Amplifier advise, 500 quid with a phono stage, thoughts?

[p_m_brown]

Hi all,

As part of my Dad's father's day pressy, I am helping him spend some money on a new amplifier!

He will be upgrading his Tannoy Mercury F1 speakers too, but he wants to replace his Cambridge Audio 340 with something a little warmer that has a phono stage.

I have suggested the Arcam A18 at the knock down price of £299 'IF' he can find one but he was also looking at the Rega Brio R so suspect he will be willing to part with about £500 quid max. He doesn't listen at concert volumes but wants something that will keep him happy for quite some time.

Any other suggestions/comments welcomed!

Cheers

PMB

 

[p_m_brown]

Hello fine forumites, can you help with suggestions or have I come up with all the worthwhile suggestions for my Dads new amp?

BTW, his source is a Sonos and matching SonLink dac.

Ta

PMB

 

[Jake12988]

Evening,

Good thing to be helping him with hifi, I've just upgraded all round, and have a technics su a900 mk2 that I'm selling, if interested let me know, has an mm and mc phono capabilities, very warm and incredible soundstage, is a very sort after amp, and has very good reviews, in superb condition!

 

[p_m_brown]

Thanks Jake for your input.

I don't know much about technics stuff so will take a look to learn a little more.

What did you upgrade to out of interest?

 

[Al ears]

Jake sounds awfully like he is trading which is not allowed on this forum.

You might look at a second-hand Roksan Kandy by the way.

 

[Lo Fi]

I had the Brio R and have changed it for the Arcam FMJA19, reason is that I found the BrioR bright.
So l would suggest that unless you can afford the ForMJA19 the FMJA18 would be a great buy.

 

[Lo Fi]

I had the Brio R and have changed it for the Arcam FMJA19, reason is that I found the BrioR bright.
So l would suggest that unless you can afford the ForMJA19 the FMJA18 would be a great buy.

 

[Jake12988]

Had no idea it wasn't aloud! My amp is on eBay, was only asking!

ive upgraded to denon pma-560, actually almost a downgrade, but I've found my sound, this old denon is just incredible, an absolute joy. I've also bought some monitor audio bx2's, and am very impressed with them indeed, non fatiguing and a great sound all round, the technics is too heavy for my new house, as I now have hifi wall mount glass shelves, from amazon,there invision wall shelves, have a look if you need something similar, there's a cracking deal on them at the moment!

may I ask to whom it may concern, why is selling ones used items dis-aloud? All my old hifi is up on eBay, I am not a trader of any kind!

 

[p_m_brown]

Cheers all,

Hadn't thought about the Roksan. Shall have a look at the 'Bay!

Thanks lofi, I think he'll get on with the a18 but it just depends if he can find one. I think most are gone with the crazy price cuts!

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi all,

As part of my Dad's father's day pressy, I am helping him spend some money on a new amplifier!

He will be upgrading his Tannoy Mercury F1 speakers too, but he wants to replace his Cambridge Audio 340 with something a little warmer that has a phono stage.

I have suggested the Arcam A18 at the knock down price of £299 'IF' he can find one but he was also looking at the Rega Brio R so suspect he will be willing to part with about £500 quid max. He doesn't listen at concert volumes but wants something that will keep him happy for quite some time.

Any other suggestions/comments welcomed!

Cheers

PMB

There you go: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcam-FMJ-A18-Amplifier-Ex-Display-VGC-Stereo-Hifi-with-Remote-Control-/230997252422?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item35c8825946

 

[Al ears]

Had no idea it wasn't aloud! My amp is on eBay, was only asking!

ive upgraded to denon pma-560, actually almost a downgrade, but I've found my sound, this old denon is just incredible, an absolute joy. I've also bought some monitor audio bx2's, and am very impressed with them indeed, non fatiguing and a great sound all round, the technics is too heavy for my new house, as I now have hifi wall mount glass shelves, from amazon,there invision wall shelves, have a look if you need something similar, there's a cracking deal on them at the moment!

may I ask to whom it may concern, why is selling ones used items dis-aloud? All my old hifi is up on eBay, I am not a trader of any kind!

House rules I'm afraid. No doubt one of the Moderators will explain.

