Looking for a suitable second hand amplifier...help.

[Pistolpete1]

My current system comprises of the following:

Marantz CD67 KI cd player
KEF Q500 speakers

Both of which are currently played through an AV receiver (Pioneer SC2023).

I'm looking to add an suitable second hand amp to drive the front speakers, but on a tight budget (thus the second hand idea). The Pioneer has pre-outs at the back.

My budget is really around £200.

Any recommendations to look for?

Any pitfalls to watch out for with second hand amps? Is it best to find a newer one over an older model? Ie Marantz PM6004 over a Marantz PM6010KI?

Any help will be most grateful.....

 

[Gray]

If you can find a PM66KI you won't be sorry.
(I only realised how good mine was when I set it up to demo when I sold it - for a stupidly low price 😒).

Old amps can suffer audibly from contamination in switches and rotary controls, but nothing that can't usually be remedied with a few blasts of switch cleaning spray.

Don't rule out buying new, you could easily afford a small class D amp. They often only have a single analogue input - but that's all you need. (A switch box can expand the input count).
Silly as it might sound, you might actually improve on your current sound for under £30.
(My £20 amps were impressing me yesterday).

 

[Al ears]

My current system comprises of the following:

Marantz CD67 KI cd player
KEF Q500 speakers

Both of which are currently played through an AV receiver (Pioneer SC2023).

I'm looking to add an suitable second hand amp to drive the front speakers, but on a tight budget (thus the second hand idea). The Pioneer has pre-outs at the back.

My budget is really around £200.

Any recommendations to look for?

Any pitfalls to watch out for with second hand amps? Is it best to find a newer one over an older model? Ie Marantz PM6004 over a Marantz PM6010KI?

Any help will be most grateful.....

you might not adding an integrated amp as you will only complicate matters with two vo!ume controls, if anything you need to be looking for a stereo power amplifier.

 

[Gray]

you might not adding an integrated amp as you will only complicate matters with two vo!ume controls, if anything you need to be looking for a stereo power amplifier.

That's true.
I was thinking you were using the receiver instead of a stereo amp - but I see you were after an amp just to drive the front speakers.
In which case, an amp with a volume control could be left at a set level, using only your receiver to control volume.
Personally, I'd separate AV from 2-channel audio altogether - but that's just me.

 

[treesey]

Agree strongly with both of the above.... so you are keeping the receiver?

If so an old Rotel or Arcam power amp.... DYOR on which work better with the Kefs?

If you get a well respected make and it doesn't 'fit' your sound, you should be able to move it on for minimal loss.

 

[AJM1981]

Ive read the conditions but I would like to suggest a new one to take the least risk.

-Quality amp
- Drives difficult speakers easily
-Quality streamer / Wifi
-Spotify connect and other services included
-sub out
-Usb for external Dac
- good remote control
-Aux in
-Bluetooth
-optical in
-True to scale on the picture
-Simple to operate (turn on and go)
-No pitfalls according to your wishes
- Great app with regular firmware updates
- Warranty

Arylic A50+

I own this one for a secondary setup.

 

[Pistolpete1]

Thanks for all the replies....food for thought there.

A little bit undecided on which way to go here. I do also have a pair of Q100's in storage, so could create two separate systems with the addition of an amp.

I definitely what to keep the Pioneer AV receiver, as its great for movies, etc. I'm just trying to improve the sound quality when listening to music really.

In the past I have owned a Marantz PM6010 KI amp (and sold it , but not sure why!), and a Marantz PM6004, which broke about a month after the warranty expired and so I sold it on with the issues described in the advert.

I'm intrigued by the Arylic A50+ above, so will look into that more......

 

[Tinman1952]

I agree with Gray the latest little class D amps are very impressive. Surely this must be worth a try for £67... I think it will surprise you.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gemtune-SA-50-Amplifier-speakers-Adapter-Black/dp/B00KBIV1WW?th=1

 

[skinnypuppy71]

If you want to keep the amp in one box, some of Arcams superb avr amps can be had used for very decent money, they were always renowned for there musical abilities as well as some fine digital processing. Just have a gander on the well known auction site.

 

[Gray]

...I do also have a pair of Q100's in storage

Funny enough that's what I was listening to the £20 amps with. The detail and quality of the bass was outstanding - but the sound would not suit everybody, that's for sure:

 

[treesey]

...but if you don't like the sound, then it's money down the drain. No-one would bother buying them off you 2nd hand.

Why would the sound not suit everybody? Genuine question. I've not heard a class D which I presume all of these cheapies are.

 

[Gray]

...but if you don't like the sound, then it's money down the drain. No-one would bother buying them off you 2nd hand.

Why would the sound not suit everybody? Genuine question. I've not heard a class D which I presume all of these cheapies are.

