Ed, This is not a bad pre-amp, used they can go for about $800. It's class A throughout and sounds best with an after market power cord. I got great results with a Synergistic Master coupler. I had Musical Concepts modify mine with black-gate caps. I don't use vinyl but it has a pretty versatile built in phono section. I believe this has always been an underated unit. Like you, I've never seen reviews on the CA-7 or PA-7. If you're on a tight budget I don't think you can go wrong. I also had good luck with Audioquest Lapis and Diamond interconnects. Hope this helps. hifigy kioa933@aol.com
7 responses Add your response
Ed, I bought one of the CA-5 preamps new in 1985. This was at the time Nakamichi was receiving technical advice from Nelson Pass at Threshold. It's pretty decent pre-amp for it's price back then, about $520 street price. The CA-7 is a much better pre-amp. The Nakamich PA-7 amp was pretty decent for its time also. |
@bigpowell what will you upgrade to? I have an APT Holman that is dead quiet and bested many pre units costing thousands: Odyssey Tempest, for instance. I've been thinking of restoring it but wondering if it's easier to get a newer unit Happy Holidays, Doug |
I have a PA-7A MKII amp and a CA-7A pre. Both were made in 1990 and I bought them in 1998. The CA-7A comes with a remote which I highly recommend; the source buttons break easily and have to be glued back on when pressed manually. The only other well known issue is the balance control losing left or right channel when in the center position. Performance wise... it's simply top notch with a world class phono section for both MM and MC. It has 2 toroidal transformers, no they're not for left & right channels, but rather one is for line input and the other for the phono; of course they do have L/R windings in the transformers.. The only electrolytics are for the power supplies, everything else uses film caps. Quality of the case, boards and what's on them is and was the best available. Internally it has trim pots to adjust L/R line, MM and MC to factory spec. It also has adjustable capacitance for MM carts, adjustable gain for MC carts with a preset 100 ohm load (which can be adjusted internally).
Highly recommended. |