Advice on what amp would suit me..

[Danhorse]

Guys,

I need a new amp, under £500 ideally, running mission m31s and DVD player for CDs (that will change! but it actually sounds better than a few cd players i have had in the past).

I have mostly had experience with Marantz and Cambridge Audio amps, and looking for something combines the warmth and energy of CA amps with more atmosphere and delicacy when the music requires it. I do not like dry sounding amps. Controlled, tight bass, balanced, no shrill or pushed highs is also ideal.

Any pointers in the general area most appreciated.

Dan.

 

[Tibor]

Marantz PM 6005, NAD C 326BEE, Rega Brio R, Arcam A 19 (used). All are warmish amplifiers

Denon PMA 720AE and Pioneer A 30 as second options

 

[radiorog]

NAD 326bbe

Ca 351c. (Much more musical than say the a5)

Rega brio r.

The NAD has the deepest sound, an overall more bodied sound,but with very good refinement.

The ca sounds great,and worth an audition

The rega has ultimately the most clarity, very good timing and a sweet sound,but a slightly lighter sound than the NAD,although bass is still good.

I'm sure there are others,but these are the ones I have heard,and i think you will be hard pushed to beat the NAD and rega.

 

[Danhorse]

Marantz PM 6005, NAD C 326BEE, Rega Brio R, Arcam A 19 (used). All are warmish amplifiers

Denon PMA 720AE and Pioneer A 30 as second options

Thanks Tibor, I am staying away from Maranzt, the guitar music i love never comes over with enough mids energy for me with them. Interested in the NAD and Rega though! I will look into those.

 

[Danhorse]

NAD 326bbe

Ca 351c. (Much more musical than say the a5)

Rega brio r.

The NAD has the deepest sound, an overall more bodied sound,but with very good refinement.

The ca sounds great,and worth an audition

The rega has ultimately the most clarity, very good timing and a sweet sound,but a slightly lighter sound than the NAD,although bass is still good.

I'm sure there are others,but these are the ones I have heard,and i think you will be hard pushed to beat the NAD and rega.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting to here the C351 is more musical than the A amps.. Also good to hear you mirroring Tibor re the NAD and Rega, definitly will look into those. Been a long time since I tired a NAD!

 

[drummerman]

As a cyrus user I would recommend sourcing an 8 series amplifier with age depending on budget. Upgradeable with PSX-R in the future.

regards

 

[matthewpiano]

I'd suggest Rega Brio-R or Exposure 1010. Not much else to touch these two below £500 (though the Brio-R has crept up to £548 now).

 

[rainsoothe]

give rotel and exposure a try

 

[Tibor]

Nad has the deepest bass, dinamic at musical, but I did not liked the insensibile volume adjusting via remote, is very annoying. Yamaha A 700 is a very musical and natural sounding amplifier, give it a chance!

I think there is not a great difference between budget amplifiers, the cheapest Pioneer A 30 is also very good

 

[james_LR90]

I'd suggest Rega Brio-R or Exposure 1010.  Not much else to touch these two below £500 (though the Brio-R has crept up to £548 now).

I would suggest the NVA AP20 at £400. Sweet and natural sounding amp with nothing sounding false or forced.

 

[KidKomet]

For what it's worth, you'd be able to get a Pioneer A50 for under £500 and they're really quite good for the money. If you're willing to venture down the S/H route then I recently saw a Marantz Pearl Lite KI signature go for little over £400 and a Creek Evo 50A go for £500. The Creek would be my choice, no contest.

 

[plastic penguin]

Guys,

I need a new amp, under £500 ideally, running mission m31s and DVD player for CDs (that will change! but it actually sounds better than a few cd players i have had in the past).

I have mostly had experience with Marantz and Cambridge Audio amps, and looking for something combines the warmth and energy of CA amps with more atmosphere and delicacy when the music requires it. I do not like dry sounding amps. Controlled, tight bass, balanced, no shrill or pushed highs is also ideal.

Any pointers in the general area most appreciated.

Dan.

