Help! I absolutely cannot pick an Integrated Amp

hommy

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Jan 26, 2023
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Hello, all. Long time lurker, first time post.

I've become stuck in deciding on a new integrated amp. I simply cannot decide on what should power my KEF LS50's because I've researched too much.

My wishlist:
  1. Max spend $2500
  2. DAC/Digital inputs
  3. Sub Out w/Bass Control or crossover (this is surprisingly difficult)
  4. Phono Input
  5. Prefer class AB amp, but there are some enticing class D amps that I've just discovered (Parasond NewClassic, for example) and have thus caused me to yet again reset my search.

Here's what I've looked into:

  1. Emotiva BasX TA1 or 2 - this literally checks every box, but I don't know much about the brand and reviews are scant (other that your typical YouTube personality)
  2. Cambridge CXA81 - current frontrunner; concerns about effectiveness of bass control and not having tone control
  3. Yamaha A-S801 - Strongly considering, same concerns about bass control
  4. Parasound NewClassic 200 - just discovered this last night and am intrigued, but class D amp
  5. Cambridge EVO 150 - Can't help but think separates are "safer" than an all-in-one from a repair/reliability standpoint
  6. NAD C 369 or 389
  7. Sonos Amp - I had a gen 2 and not sure I want to go down that road again
Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for any and all help/recommendations!
 
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Hello, all. Long time lurker, first time post.

I've become stuck in deciding on a new integrated amp. I simply cannot decide on what should power my KEF LS50's because I've researched too much.

My wishlist:
  1. Max spend $2500
  2. DAC/Digital inputs
  3. Sub Out w/Bass Control or crossover (this is surprisingly difficult)
  4. Phono Input
  5. Prefer class AB amp, but there are some enticing class D amps that I've just discovered (Parasond NewClassic, for example) and have thus caused me to yet again reset my search.

Here's what I've looked into:

  1. Emotiva BasX TA1 or 2 - this literally checks every box, but I don't know much about the brand and reviews are scant (other that your typical YouTube personality)
  2. Cambridge CXA81 - current frontrunner; concerns about effectiveness of bass control and not having tone control
  3. Yamaha A-S801 - Strongly considering, same concerns about bass control
  4. Parasound NewClassic 200 - just discovered this last night and am intrigued, but class D amp
  5. Cambridge EVO 150 - Can't help but think separates are "safer" than an all-in-one from a repair/reliability standpoint
  6. NAD C 369 or 389
  7. Sonos Amp - I had a gen 2 and not sure I want to go down that road again
Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for any and all help/recommendations!

Hi and welcome

What brands are available in your area? The only way to know what sound is the best for you is to demo as many different makes as possible.

We can obviously make suggestions, but hi-fi is so subjective.
 

SteveR750

Well-known member
My cents x 2,

Class D is the future. Its just so much more efficient, its just right. I'd be inclined to out that into the top 3 considerations.

That said here's another to add. Prodigious bass, smooth everywhere else Denon PMA 1700NE.

Fwiw I'm looking for a new amp. The cax81 and yamaha 701 are on my list. The yamaha is an older, less featured design. The CA has occasional QC issues, and possibly suffers from a noise issue on usb connection that affects other inputs (see the two ASR reviews). I also had an issue with some Azur stuff over a decade ago that quickly got replaced by NAD.

If all I had was your list I'd look at the C389, Emotiva and Parasound
 
The Cambridge EVO 150 is more than twice the price of the CXA81, but I’d definitely consider it.

There’s a NAD C389 and a C399 that look like similarly powerful beasts.

What are their respective prices in your $?

(I had the original LS50s running off my class D Primare i32 and they sounded great).
 
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hommy

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Jan 26, 2023
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Hi and welcome

What brands are available in your area? The only way to know what sound is the best for you is to demo as many different makes as possible.

We can obviously make suggestions, but hi-fi is so subjective.
Thanks. I'm in a fairly affluent area outside Atlanta, GA and have several high-end dealers near.


A sub is necessary as I always have bookshelf speakers (it's an aesthetic thing for my wife)

Thanks for the suggestions of brands I hadn't considered. Not looking for recommendations from a sound perspective, just brands/models I may have missed, so thank you.
 
Thanks. I'm in a fairly affluent area outside Atlanta, GA and have several high-end dealers near.


A sub is necessary as I always have bookshelf speakers (it's an aesthetic thing for my wife)

Thanks for the suggestions of brands I hadn't considered. Not looking for recommendations from a sound perspective, just brands/models I may have missed, so thank you.
look for a second hand Parasound Halo Hint 6, it has everything you need
 
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Thanks. I'm in a fairly affluent area outside Atlanta, GA and have several high-end dealers near.


