Just entertained a contender to the throne...

Dr. Z · 15-02-2007, 21:04

For a while now my NAD C272 has been growing in confidence as my power amp sitting atop my hifi stack. Today I was offered the chance of borrowing an amp that did interest me at the time I bought the NAD, namely a Tag McLaren F3 60P.

First impressions count, and the unit looks damn good compared to the NAD. Sexy slimline black design, damn heavy (but only slightly more than the NAD, owing to the fact the Tag is dual mono) and with a cool single blue LED on the left. The power button sucked a bit though.

After connecting it to my tried-and-tested Musical Fidelity A3 preamp, I powered it on and made myself a drink while I waited for it to heat up a bit. I had a few tracks queued up to put it through its paces.

Straight off the mark it revealed itself to be bright and very, very analytical. It was quite critical of my (lame) cdp and the speakers probably didnt help - some rather impressive for their size ATC SC7s. I listened through some Natasha Bedingfield, Pendulum, Dido, Metallica and Infected Mushroom before swapping back to the NAD...

The differences were quite stark. The NAD at 150wpc into 8 ohms (70A into 1ohm) is far and away the most powerful of the two (the Tag clocks in at 60wpc and 40A into 1ohm) and it really, really shows in the music. The NAD takes the music and really drives it out the speakers - the result is that the music isnt quite as detailed in the top end but is much, much more fun to listen to and the low end is far more composed owing to the vast difference in current. To put it into terms 9designs2 will love, my foot wasnt tapping for the Tag, but it was for the NAD

The Tag's lack of power really let it down in areas other than low frequencies too - At anything above 1/3 of the way round the dial the F3 just lost all cohesion. In fact, it was so pronounced I could make it lose all control of the treble with a 1mm movement of the dial and restore its composure by moving it back. This is probably down to trickery with the transistor inside but it was truly, truly horrible to listen to past that point.

Moving the amps over to the easier to drive at normal volumes but much harder at higher level Mission M35i loudspeakers, the differences were even more pronounced. At "normal" listening levels the NAD is punchier and more in control of what is going on but lacking in that very fine detail the Tag really brings out (at the expense of musicality) but at anything pushing the envelope the NAD really pulls away and leaves the Tag wheezing from the sidelines.

For now, the Tag has been handed back to its owner (who incidentally agreed with my opinions after hearing the NAD) and the NAD retains its place to fight for its position another day. Considering the Tag cost over double what the NAD did when new, I am quite happy

15-02-2007, 21:04	#1
Dr. Z I'm going for a scuttle... Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,021	Just entertained a contender to the throne... For a while now my NAD C272 has been growing in confidence as my power amp sitting atop my hifi stack. Today I was offered the chance of borrowing an amp that did interest me at the time I bought the NAD, namely a Tag McLaren F3 60P. First impressions count, and the unit looks damn good compared to the NAD. Sexy slimline black design, damn heavy (but only slightly more than the NAD, owing to the fact the Tag is dual mono) and with a cool single blue LED on the left. The power button sucked a bit though. After connecting it to my tried-and-tested Musical Fidelity A3 preamp, I powered it on and made myself a drink while I waited for it to heat up a bit. I had a few tracks queued up to put it through its paces. Straight off the mark it revealed itself to be bright and very, very analytical. It was quite critical of my (lame) cdp and the speakers probably didnt help - some rather impressive for their size ATC SC7s. I listened through some Natasha Bedingfield, Pendulum, Dido, Metallica and Infected Mushroom before swapping back to the NAD... The differences were quite stark. The NAD at 150wpc into 8 ohms (70A into 1ohm) is far and away the most powerful of the two (the Tag clocks in at 60wpc and 40A into 1ohm) and it really, really shows in the music. The NAD takes the music and really drives it out the speakers - the result is that the music isnt quite as detailed in the top end but is much, much more fun to listen to and the low end is far more composed owing to the vast difference in current. To put it into terms 9designs2 will love, my foot wasnt tapping for the Tag, but it was for the NAD The Tag's lack of power really let it down in areas other than low frequencies too - At anything above 1/3 of the way round the dial the F3 just lost all cohesion. In fact, it was so pronounced I could make it lose all control of the treble with a 1mm movement of the dial and restore its composure by moving it back. This is probably down to trickery with the transistor inside but it was truly, truly horrible to listen to past that point. Moving the amps over to the easier to drive at normal volumes but much harder at higher level Mission M35i loudspeakers, the differences were even more pronounced. At "normal" listening levels the NAD is punchier and more in control of what is going on but lacking in that very fine detail the Tag really brings out (at the expense of musicality) but at anything pushing the envelope the NAD really pulls away and leaves the Tag wheezing from the sidelines. For now, the Tag has been handed back to its owner (who incidentally agreed with my opinions after hearing the NAD) and the NAD retains its place to fight for its position another day. Considering the Tag cost over double what the NAD did when new, I am quite happy __________________