Budget System Advice?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice. I have just bought myself some wharfdale 9.1 and am in the middle of buying the new rega p3-24.My problem is what amp to couple with these. I have a small room so power is not a major issue nothing over 50watt.

Looking for a good amp which I would keep in my system with no mind of upgrading. My musical tastes are rock/indie/rythem and blues/opera (diverse i know) and everything in between as my mind changes.

My ideas are narrowed down to the following:

Nad 325BEE

Rotel RA-04

Rega Brio 3

My price range is 250-330 so any advice would be great.Also if anyone has experience with the rega or wharfdales with any of these amps could you please let me know how they get on together.Cheers

 

[Tibor]

The Rotel 04 for rock music, the Nad has rounded off highs, not ideal for rock music

 

[Anonymous]

The NAD is probably my favourite and you could save yourself some money by getting the NAD C320BEE which to my ears has a greater presence and punch than the other amplifier you mention. The Rotel does have a nice sound to it but it just lacks a little and is nowhere near as powerful as the NAD despite being only 10 watts difference per channel in reality the NAD is more powerful than most budget amps.

Also I have read that that tonally the NAD C320 BEE is better than the newer C325 BEE but having not heard the new one I can not say. You are right in saying the NAD has slightly rounded off highs but I would say that the Rotel sounds a bit more clinical and I get more enjoyment from the NAD.

 

[the record spot]

Think with some if not all of these amps you'll need to splash out on a phono stage; if money's tight, go for the Cambridge Audio 640P at £60, but if you can stretch to £100, the Graham Slee phono stage (can't remember the designation alas, but it's something like Slam Amp 1 or the like!) is probably the one to go for. Both are tremendous VFM, but I'd reckon on the Slee; build quality and performance and more than decent for the money.