ago one of the channels failed and I rather rashly decided I was going to invest in some brand new HiFi.
As I had been so pleased with the 8000a, following some research, I bought an AudioLab 8200CDQ which is a versatile bit of kit comprising a CD transport, DAC and Preamplifier. I also bought an AudioLab 8200P power amp (100WPC). I have not been completely happy with the new set up and feel that is does not have the same musicality of my original 8000a. It is quite hard to put a finger on exactly what the problem is. However an annoying hum comes from the 8200P when you first switch it on or when there is no signal through it. So I started casting around for an amplifier that was renowned for it's quietness. This led me to Digital Amplifier Company and the Maraschino Cherries
http://www.cherryamp.com/. I have backed their kickstarter DAC DAC project, primarily as a means to securing a pair of Cherries at a discounted rate. I am also very interested to compare the DAC DAC to my current 8200CDQ. This is a a bit of a gamble on my part as I live in the UK and it is completely unpractical for me to demo the kit before buying it. However I really liked the fact that the amplifiers were "different". I couldn't find anything else like them in my search with such good specifications at the same price point. Also they got some excellent reviews from a number of people in the industry and the fact that the low noise level was a significant selling point appealed to me. I did find these
http://www.iqspeakers.co.uk/#!product-page/onbar/bfe0ee46-2cc1-e9a7-c90a-76f5145d09cd after committing to the Maraschinos which have similar specs at a similar price point but aesthetically (and that is important to me) they don't quite do it for me!
I am a member of the AVForums website
https://www.avforums.com/ and fairly regularly contribute to it but when I posted on there asking people's opinions and views on the Maraschinos I got no response. Digital Amplifier Company are active contributors on this forum, and use it to publish information about new products (I have received emails from them with links to posts on this forum). I reckoned that I was more likely to find other users of their kit here so it made sense to join up.
I need to spend a little time now to find my way around the forum. Looking forward to reading interesting posts, views and opinions on here! Also very interested in peoples experiences with different types of kit.