If you want to take a bit of a gamble on a Norwegian amplifier that you have probably never heard of then I would recommend the Abrahamsen V2.0 integrated amplifier .

This is the problem. The same issue I have with a number of different brands. Dealers in the UK is either limited or non-existent.

Personally I would rather take a gamble on a s/hand Electro rather than a copy from a different shore.

 

[chebby]

Personally I would rather take a gamble on a s/hand Electro rather than a copy from a different shore.

'Copy' is a debatable term given that it's the same engineer / designer (and founder of Electrocompaniet) who makes them.

 

[Electro]

Guys,

I need a new amp, under £500 ideally, running mission m31s and DVD player for CDs (that will change! but it actually sounds better than a few cd players i have had in the past).

I have mostly had experience with Marantz and Cambridge Audio amps, and looking for something combines the warmth and energy of CA amps with more atmosphere and delicacy when the music requires it. I do not like dry sounding amps. Controlled, tight bass, balanced, no shrill or pushed highs is also ideal.

Any pointers in the general area most appreciated.

Dan.

If you want to take a bit of a gamble on a Norwegian amplifier that you have probably never heard of then I would recommend the Abrahamsen V2.0 integrated amplifier .

It is a high current fully balanced high bias class A/B integrated amp with 2x 70w into 8 ohms and 2x 140w into 4 ohms with a massive power supply and superb build quality .

They are on a special sale price at the moment for around £500 and should tick all your boxes and a whole lot more .

http://www.store.abrahamsenaudio.no/

They are only available online but can be returned if you are not completely satisfied under distance selling regulations , so not that much of a gamble *smile*

In my opinion this amp is several levels above anything near this price and is comparable to the Electrocompaniet ECI3 that costs £2000 .

Sometimes if you step away from the usual recommendations the rewards can be enormous .

It is worth a phone call or email to Abrahamsen Audio for more details

PS, I have no connection to the company *smile*

Just thought I would add some info about Per Abrahamsen who is the founder of Abrahamsen audio *smile*

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Arild_Abrahamsen&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dper%2Babrahamsen%2Belectrocompaniet%2Bmojo%2Bblues%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D0Do%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GBfficial%26channel%3Dsb

 

[hoopsontoast]

Depends if you dont mind second hand.

Only 'New' amp I have had recently was the Brio-R, sounded better than I expected and was better than the previous Brio3 I had (limp wristed) but was outclassed in every way by my Bryston B60.

That would be my choice, you can pick them up for about £600 second hand (B60R version a bit more), and they come with the brilliant transferable Bryston 20 year Warranty.

If you want something a bit more powerful, then the Sony TA-F770ES is well worth a look, oodles of power and nice and smooth in the midrange. They are getting on a bit so some may need a once over but then you can pick up a good one for around £300 well under budget.

A bit more could get you something like the Denon PMA-2000AE, I had one for around £500 and thats just about all the amp you could need, a fair bit newer than the Sony above although very similar in style/features and overall sound. Bit newer too for peace of mind.

I was quite impressed with the Quad Elite Power amp, you could possibly find a Quad 99 Pre/Power in budget, would be a good look or with the CDP that has the Preamp Built In.

Other amps that could be worth a look are some of the older Primare ones, like the A20. Had one as my first proper foray into hifi, really can fault it for the ~£200 they tend to go for. Will be miles ahead of most new stuff IMO.

 

[wclough]

A while ago I needed to replace my Audiolab amp as it had become faulty. My requirements were as the OP described. Too warm can be dull (eg a lot of far east and Japan stuff), too sharp can be waring on the ears (like a Musical Fidelity I tried). I liked the Exposure but they only had a used and it was silver and I wanted black. I bought a new Roksan Kandy and have had no regrets. But as usual, you have to listen yourself. Something else or even cheaper might just do it for you.

 

[Danhorse]

Thanks very much for your replies guy - much appreciated, you have given me a few options to look into and hear Sorry for the late reply, I do nto seem to get notifications of replies!

Im very tempted by the Quads, so musical.... But i recently heard a Musical Fidelity M3, I loved the basic sound balance, open airy and sweet, warm... i might consider that one too