I can see why you might think that about secondhand buyers 👍 but the 4 screws purposely do not screw into the speakers, they bolt to a plate which takes the place of the wall bracket fitted to the Kefs - so the speakers can be returned to factory condition.

As for the sound, I'm a detail freak, but I'm well aware that some people really don't like to hear everything - especially, understandably, when the recording is poor.
Their choice of course. But it means that for the sake of making their odd poor recordings listenable, they are necessarily compromising their best stuff. I prefer it the other way round.

I reckon, for around £50, the OP Pete wouldn't have much to lose by giving the above a go with his Q100s.
(Or he could forgo the bi-amp and just get a single amp of course).

 

[treesey]

no I mean just the amps not wanted by 2nd-hand buyers - not the speakers-with-amps.

Once you've bought them, that money has gone - 50 GBP, so if you don't like the sound....

I get what you are saying about sound quality, but I want to listen to (for example) The Cure as they were; I have no interest in choosing my listening tastes based on how well a song was recorded or presented.

But I'm still not convinced by what you are saying about class D 'just' amplifying the music and people not liking the sound - isn't that what many of the best AB amplifiers profess to do?

 

[Gray]

Once you've bought them, that money has gone - 50 GBP, so if you don't like the sound....

Well that's true, though some people on this forum have stated that they're happy to buy a (way more expensive) amp based on specs alone - they say that all well designed amps sound the same

Sounds like you're the same as me - you don't want anything giving character to your music.

I just like cheap, good stuff - I've never advocated one class of amplification over another - I haven't listened to enough different ones.
Not saying class D is the way to go. There's actually a slight hardness to my example - that's what others might dislike - could be due to the amps being too cheap, or just their combination with the Kefs....or maybe it is because they're class D.
I would like to hear some of the more expensive class D though (as used in NAD Masters amps for example) their efficiency should at least be welcomed by all.

 

[Tinman1952]

no I mean just the amps not wanted by 2nd-hand buyers - not the speakers-with-amps.

Once you've bought them, that money has gone - 50 GBP, so if you don't like the sound....

I get what you are saying about sound quality, but I want to listen to (for example) The Cure as they were; I have no interest in choosing my listening tastes based on how well a song was recorded or presented.

But I'm still not convinced by what you are saying about class D 'just' amplifying the music and people not liking the sound - isn't that what many of the best AB amplifiers profess to do?

You really should try and hear some of the latest class D amps...
There's a reason some of the top manufacturers are now using it.....NAD, Marantz, Classé, etc.

 

[Tinman1952]

Funny enough that's what I was listening to the £20 amps with. The detail and quality of the bass was outstanding - but the sound would not suit everybody, that's for sure:
View attachment 3550

Nice mod! 🙂

 

[WayneKerr]

Personally, I quite like what a Class D amp does in my system.

 

[Tinman1952]

Personally, I quite like what a Class D amp does in my system.

I keep being tempted to try out the little SMSL A0200 which got such excellent comments on the ASR website.... really tempted! 😋

 

[AJM1981]

...but if you don't like the sound, then it's money down the drain. No-one would bother buying them off you 2nd hand.

Why would the sound not suit everybody? Genuine question. I've not heard a class D which I presume all of these cheapies are.

Sound signature is an odd thing. It often really depends on having an accidental match with a kind of speakers. I own a Vintage Pioneer amp that gives an interesting (hate to say this) "musical"/ holographic boost with great seperation of layers to my second pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers but did slightly worse (prefer my current amp in use there) on my main 3 way system.

So, it isn't always a black and white thing.

 

[Pistolpete1]

Bit of an update.......

I realised I still have a Pioneer A-605R stereo amplifier from 1994 at my parents house, so have brought it back and linked it up to my cd player and Kef Q100's.

Wow... Never going back to an AV receiver for stereo music duties!

But I have a new problem. When I switch on my Pioneer AV Receiver, the stereo amp comes on too. And vica versa.

How can I stop this? Is it possible? Clearly both use the same signal from the remotes, but I only use one machine at a time.

Is there a simple solution?

 

[treesey]

Don't use the remote?

 

[Al ears]

Switch one of them off at the mains socket, assuming they are plugged into different sockets.
If not then they need to be.
The remote will only bring them out of standby.

 

[Pistolpete1]

Was hoping to avoid switching on and off at mains, but it might be the only choice I have 🙄
Thanks.

 

[Al ears]

Was hoping to avoid switching on and off at mains, but it might be the only choice I have 🙄
Thanks.

It is.
If you don't use them frequently it's best to switch them off anyway with today's energy costs....
The only thing left on standby in my house is the Sky Q boxes...
Failing that you cover one of the IR receivers with black insulation tape

 

[Gray]

The only thing left on standby in my house is the Sky Q boxes...

No doubt they've got the power consumption right down on those.
I think the earliest Sky digiboxes used about 20W (whether on or standby). That would be unthinkable now.