Looking for a used amp under £100!

[bjaman]

Hello all,

It's my first post and really my first venture into hi-fi. This kind of thread has probably been done a million times but I haven't really found what I'm after 🙁

I'm actually planning to buy something for when I move out to uni, hence the budget. I'd obviously like something with the best sound possible, and I'm open to vintage models. I'd be playing music from a laptop most of the time. Probably not particularly loud, but I'm after quality more than anything.

I'd appreciate any suggestions in my price range and also maybe some speaker suggestions if you wouldn't mind 🙂

Thanks!

 

[John Duncan]

Hi and welcome to the forum, bjaman.

What kind of laptop?

 

[bjaman]

Thanks

It's a HP Pavillion dv6 with 3GB memory and a 2.1GHz Dual core chip

 

[jonomd]

When i first got into hifi my first system was a Marantz cd48, Rotel sa931 and some tannoy m1 speakers. The rotel amp can be got for about £45. In saying that there are rotel amps further up the range avaliable for £100.

Still got my amp which is 15 years old and still going strong.

Sure there will be a few more suggestions

 

[bjaman]

I'll look into the Rotel range, thanks

 

[John Duncan]

Took a look in the specs and couldn't find an optical out. For just 100 quid I'd be inclined to find a USB-to-optical adapter and find an older non-HDMI AV receiver, good examples of which cann be had for as little as 50 quid. Something like my Yamaha DSP-AX620.

Alternatively, you could miss out the optical altogether to begin wiht, though laptops can hum terribly.

 

[bluedroog]

Not loud, one input by the sounds of it and good sound? How about a brand new Mini-T for £65 delivered? Tiny little thing too. Assuming you keep it within its comfort zone i.e given reasonably sensitive speakers and don't want huge sound levels they sound really rather good, push them out of their comfort zone and their limitations start to show, distortion starts to effect things.

If you'd rather something more traditional a good used Rotel or NAD and you can't go too far wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

If you're after a good amp that'll last and with good power then I can highly recommend the NAD C320BEE integrated amp.

Currently there is one for sale on a well known other hifi forum website which ends in "wam"

Other than that an Arcam Alpha 6 would do a great job as well.

All you'd need really is a 3.5mm jack to phono/RCA cable (Maplins do them for about £3-£10) and that'd stand you in good stead I think 🙂

 

[bjaman]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. One thing about the amp + phono jack setup though, as John Duncan said, would the laptop hum be much of a problem?

Keep em coming! 🙂

 

[John Duncan]

I found it a problem only when I had it plugged in to the mains, it was fine on battery (though short-lived).

 

[bjaman]

Hm.. Doesn't sound like too much of a problem for me then

 

[bjaman]

I've done some snooping on ebay and found a few amps I like the look of... old Rotels, NADs, Arcams. What speakers could you suggest in the same kind of price range that would work well?

 

[Anonymous]

Acoustic Energy AE 109's for floorstanders; AE 100's for standmount.

Monitor Audio BR2's for maybe just a little more