It appears to be OK to point out that 'there is one for sale on Ebay' but trying to sell directly to another Forum member is not permitted.

 

[p_m_brown]

Hi all,

As part of my Dad's father's day pressy, I am helping him spend some money on a new amplifier!

He will be upgrading his Tannoy Mercury F1 speakers too, but he wants to replace his Cambridge Audio 340 with something a little warmer that has a phono stage.

I have suggested the Arcam A18 at the knock down price of £299 'IF' he can find one but he was also looking at the Rega Brio R so suspect he will be willing to part with about £500 quid max. He doesn't listen at concert volumes but wants something that will keep him happy for quite some time.

Any other suggestions/comments welcomed!

Cheers

PMB

There you go: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcam-FMJ-A18-Amplifier-Ex-Display-VGC-Stereo-Hifi-with-Remote-Control-/230997252422?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item35c8825946

Thanks PP

I emailed him the very same link about 10 minutes ago!

 

[BigH]

Ive seen several ex-demo Regas for about £400 with full warranty around if thats the one he wants. Not sure if the A18s are still about that was on about 2 months ago, check Richers maybe only ex-dem or ex- displayor repaired ones left.

 

[p_m_brown]

Speedy work with this one, off to look at a very well priced Arcam A19. Lets just hope it doesn't have any dents where it fell off the lorry...

 

[p_m_brown]

Mission accomplished! Managed to get a month old A19 for a ridiculous price (and no, there weren't any dents!)

Guess I should get it run in for him now!

 

[BigH]

£400?

 

[p_m_brown]

Bit more than that, but very happy Dad!

 

[plastic penguin]

Like to know how it compares to the A28.

 

[p_m_brown]

Well as soon as get a chance, I will swap out my A28 and give you a quick comparison

 

[plastic penguin]

Also, PM, when you get the chance could you fill us in a bit more on the Leema dac, both as a dac and preamp?

 

[p_m_brown]

Will do PP!

I live a fair way from my Dad so i thought it only helpful to get the A19 run in before I deliver it to him! First impressions of the amp in my set up are very good. It has a soundstage to rival the A28 and has some decent bass power. It is detailed and has a full midrange so vocals, snare drums and cymbals sound particularly nice - definitely has the Arcam family sound albeit a bit a tad more exciting.

Just listened to Stop Listening by Radiohead, Consolers of the Lonely by the Raconteurs and Needles and Pins by the Deftones on the A28 then on the A19. The little A19 certainly produces a room filling sound but one thing that it does fall slightly short on is organising that big soundstage. When listening to the raconteurs track, the vocals sound a little bit too far forward in the mix, so some of the background atmosphere of the track is lost and I feel it doesn't quite convey the layers as convincingly as the A28.

That slight layering issue is also evident with the Deftones track. It is a pretty loud track and not overly dynamic but it does sound just as powerful on the A19 as the A28 if not quite as composed.

Surprisingly, the Radiohead track, which is my favourite for auditioning gear, sounded pretty damn good. Ok, so the ride cymbal didn't fly around the room like it does on a more expensive set up but it stayed pretty composed!

All in all, a great amp for the money and not one I feel I need to swap back straight away! The detail is definitely on par with the A28 and whilst it doesn't quite deliver the punch or composure of the A28 at higher volumes, it is a fine sounding amplifier that has left a smile on my face!

More importantly, the A19 is a massive upgrade for Dad's ageing Cambridge Audio amp and I am sure he is going to love it!

 

[iQ Speakers]

Thanks for that really useful as I'm looking at the A19.

 

[radiorog]

if you are looking at a19, you must hear the brio-r also. i thought it was far better sounding (like if i were to give the brio-r 10 out of 10, the a19 would get 4).

 

[p_m_brown]

Thanks for your input but I have now got the A19 for my Dad.

Unfortuntely the Brio didn't pass my Mum's seal of approval due to the looks!

 

[radiorog]

well, it is a lovely gift thats for sure. i think the a19 struggled with my low impedence speakers, as also mentioned in whf review. with right speakers it's supposed to be awesome.

sorry for my negative comment.prob not what you want to hear after a purchase. :silenced: