beware, question about cheap hifi...

[admin_exported]

I used to be a HiFi buff, back when I had money and time and less responsibility. In fact the last bit of hifi I bought was a Mission DAD5/DAC5 combo back in '93/94(ish). Anyway, I digress... I'm looking for a cheap and cheerful amp to partner a pair of Mission E30 bookshelf speakers. This is for a small work room and the budget is... wait for it... £100!

I've been considering a couple of candidates: Cambridge Audio A1 (£69.99 from Richer Sounds) ; Pioneer A-109 (£86.99 Amazon). I'm finding it hard to find any decent online reviews of either of these amps and High Street HiFi shops are sadly non-existent these days.

Any opinions on the suitability of these amps for my needs, or any other suggestions would be warmly received. I know neither of these will give me a true HiFi experience, but a reasonably clear, warm sounding amp would be the goal.

 

[chebby]

£100 will buy you 'more amp' on ebay.

 

[John Duncan]

yeah, just searching...

 

[d_a_n1979]

I'd say stretch your budget by another £15 to £30 and you'll be able to get youself a decent example of a NAD C320BEE

Cracking amp for the money and sounds fantastic

It had been a What HiFi 5 star winner for a good length of time as well!

 

[Anonymous]

I have been looking on ebay and there are a couple that might be interesting. I'm just fearful of buying a box of bolts and ultimately losing what little money I have. A 'vintage' amp is always compelling, but 20 years of use compared with the advancements in technology present in a new amp is a tricky one to way up. In all honesty, I've lost touch with the world of HiFi for the last 10 years (or more) so for all I know, technological advancements might have had a negative affect on the cheaper end of the market.ÿ

 

[d_a_n1979]

Go for the NAD C320BEE...

I know im repeating myself but for your budget and not wanting an amp thats too old; IMO, you cant get better!

 

[chebby]

JohnDuncan:yeah, just searching...

I was going to search but just noticed I had a 15 percent off voucher on ebay that needs to be used by tomorrow, so bought me some 0.5m Chord Crimson cables (for my DAC) for £4.50 off

Sorry.

John will find something nice.

 

[John Duncan]

Right - this would be a good choice around the 100 quid mark. Wouldn't be my first choice (I'd probably be looking for a NAD), but was first I came across.

An alternative, since technology is such a fickle area, would be to buy a good musical AV amp, since their market value plummets as soon as the latest model comes out. You could probably find a yamaha DSP-A620 on ebay for fity quid, and it would beat the amps mentioned so far hands down (IMO, I have one and it's great at music).

 

[Anonymous]

d_a_n1979:Go for the NAD C320BEE...I know im repeating myself but for your budget and not wanting an amp thats too old; IMO, you cant get better!

I'm looking... I was also looking at the c315Bee as a New amp, but can't find that cheaper than £150 - and that's stretching too far (unless I don't feed the kids... hmmmm? lol)ÿ

ÿ

Thanks for the advice everyone, looks like I'll trawl the second-hand market. No one has even considered suggesting either of the two examples I initially gave, so I take the hint! ÿ

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I think it's just that people think you could get a far better sound 2nd hand.

...broken record time... don't discount the Rotel series. lots of decent stuff from around £50...

 

[Alec]

i would definitely trawl ebay. i got a nad c320bee there for just over £100 (sorry, i forget the precise figure).

Personally id say most hifi buffs want to resell at some point, so you're unlikely to get a bag o' bolts as people take good care of their their kit (so they can sell it, im going full circle, blah blah lol!).

Good luck.

 

[d_a_n1979]

The NAD C320BEE amp ive got in the spare bedroom cost me £115.33 2 weeks ago

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, it's gonna be ebay!! You've all convinced me. Just have to sit tight and wait for that bargain...

 

[d_a_n1979]

Patience is a virtue

TBH you could also take a look for an Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp. Good little amp and can also be upgraded in the future by adding the matching Arcam Alpha 8P power amp or the 9P power amp

 

[John Duncan]

Yup, just don't be tempted by anything lower than an 8, v dull in my experience.

 

[Anonymous]

Or alternatively go to a v foums .com and go to their classified adverts if you trawl through those pages i am sure you will find the C320 BEE

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You will have to type in the above as one word

 

[gregory]

get the A1 from richers it's a cracking amp and you have the knowledge of knowing it's new. I've had many amps over the years and although not the best it certainly isn't the worst, don't have a problem with the suggestions of going 2nd hand but only for a much better amp than the ones mentioned.