A sub is necessary as I always have bookshelf speakers (it's an aesthetic thing for my wife)

Thanks for the suggestions of brands I hadn't considered. Not looking for recommendations from a sound perspective, just brands/models I may have missed, so thank you.
I would contact a couple of dealers and ask for a demo to test those speakers with a couple of different brands.

Quite often the US will have brands not readily available here in the UK.
 
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MrReaper182

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I agree with Plastic Penguin when he says arrange a demo Always demo hi-fi equipment first before buying, that way you will know you spent wisely .Just because someone on here (or any other hi-fi forum) recommends you something they really like does not mean you will like it.
 
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I agree with Plastic Penguin when he says arrange a demo Always demo hi-fi equipment first before buying, that way you will know you spent wisely .Just because someone on here (or any other hi-fi forum) recommends you something they really like does not mean you will like it.
however, his question was what was there out there that he should audition, not whether he should audition or not.......
At no point does he say he isn't going to audition.
It would be really refreshing, some day, to see a thread on this forum that did nothing but answer the OPs question....
But I will not hold my breath. :cool:
 
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record_spot

Well-known member
Not necessarily.....
Please look again at his requirements then tell us how actives even come close

They're another option and it just needs a rebalanced perspective on it. It's not an integrated he wants, but control functionality and a subwoofer/phono requirement.

Right now, I can hook up my ten year old AVIs to handle all that with an offboard phono stage and it's job done.
 

MrReaper182

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Apr 6, 2014
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however, his question was what was there out there that he should audition, not whether he should audition or not.......
At no point does he say he isn't going to audition.
It would be really refreshing, some day, to see a thread on this forum that did nothing but answer the OPs question....
But I will not hold my breath. :cool:
You should always demo hi-fi as what someone likes you may hate. What hi-fi have given 5 stars to products that I thought were 3 star products when I heard them. B&W 685 S2 speakers and Momentum earphones (I brought the earphones because they got a product of the year award) were both given 5 stars by What hi-fi and they raved about how good they were in their mag but I thought both products were average at best.
 

record_spot

Well-known member
I agree with Plastic Penguin when he says arrange a demo Always demo hi-fi equipment first before buying, that way you will know you spent wisely .Just because someone on here (or any other hi-fi forum) recommends you something they really like does not mean you will like it.

I hate wasting a dealer's time. I'm not one of those kick the tyres types, so prefer to buy on my own terms. That usually means buying outright as I usually do with older vintage CD players, or if it's new, it'll be from companies online, where I can try at home - the Cambridge DACMagic 200M I picked up the other week has a return period to mid-February, though I think it'll be staying right where it is just now.

These days, demoing gear in anything but your own home is a lottery. I think for newbies coming to the scene, or people unsure of what they want by all means, go to a dealer's or Richer Sounds or the like, but if you're patient, know what you like and how to get it, then buying direct and trialling in your home is the way to go (IMO!).
 
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MrReaper182

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Apr 6, 2014
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I hate wasting a dealer's time. I'm not one of those kick the tyres types, so prefer to buy on my own terms. That usually means buying outright as I usually do with older vintage CD players, or if it's new, it'll be from companies online, where I can try at home - the Cambridge DACMagic 200M I picked up the other week has a return period to mid-February, though I think it'll be staying right where it is just now.

These days, demoing gear in anything but your own home is a lottery. I think for newbies coming to the scene, or people unsure of what they want by all means, go to a dealer's or Richer Sounds or the like, but if you're patient, know what you like and how to get it, then buying direct and trialling in your home is the way to go (IMO!).
Going on someone's advice on what to buy is also a lottery. I've always been happy with what I brought after demoing it. demoing has also allowed me to find out what I really don't like before I get that product home because their is nothing worse than spending a huge amount of cash on something only to get it home and then finding out you dislike it. No way I would ever spend $2500 on hi-fi with out demoing first.
 

record_spot

Well-known member
Going on someone's advice on what to buy is also a lottery. I've always been happy with what I brought after demoing it. demoing has also allowed me to find out what I really don't like before I get that product home because their is nothing worse than spending a huge amount of cash on something only to get it home and then finding out you dislike it. No way I would ever spend $2500 on hi-fi with out demoing first.

And that's why you buy to try at home with the guarantee you get your money back thanks to the regulations that permit it.
Your only requirement is to take care of the goods while in your possession. Never had a problem yet.

As to demoing - most dealers carry a limited range of stock for a given component - not many have twenty amps to choose from, twenty sets of CD players/streamers/preamps and the rest. And I've little appetite to go out to half a dozen dealers to go through a shortlist of gear that I can only demo by visiting different companies. Online purchasing's good enough for me.
 

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