Looking for no frills amp

[Deleted member 116933]

Thanks, some great suggestions here. Naim was on my list until someone said if I like the laid-back sound of the Arcam I may find the Naim too forward. I can't comment as I haven't yet listened to Naim. And Sugden, lovely name from the past, when I was putting my first hi fi system together - had a Rogers amp back then. The Croft sounds great but I'm looking to keep it to one box for space reasons. As for the speakers, I'm undecided but as I've mentioned before they must be able to work close to the wall in a small room - so am considering Larsen, PMC, ATC and Neat. And I'll stick with the Graham Slee phono stage for now. But I may be on the lookout for a headphone amp if the integrated amp doesn't have one.

See this is where misconceptions come in as I mentioned above with rainsooth, the only speaker brand there designed to work close to the wall is Neat

ATC even though sealed needs a tone of room 50cm plus, the ATCs scm19 i had on loan, to sound there best needed a good 70 cm from the wall or what your paying for, the speed and attack, is just wasted. Not to mention you need a tone of power to drive them Naim in my experience don't have what it takes that's for sure I don't care what the naim forum says and that's why they wouldn't be a good match for naim. At least the more "budget" oriented options.

PMC Are so so in my experience, didn't excite me at all and again need a tone of power to get them going no matter what the specs say and they need a good amount of space as well. And the room I found had to be just so for the transmission line to work well.

They're very few brands designed to go against the wall, you can probably count them on one hand
Klipsch eg Cornwall (corner wall) but the whole heritage line are designed to work against the wall, neat, smaller tannoys you might get away with and Pro arc tabllet 10s

If i had that restriction (as i do) those would be the brand's id start with. In fact, id argue get the speakers sorted before you mess with your amp if you have plans to upgrade them it's going to be speakers that make the biggest difference anyhow. But that's just me

 

[6and8]

You guys may already be aware of this but the Creek Evolution 100A no longer being produced. I phoned Creek to see if there was a dealer in my area to be told they're revamping their amps, they're moving away from analogue, their new range will be designed more for digital and streaming. Accordingly, their prices will increase.

 

[Al ears]

You guys may already be aware of this but the Creek Evolution 100A no longer being produced. I phoned Creek to see if there was a dealer in my area to be told they're revamping their amps, they're moving away from analogue, their new range will be designed more for digital and streaming. Accordingly, their prices will increase.

Interesting.
Time to look out for a second-hand or end of line sample it seems.
Plenty of websites still listing them though.

 

[plastic penguin]

You guys may already be aware of this but the Creek Evolution 100A no longer being produced. I phoned Creek to see if there was a dealer in my area to be told they're revamping their amps, they're moving away from analogue, their new range will be designed more for digital and streaming. Accordingly, their prices will increase.

I take it Leema doesn't appeal to you. Pity as it ticks all the boxes you requested: Sound, inputs and no frills.

 

[6and8]

I need to find a Leema dealer to have a listen.

 

[ClarkNovember]

Creek-Epos have sold off a load of stock on eBay recently at reduced prices (presumably in light of the new range being developed). For those interested in getting one of the old range, it might be worth keeping an eye on their eBay listings.

 

[Al ears]

Yes, Exposure was another one on my list, but if I like the amp I can always get an external headphone amp. My budget is elastic, and as this is a possibly last go at upgrading if necessary I can go to £2500 / 3000 - does that open up the field?

If you really want an amplifier that will be a keeper and you can haggle a bit on price look no further....

Accuphase E-450 Integrated Amplifier (Pre-owned)

We have for sale an Accuphase E-450 Integrated Amplifier. Supplied in the original Accuphase packing with remote control, instruction manual and blanking plugs for all inputs except 1 RCA pair and 1 XLR pair. This amplifier is in excellent condition, hardly any signs of wear, perfect working...

www.audiotherapyuk.com

I'm thinking very hard about it myself but really need to sell my Tom Evans pre/power first.

 

[gasolin]

what speakers do you have ?

 

[Al ears]

what speakers do you have ?

And this is relevant?
He mentions upgrading his speakers so who knows what he will end up with.

 

[gasolin]

Some weeks with class d again, i found an offer for a nad c515bee and c316bee for 200 euros, i had to pick it up, they wouldn't sent it, daam it's a good price, i found a nad c316bee for 100 euros with shipping (no remote).

Got it today, it's my 3 nad c316bee (only have 1).

To my surprice it's much better sounding than i remember, horns,trumpets doesn't sound agressive,intrussive, highs are clear which i don't seem to remember that it's that good, it's much cleaner sounding when trying to play loud than my old amp, in that fild, area it's very good, no tendency to sounding to forward in the upper midrange,lower tweeter when playing loud (no listening fattigue), bass is not neutral but nice deep and pronounced which adds warmth to the sound without the highs being dark and subtle

not to tall,black, almost in mint condition and all works, it's got a warmth to the sound without sacrificing the highs and (as i might have forgotten) surprisingly alot of power without going into agressivness unless your trying to play really loud, it's to me a dynamic amp that has a fast sound, it's not dull and borring (safe sound) with my Defenitive technology demand d7

Nad amps are pretty good