Integrated amplifier for Proac Studio 140 MK2

[reginaldo]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I would like some advice on an amplifier to match the ProAc. Studio 140 MK2.

I would have thought a Musical Fidelity M6i. It might go well?

I listen to jazz and classical music with excellent engravings.

Thanks to all

 

[CnoEvil]

Welcome to the forum...........IMO. the M6i is a great choice.

There are 4 others that I would also suggest:

- Electrocompaniet ECI-5 (or possibly ECI-3)

- Sugden A21 SE

- Pathos Classic One

- Audio Analogue Maestro Settanta Rev. 2

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

There is one member in the forum driving the Studio 140 with Roksan Caspian M2!

Maybe he will jump in...

And welcome to the "mad house"

:cheers:

 

[reginaldo]

Thanks for the welcome and quick responses. What do you think also of the Copland CTA 405? Perhaps too reinforces the bass? You advise me more of a solid state amp or a tube for Proac Studio 140 Mk2? Sorry for my english, I write from Italy

 

[CnoEvil]

Tubes will sound lovely with those speakers......FWIW. The SS amps I have suggested are very "analogue" sounding, with the Sugden being Class A, and the Pathos (Italian) being hybrid.

I have never heard the Copeland, but have read good things about it.......being from Italy, you should check out Unison Research and Mastersound; there is also Jadis, Icon Audio and Pure Sound.

My advice is to start listening to some of these wonderful amps (with your speakers)......and then make a choice.

 

[Singslinger]

I agree with CnoEvil that the Musical Fidelity M6i would work well with the Studio 140 M2s...and also any of the Sugden class A amps. This opinion is based on my experience with the ProAc D18 which I'm guessing is not that different to the Studio 140s.

However, the only time I've ever listened to the Studio 140s they were driven by a Karan integrated amp and the results were very impressive. In fact, the Karan dealer in my country used the 140s to demo the amps. Might be worthwhile tracking down a Karan dealer in Italy? Good luck!

 

[ISAC69]

Hi

I demo once the Studio 140 with the Musical Fidelity M6i and I didn't like the result , details was missing bass was weak

and I was very surprised
to find out that to really push the Proac I need to bring the volume on this amp to 12 o'clock position (!) very starnge for amp
that should have power of 200 W / 8 Ohm .

 

[jerry klinger]

Definitely the Sugden A21SE. Brilliant amp. There's one on ebay at the moment!

 

[reginaldo]

I also thought, reading only the characteristics of the amplifiers with respect to the efficiency of Proac 140 MK2, the Krell 300i. What do you think of this built-in amplifier integrated?

For me the brand Sugden is a little difficult to find in my city

 

[ISAC69]

Not sure about the Krell , I think Rotel pre/power combo 1580+1582 is a very good option I will probably upgrade it soon for my Proac Studio 140mk2

 

[reginaldo]

Sorry guys if it annoys you with my many questions, but I can not try all the amps before buying it so I have to make an initial selection. I would have thought of doing my own personal list of amps to try for the Proac 140 mk2:

Copland CTA-405

-Musical Fidelity M6i

Premium KT88-Primethorpe

Krell S-300i-

Audio Analogue Mestro-70 rev.2

What do you think?

 

[ISAC69]

Hi

Buying blind without demo is a huge gamble .

Musical Fidelity M6i - i did hear it with the Proac a very bad combination .

Krell S-300i not sure a good match with the Proac .

I heard the STORM AUDIO V55 VERTIGO with the Proac and the sound was excellent but I think it is too expensive amp.

I am buying the ROTEL 1580 + 1582 PRE/ POWER for my Proac 140 next month but it is a pesonal taste I am not sure

that you will like the combination

Hope that could helped you .

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I used ProAc Studio 140 Mark One speakers with a Cyrus setup. I had a laminate over cement floor and the downward firing bass ports helped fill the some say thin, some say detailed, I say a bit bass-weak, sound of Cyrus kit. In an apartment living room measuring barely 5 m x 4 m the sound was neighbour-annoyingly good

FWIW you could start out with, say, one of the Cyrus 8 series integrated, with or without built in DAC, and then add a Cyrus X-power (power amp)later. The results are impressive. Use the integrated to run the bass and the power amp to run the treble in bi-amp mode. It's counter-intuitive but the treble section actually requires more power more of the time than the bass. Later you can add another X-power and run the setup in twin mono mode. Short of going for a pre-amp / twin mono power amp setup from the get-go, like the Cyrus DAC-XP and twin Mono-X?00s, it's the best sound you'll get out of Cyrus kit.

And despite what anyone says, bi-wiring with hefty cables (I used two runs of Chord Odyssey-4 to each speaker - with two cores in each cable for the plus and the other two for the minus) definitely helps. If you don't bi-wire, throw the brass jumpers on the speakers in the trash and have your dealer make up some 30 cm long "jumpers" out of the same cable you use for your main speaker runs. Again you could start out like this then go bi-wire when you go bi-amp.

Just my two cents' worth.

 

[CnoEvil]

My personal preference is for Class A and Valves......but I can't second guess what you will prefer (they are all good amps).

 

[reginaldo]

Valve amplifiers need more maintenance than the solid state. It must be worth really worth to buy it

 

[CnoEvil]

Valve amplifiers need more maintenance than the solid state. It must be worth really worth to buy it

The answer to that is very personal.......some of the most enjoyable amps that I've heard, have had Valves.

 

[reginaldo]

After several indecision I chose to buy the Naim Nait Xs. What do you think?

 

[CnoEvil]

As long as you like it, that's all that matters...............did you try anything else?

 

[Singslinger]

After several indecision I chose to buy the Naim Nait Xs. What do you think?

Based on tech specs, I'd say there isn't any problem. Over on the Naim forum, there are many members who pair Naim with ProAc, so clearly the match is popular. However, there are other amps which might offer a different presentation than Naim.

So as CnoEvil says, it all depends on whether you're happy with the pairing.

 

[reginaldo]

thank you all for the answers