Advice on new amplifier

[Jimmymc50]

Hello.

I'm looking to buy a new amp and just wanted a bit of advice.

I have a Rega RP3 turntable with Focal Chorus 716V floor standing speakers so was wondering if anyone could advise on a quality amp to go with both.

Many thanks,

Jim

 

[Al ears]

Hello.

I'm looking to buy a new amp and just wanted a bit of advice.

I have a Rega RP3 turntable with Focal Chorus 716V floor standing speakers so was wondering if anyone could advise on a quality amp to go with both.

Many thanks,

Jim

What's your budget Jim? Is the turntable your only music source?

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Jimmymc50]

I'm looking at around the £500 mark.

The turntable is the main source however I do have a CD player too.

Also if it's possible for the money i'd like to be able to connect to my iPod or laptop.

cheers

 

[nopiano]

Rega do a nice amp for that money with a nice phono input. But it won't take a laptop.

Neither will the Marantz 6006, but you can plug in an iThing. That too takes your turntable. It's £399.

The NAD D3020 will take your laptop, but has no phono stage. That'll be another £100 or so. Rega make the fono mini that can take on that role. The NAD is £399.

There may be a product that does the lot but one doesn't come to mind. Others may have a better idea!

Good luck with your hunt. (I'd try the Rega Brio for the turntable input quality, and maybe get a Dragonfly to plug the laptop in. )

 

[jjbomber]

I'm looking at around the £500 mark.

The turntable is the main source however I do have a CD player too.

Also if it's possible for the money i'd like to be able to connect to my iPod or laptop.

cheers

Rotel RA-10 at £350 or so. That leaves £150 for cables and an ithingy dock, which others will be able to advise you on.

 

[iMark]

You could audition one of the Yamaha Network receivers like the R-N500 or the brand new R-N602. They come with a very decent phono stage and all the digital inputs you can think of. The R-N602 does Bluetooth, AirPlay, DLNA, WiFi, USB etc.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/rn500/yama-rn500-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/rn602/yama-rn602-blk

 

[thewinelake.]

A decent analogue amp with phono input + a versatile DAC (with usb & spdif input) would seem a logical combination. Very few amps have turntable AND digital inputs, but you might get lucky!

 

[BigH]

Marantz 8005 is now £580. Rega Brio R ex dem is about £400. I would not buy the Marantz 6006, too expensive at the moment, the Marantz 6005 is only about £220. If you can go to £600 you are then into Abrahamsen territory.

 

[thewinelake.]

But Abrahamsen doesn't have turntable input, right?

 

[BigH]

But Abrahamsen doesn't have turntable input, right?

Yes I think you are right.

 

[BigH]

Why can't you connect a laptop?

 

[Al ears]

You could audition one of the Yamaha Network receivers like the R-N500 or the brand new R-N602. They come with a very decent phono stage and all the digital inputs you can think of. The R-N602 does Bluetooth, AirPlay, DLNA, WiFi, USB etc.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/rn500/yama-rn500-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/rn602/yama-rn602-blk

Good call.

 

[gregory]

I've just bought a Yamaha AS 501, phono input and a couple of digital inputs, coax and optical, very happy with it, powerful and the phono stage loses nothing to the Cambridge 651, some don't like it but for the price it ticks all the boxes, I have an RP3 and the Brio is a good call but no digital inputs so an outboard dac is needed, more expense, there are some deals to be had, as a lot of new stuff is coming out you may find some ex demo gear if you shop around, good luck.

 

[iMark]

The Yamaha's seem to be very good value for money in the UK (Richer Sounds) at the moment. They sell the R-N602 for just £339 (today €397). The lowest price in NL is €699! In Germany this unit costs €599. I have no idea why it's so expensive in NL.

We have a R-S500 stereo receiver that we really like. Of course it has no digital inputs or network streaming but we already had a DAC and an Airport Express when bought the Yamaha to replace a failing Denon receiver. Our Pro-Ject 1Xpression III record player sounds terrific through the Yamaha. The only thing I would miss in the R-N602 would be the Rec Out selector which I use for digitising records while listening to another source. For our situation it could replace the receiver, Airport Express and the DAC all in one box.

 

[davedotco]

The Rega amplifier will probably give you the best vinyl playback at this price, obvious choice for me.

To use your iThing (or laptop if it is Apple) just use the Apple Airport Express (£60-ish), essentially a wireless dac, just wire it into one of the line inputs on the Rega amp.

Final thought, think of the cartridge on your player, if it is one of the budget Rega models, you can probably do better for not a lot of money. (If you have something better, ignore this.)

 

[chris_bates1974]

Great solution for cheap and decent-for-the-money DAC... I use one at the moment, and I've been really pleased with it.

 

[gasolin]

I'll say go for the Marantz PM8005 my dynaudios are 6 ohm and 86 db the focals are 91.5db and 8 ohm so there should be more then enought power with your focal's

The sound from the amp is clear and open with good control of the speaker (no boomy bass)

 

[Jimmymc50]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Much appreciated.

 

[Jimmymc50]

Just wondering about either the Marantz 6005 or the Cambridge Audio Azur 651A - does anyone know whether they'dbe a good fit for my Rega RP3 and Focal Chorus 716V speakers? Have they got the power?

 

[rainsoothe]

Just wondering about either the Marantz 6005 or the Cambridge Audio Azur 651A - does anyone know whether they'dbe a good fit for my Rega RP3 and Focal Chorus 716V speakers? Have they got the power?

Hi. Imo, both the PM6005 and the 651A will sound bright with Focal Chorus range. They do have the power for the Focals, as they're really sensitive, but imo it's not a good match. On the other hand, Arcam A19 is going for 500 pounds right now (from dealers) and that would definately be my choice for your budget and rest of system. It's a great sounding amp and there's no comparison between it and the Marantz and CA. It's much better.