Amplifier with rich tone

[ne5]

Hello....i have KEF Q300 speakers and an old rotel amp.

While they are good together.the amp is over 20 years old...and maybe its my ears but it seems one speaker is slightly louder than the other...but not when i sit closer to each one seperately.

The treble seems slightly thin if turned up and not prominent enough in neutral especially the vocals particularly female.

Price is no object unless we are talking silly levels. So can anybody recommend me a good amp that will suit what i would like please.

 

[CnoEvil]

You could look at Arcam, Electrocompaniet, Pathos, Musical Fidelity and Unison Research Unico.

BTW. What do you call "silly levels" 1k?. 2k?

 

[drummerman]

Someone here just bought a mid/higher range Marantz amplifier at a very good price new.

Perhaps they can chime in.

 

[ne5]

Someone here just bought a mid/higher range Marantz amplifier at a very good price new.

Perhaps they can chime in.

Please. Would be appreciated.

 

[drummerman]

Here is the link if you want ask there;

https://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/marantz-pm14s1se-first-impressions

Apologies I can't make links live from the phone.

 

[insider9]

Here is the link if you want ask there;

https://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/marantz-pm14s1se-first-impressions

Apologies I can't make links live from the phone.

 

[drummerman]

Cheers

 

[ne5]

Prob about 1k. Even though the biggest single thing is to get an amp and system im happy with....and i could spend it or more if it was necessary....but i have to remember i could get an amp too good for these speakers would that then make me unhappy with the speakers. Where does it end ? The tone is the important thing and i dont like in fact i hate boomy bass.

 

[McRibbons]

if it helps.... I had KEF Q300 speakers paired with a NAD c356bee amp and to my ears it sounded pretty darn good

 

[CnoEvil]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

 

[iceman16]

Arcam A39

www.creative-audio.co.uk/HD.php?_ARC_A39&ID=10113&UNIQUEID=321456987&n=

 

[Macspur]

There's some pre owned Accuphase amps on Ebay at the moment, older models and for prices around your budget.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

 

[ne5]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

Do you know what these sound like

 

[ne5]

if it helps.... I had KEF Q300 speakers paired with a NAD c356bee amp and to my ears it sounded pretty darn good 

What did that sound like ?

 

[CnoEvil]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

Do you know what these sound like

Do you intend to audition?

I have listed amps that may meet your criteria....but you should be the one to assess them with your speakers and ideally in your room.

What brands do you have access to?

 

[ne5]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

Do you know what these sound like

Do you intend to audition?

I have listed amps that may meet your criteria....but you should be the one to assess them with your speakers and ideally in your room.

What brands do you have access to?

I would audition if i can. I havent done a wide search yet in newcastle im restricted to richer sounds.

I would consider taking pot luck on an old amp on ebay if i thought i might like the sound. I have an equaliser and i use a squeezebox.

Back in the 70s and 80s i had an old aiwa music centre af5050. I loved this system. Still love the recordings i made on it. Everybody who heard it said how great it was. It wasnt a cheap one at the time. If i thought i could get an old amp that sounded like that i wpuld go anywhere to pick it up.

 

[ne5]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

Do you know what these sound like

Do you intend to audition?

I have listed amps that may meet your criteria....but you should be the one to assess them with your speakers and ideally in your room.

What brands do you have access to?

I would audition if i can. I havent done a wide search yet in newcastle im restricted to richer sounds.

I would consider taking pot luck on an old amp on ebay if i thought i might like the sound. I have an equaliser and i use a squeezebox.

Back in the 70s and 80s i had an old aiwa music centre af5050. I loved this system. Still love the recordings i made on it. Everybody who heard it said how great it was. It wasnt a cheap one at the time. If i thought i could get an old amp that sounded like that i wpuld go anywhere to pick it up.

 

[CnoEvil]

I would audition if i can. I havent done a wide search yet in newcastle im restricted to richer sounds.

I would consider taking pot luck on an old amp on ebay if i thought i might like the sound. I have an equaliser and i use a squeezebox.

