Question New amplifier/system for a semi-newbie

[AlbertListens]

Hello everyone,
finally I've some bugdet to start building my personal Hi-Fi!
Right now I've been listening through my father's system, a vintage Musical Fidelity B1 and two Mirage M-490, both CDs and vinyls.
The main problem I found with the setup is that at low volumes it performs very badly: a lot of details and low end are missing, and I am truly picky. I mean, it sounds fairly good to me but I prefer listening from PC or my portable Fiio with the HifiMan HE 400i, or waiting for a good time of the day when I can crank up the volume to recover some of the bass.

That being said, I am looking for suggestions for a nice amp (and speakers too, of course) that can perform well at low volumes, with bluetooth and phono. My budget for the amp is 1200€!

I've listened to the Rotel A12 MK2, paired with two Fyne Audio F502 and it sounded very good to me, even at lower volume. Another suggestion I had is the Roksan Attessa (the non-streaming version), which seems promising, but I haven't heard yet.

I listen to a lot of music, but I truly love prog rock, metal and jazz.

Hit me! 🙂

 

[gasolin]

klipsch the five or system audio air

 

[matthewpianist]

Are you intending to use vinyl and CD at all - you mention them both as formats you currently use... Do you already have turntable and CD player?

Also, how large is your room?

 

[npxavar]

I've listened to the Rotel A12 MK2, paired with two Fyne Audio F502 and it sounded very good to me, even at lower volume.

The Fyne Audio F502s produce bass down to 30Hz. What this means is that your listening room should be large. Otherwise you will need an amplifier with bass controls to tame the bass and you will probably get irregular bass response anyway (some frequencies loud, some quiet).

 

[matthewpianist]

The Fyne Audio F502s produce bass down to 30Hz. What this means is that your listening room should be large. Otherwise you will need an amplifier with bass controls to tame the bass and you will probably get irregular bass response anyway (some frequencies loud, some quiet).

PLUS, the Rotels can be a little on the bass heavy side. I have an A11 Tribute (in its box because I prefer the Audiolab), and that can be slightly aggressive at that end of the frequency range.

 

[Nico69]

The Fyne Audio F502's are more than double your budget for your amp. As mentioned the Bass could run away with a less than optimum amp for these. Maybe slightly smaller/cheaper floorstanders Dali/MA's and an amp with a decent phono stage? I love my Marantz built in phono stage but then I'm biaised. It does do everything I want of it at all volumes.
Will you continue using your dad's turntable or will you buy your own later? You don't mention what it is.

 

[npxavar]

If he really likes the Fyne Audio 502s he can always buy the bookshelf version, the F500s.

 

[gasolin]

The Fyne Audio F502s produce bass down to 30Hz. What this means is that your listening room should be large. Otherwise you will need an amplifier with bass controls to tame the bass and you will probably get irregular bass response anyway (some frequencies loud, some quiet).

Only at -6db

 

[gasolin]

If he really likes the Fyne Audio 502s he can always buy the bookshelf version, the F500s.

F-500 sp ?

F-501 sp ? It goes down to 36hz at -6db

 

[AlbertListens]

OK guys, sorry if I missed some informations and thanks very much for all the answers!

The room is roughly 4x4 meters, and I've included the Fyne Audio just as reference: this combination (Rotel + F502) is the only one I've heard yet.

I will listen from every source: CD player (that i will buy later), turntable (a Pioneer PLX 500) and bluetooth. I am not considering a streaming amplifier due to costs!

A friend of mine suggested the Roksan Attessa (non streaming) + MA Silver (bookshelf version) but shops in my area do not sell the Attessa 🙁

 

[gasolin]

Active speakers and a streamer ?

 

[Al ears]

Before you buy anything spend some money on actually going to a dealers to audition stuff.....
Don't restrict yourself to amps with inbuilt Bluetooth as its easy and cheap to buy a simple add on Bluetooth receiver.

 

[AlbertListens]

Before you buy anything spend some money on actually going to a dealers to audition stuff.....

That's for sure!

My main concern is obtaining quality at low volume. One of my friends suggested to get a less powerful amp (specifically: NAD D 3020 V2) and pairing it with KEFs, in order to downscale the size of the whole system.

I live in a flat after all..