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matthewpiano:Which power amp would go with the A65? Would it be the P75?

The P75 and 80 would be the ideal scenario. Because you can pick-up the P85 for around £300 I would, budget allowing, seriously go for that. Also bare in mind P90 also. This can be used as a part of a 7.1 surround sound for a small upgrade cost.
 
matthewpiano:

So its either going to be 2nd hand Arcam gear or something built around the Brio 3, all laced with a new-found sense of proportion.

Brio 3, Rega Apollo (especially now they only cost £475) and Rega RS1 speakers.

I am guessing that lot comes to about £1200, but your Rega dealer may have some of this ex-dem or be able to do a 'bundle' price.
 
chebby:

matthewpiano: So its either going to be 2nd hand Arcam gear or something built around the Brio 3, all laced with a new-found sense of proportion.

Brio 3, Rega Apollo (especially now they only cost £475) and Rega RS1 speakers.

I am guessing that lot comes to about £1200, but your Rega dealer may have some of this ex-dem or be able to do a 'bundle' price.

would love to have £1200 for a complete system from scratch (on the used market) ... can say it would not be Arcam or Bria or Rega
 
I'd add the tried and trusted Sansui 17 series stuff to the range Matt - very sound amps indeed and with that 717 going for less than £200 the other night, well, someone got a top deal there. The 217 handles music so well and you'll them land for about £60 now and maybe less. At that price you can afford to buy and if you don't like it, reselling gets you the money back.

FWIW, the Sansui gear handles the music in a rather similar way to the Arcam stuff; nicely rounded, easy to listen to, etc. At the price, it's a steal and if you get one of the higher end ones in the range, you can add a power amp later.

Tell you what, if I get a new amp and you're still looking around, you can borrow the 217 and try it out. I won't be selling, but it'll give you a chance to see how it suits you.
 
Matthewpiano, I'd be interesed to know what you thought of the Marantz PM 6003 compared with your previous Yamaha A S700? Of the budget amps which do you think it best new?

If you liked your CA640a V2 you had why not give the CA650A an audition as it has good reviews so far.

Have you looked at either the NAD C352CT or NAD C355 BEE?
 
Inter 84:
Matthewpiano, I'd be interesed to know what you thought of the Marantz PM 6003 compared with your previous Yamaha A S700? Of the budget amps which do you think it best new?

If you liked your CA640a V2 you had why not give the CA650A an audition as it has good reviews so far.

Have you looked at either the NAD C352CT or NAD C355 BEE?

The Yamaha is better than the Marantz. There is no doubt about that in my mind, although it does have a tendency towards sounding slightly cool tonally. It handles textures and dynamic swings with more control than the Marantz. However, I do think its a bit pricey for its performance.

I'd say the best new budget amp I've heard is the Rega Brio 3. Its a very musical little amp. The other two I would rate above the Marantz (but which are now discontinued) are the CA 640A V2, the Arcam A65+ and the NAD C325BEE. I've had all three and I realise, after today, what talented amps they were. I'd put the 640A V2 and the Arcam A65+ above the Rotel RA06SE I heard today. I'd also put both above the CA 740A I had - the 640 is more musical and less clinical than its bigger brother.

I am considering the Cambridge 550A and 650A alongside the Arcam and Rega options, but I've been put off NAD by the increasing numbers of reliability issues that are being reported.

The Rega Brio 3 remains a very strong possibility.
 
ax-397 and S700 not much difference,and i still find the S700 the worse of the 2.and double in price.also think i prefer the 640a to the ca840
 
I'd also suggest a NAD C352 would be worth a listen. I bought one 2nd hand and would have to say its the best value for money purchase I've made. I just find I enjoy the music - it seems to handle all styles of music I listen to well - from early/baroque to orchestral to jazz and vocal to rock - a great all-rounder.

If you're wanting to keep the Quads I think they need a bit of power to really get the best out of them.

By the way, I used to have a Rotel amp, but I found it too lean for my Quad 22L2s.
 
Matthew, please don't take this as a dig at you - I almost feel your misery; however you remind me of Paul Whitehouse's character that changes his mind all the time down the pub! It sounds to me as you still have no idea what you really want. Since the show when you heard the 6003's and loved them, you have changed your mind from buying them but not wanting second hand again to then auditioning the 6003's again and then not liking them and then wanting second hand again! I really think that you should "settle" for a system and just listen to your music without worrying about it's foibles.
 
Gerrardasnails:Matthew, please don't take this as a dig at you - I almost feel your misery; however you remind me of Paul Whitehouse's character that changes his mind all the time down the pub! It sounds to me as you still have no idea what you really want. Since the show when you heard the 6003's and loved them, you have changed your mind from buying them but not wanting second hand again to then auditioning the 6003's again and then not liking them and then wanting second hand again! I really think that you should "settle" for a system and just listen to your music without worrying about it's foibles.

Indeed - I mentioned this to him a few days ago. Sometimes you can scrutinize the sound so much you can suffer a sonic overdose. I think a week away from analysing and just listen to what really matters: THE MUSIC.
 
Gerrardasnails:Matthew, please don't take this as a dig at you - I almost feel your misery; however you remind me of Paul Whitehouse's character that changes his mind all the time down the pub! It sounds to me as you still have no idea what you really want. Since the show when you heard the 6003's and loved them, you have changed your mind from buying them but not wanting second hand again to then auditioning the 6003's again and then not liking them and then wanting second hand again! I really think that you should "settle" for a system and just listen to your music without worrying about it's foibles.

The issue with the Marantz pairing is that it sounded very good at the show, but that was at fairly high volumes playing Damien Rice which, to be frank, sounds good on anything. Testing them more thoroughly with a wide range of music today showed up flaws in their sound that I couldn't live with anymore than the (very similar) ones I heard when I auditioned the 6002 pairing last year.