Back in the 70s and 80s i had an old aiwa music centre af5050. I loved this system. Still love the recordings i made on it. Everybody who heard it said how great it was. It wasnt a cheap one at the time. If i thought i could get an old amp that sounded like that i wpuld go anywhere to pick it up.

Then my advice is to bring your speakers to RS and audition this amp (great amp at a great price):

https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-receivers/arcam-fmj-a39-blk-soc.html

 

[ne5]

if it helps.... I had KEF Q300 speakers paired with a NAD c356bee amp and to my ears it sounded pretty darn good 

Do nad amps sound "warm" as in bassy ???

 

[ne5]

if it helps.... I had KEF Q300 speakers paired with a NAD c356bee amp and to my ears it sounded pretty darn good 

Do nad amps sound "warm" as in bassy ???

 

[ne5]

There's some pre owned Accuphase amps on Ebay at the moment, older models and for prices around your budget.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

Ive not heard of this make. What do they generally soubd like ? Bassy ? Boomy ? I like a wholesome tone and good vocals especially female

 

[Macspur]

Prob about 1k.

- Arcam A29

- Croft Integrated

- Musical Fidelity M3si (ex-dem)

Do you know what these sound like

Do you intend to audition?

I have listed amps that may meet your criteria....but you should be the one to assess them with your speakers and ideally in your room.

What brands do you have access to?

I would audition if i can. I havent done a wide search yet in newcastle im restricted to richer sounds.

I would consider taking pot luck on an old amp on ebay if i thought i might like the sound. I have an equaliser and i use a squeezebox.

Back in the 70s and 80s i had an old aiwa music centre af5050. I loved this system. Still love the recordings i made on it. Everybody who heard it said how great it was. It wasnt a cheap one at the time. If i thought i could get an old amp that sounded like that i wpuld go anywhere to pick it up.

You won't get better for the money than one of the Accuphase amps on Ebay.

E203, E207, E210 £799, £1000, £1100 respectively

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Hello....i have KEF Q300 speakers and an old rotel amp.

While they are good together.the amp is over 20 years old...and maybe its my ears but it seems one speaker is slightly louder than the other...but not when i sit closer to each one seperately.

The treble seems slightly thin if turned up and not prominent enough in neutral especially the vocals particularly female.

Price is no object unless we are talking silly levels. So can anybody recommend me a good amp that will suit what i would like please.

Sound like more of placement issue TBH, you say one side sounds loader and then levels out as you get closer, This normally means your speakers aren't quite level with one another, I would make sure everything is level in the room and then worry about the amp. It could also be time for a recap?. But I would give the newer Rotels a shot as well, more than grunty enough to give your Q300's some drive especially the higher end models, which just happen to sit within your budget. give or take a ton

Having said that 20 years ago "Budget" Rotel amps where selling for around £3-500, so is suspect just shy of 1K in today's money I'm guessing, I suspect your not really going to hear/notice much difference, Rotels where very fine back then, I would tread carefully As i said above, a bit of TLC with a recap will probably do the trick and would be far cheaper. But if you just fancy change then just pick your poison .

 

[Macspur]

There's some pre owned Accuphase amps on Ebay at the moment, older models and for prices around your budget.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

Ive not heard of this make. What do they generally soubd like ? Bassy ? Boomy ? I like a wholesome tone and good vocals especially female

They are considered to be one of the best high end brands in HiFi... your description of the sound you like would fit perfectly and they have tone controls.

Not sure where you're based, all three amps are in London at the same dealer, perhaps you could ask for a demo.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

 

[bigfish786]

I noticed in an earlier post I got a mention for buying the Marantz PM14S1SE amp a few weeks ago . The price has gone back up since I bought it, but it is still a stunningly musical amplifier for the money. It has brought my Simaudio Moon Equinox CD Player to a whole new level. The level of detail is just stunning, a very neutral amp, just lets the music breathe and fill the room. I’m probably at around 100 hours now, and it’s getting better by the day. I’ve dialled in the speakers over the hours to the point where I’m not just happy, I’m blown away. That Ken Ishiwata knows what he’s doing!