I had gone off the 2nd hand idea because I thought that the Marantz pairing might be good enough. As it wasn't, and as the Rotel RA-06SE didn't pull on my wallet either, I'm having to re-consider to enable me to move up to the next quality bracket up without over-stretching myself financially. The Rega Brio 3 is such a strong contender because I feel it performs well above its price point whilst only being a few quid more than the Marantz brand new. I'd say the same about the CA 640A V2 (which I find more enjoyable than the higher CA models).

I agree with you completely about settling for a system and enjoying the music. This is exactly what I want to do and what today has shown me is the need for compromise.
 
matthewpiano:I am considering the Cambridge 550A and 650A alongside the Arcam and Rega options, but I've been put off NAD by the increasing numbers of reliability issues that are being reported. The Rega Brio 3 remains a very strong possibility.

Matthew, I really like the Rega amps also. However, the NAD C355 is also fantastic vfm. And I think the reliability issues are CDP related. I don't recall NAD amp issues being posted. I'm disenchanted with the NAD CDP myself, not due to SQ which is great, but I also feel that reliability is an issue with the CDPs. But with that said, I'd recommend the amps to my best friend.

BTW, what's the new reduced price of a rega apollo in the UK now?
 
How nice to hear good things repeatedly by MP about the 640A v2, and someone even saying its better than the 840. Since MP had listened to a variety of budget amps and swapped many, I or other budget amp seekers can follow MP blindly in his 'praise' for the 640 and go from there.

Am looking at my 640 with special respect now, thanks to MP.
 
vinod_david:How nice to hear good things repeatedly by MP about the 640A v2, and someone even saying its better than the 840. Since MP had listened to a variety of budget amps and swapped many, I or other budget amp seekers can follow MP blindly in his 'praise' for the 640 and go from there.

Am looking at my 640 with special respect now, thanks to MP.

I wouldn't advise anyone to follow my praise blindly but, after hearing a huge number of budget and mi-range amps, I would affirm that you have a superb amp there that does things very musically. The 640A V2's skill is in doing the hi-fi things (soundstaging, seperation, tonal quality) very well and wrapping them up in a musically persuasive whole that doesn't shout about any shortcomings. The 740A might do some of the hi-fi things even better, but it becomes clinical in comparison. Many other budget amps (the Marantz included)shout much louder about their limitations.

All in my opinion of course.
 
I've had the Rega Brio 3 for a while and I didn't like it at all. The sound 'hardened up' at higher volumes so much it was almost unlistenable. It definitely needs more power.
 
MP - this is an education ! Perfectly understandable in the context and a profound parable about an insatiable thirst which teases only to disappoint us.

But enough of the pop psychology . Take a break. Come back at it in a month. And open that window into your soul.

For my money and your likes I'd take a punt with Rega or Arcam either budget new but with upgrade potential or second hand with quality assured but limited warranty.
 
Magnum Opus:

MP - this is an education ! Perfectly understandable in the context and a profound parable about an insatiable thirst which teases only to disappoint us.

But enough of the pop psychology . Take a break. Come back at it in a month. And open that window into your soul.

For my money and your likes I'd take a punt with Rega or Arcam either budget new but with upgrade potential or second hand with quality assured but limited warranty.

many of us want this:

digital-big-headphones-christophe-gilbert-020.jpg
 
Perhaps your 'salvation' is within the thermionic world. The last thing I'd want is to confuse you more but it sounds to me a good valve amplifier may be something you enjoy. Perhaps something like an Audio Innovation integrated. I had one for a long time after trying many transistor amps and there's nothing quite like it. Effortless listening and a lot of punch/dynamics. Just an idea ...
emotion-1.gif
 
Matthew, go for a CD192 and A85. You can always add a P85 later on. Forget the 73 as the 192 walks all over it.
 
A potential spanner in the Rega is build quality. My Mira had a slightly twisted chassis, vague volume control and the led in the on/off switch failed. There is a Brio on ebay at the moment which has a stuck selector knob.

But, sound wise I stuck with an Arcam Alpha7 and then CD62 after the 7 broke down, Rega Mira and B&W DM302s for about 6 years as the sound was so good.

The Mira had rated 4 stars compared to the Brios 5 stars, but an audition between the two, a NAD and a Roksan Kandy saw the Brio drop out first, the Mira being the eventual winner. I think its extra oomph had a lot to do with it.
 
idc:
A potential spanner in the Rega is build quality. My Mira had a slightly twisted chassis, vague volume control and the led in the on/off switch failed.

Why didn't you get your dealer to exchange the item?

I had the (old style) mid 1990s style Rega Mira that performed flawlessly for almost 11 years and was sold for £180 in 2007. Highly probable it is still in use somewhere now.
 
chebby:idc:

A potential spanner in the Rega is build quality. My Mira had a slightly twisted chassis, vague volume control and the led in the on/off switch failed.

Why didn't you get your dealer to exchange the item?

It went away once for repair. But after 6 years it ended up with the above. But at that time I lived in the middle of nowhere and it still worked and sounded great and it was well out of warranty. OK, so I'm being fussy.
 
The Rega is out of the running. As unfashionable as it is these days, I don't want to go without tone controls (for those odd discs that need slight tweaking) and I'm not totally convinced about its performance with thicker textures. It's tendency to harden up was what put me off it last time.

I've actually got something here (amp wise) to try. I won't reveal what it is yet. I want to take the time to listen to it from a completely neutral standpoint. Its playing now fed by my 340C through the V-DAC, and powering my Mission 751s and it sounds beautiful but it is early days. I'll keep you posted.
 
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