New Brio-r or used Roksan?

[Hayche]

Hello all

i have a budget of £1000 for a amp and cd player. My speakers are wharfedale diamond 122. What hifi says the they got the best out of the 121s with the brio r which I am happy to settle with but I could go for a used roksan k2 or the arcam a19.

Would I get a good enough benefit in sound quality with the roksan or arcam or would it be over kill with these speakers?

thanks

 

[spockfish]

You just need to hear the gear. Simple as that. Judging equipment based on it's (new) price is not a good idea.

 

[BigH]

I would look to upgrade your speakers first and then find suitable amp. for them.

 

[Philim]

Try before you buy especially the roksan as it takes some careful matching to make it even usable.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

the roksans a good amp - powerfull too, it'll be ready when you are to upgrade - no tone controls though.

wait long enough you'll get the Arcam for less than the brio - I have not heard etheir of these amps though, worth auditioning with the speakers before you buy.

 

[Philim]

the roksans a good amp - powerfull too, it'll be ready when you are to upgrade - no tone controls though. wait long enough you'll get the Arcam for less than the brio - I have not heard etheir of these amps though, worth auditioning with the speakers before you buy.

Powerful? Yes relative to price. Good? Errr no

 

[Philim]

the roksans a good amp - powerfull too, it'll be ready when you are to upgrade - no tone controls though. wait long enough you'll get the Arcam for less than the brio - I have not heard etheir of these amps though, worth auditioning with the speakers before you buy.

Powerful? Yes relative to price. Good? Errr no

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

I would look to upgrade your speakers first and then find suitable amp. for them.

+1 here !!!

:cheers:

 

[dansettemajor]

What's wrong with the Roksan K2? It's a great amplifier, solid bass, detailed and involving sound.
Also excellent build quality and plenty of inputs with a decent phono stage.

 

[BigH]

What's wrong with the Roksan K2? It's a great amplifier, solid bass, detailed and involving sound. Also excellent build quality and plenty of inputs with a decent phono stage.

Who said there was anything wrong with it?

I heard it twice in demos, its OK, if you need the power and bass then it could be the one for you, IMO it did not have the clarity of some other amps, maybe the bass was swamping the sound slightly? You can get them new for £650 or less, they have been out for a while, I guess ex-demos go for around £550. I thought the Creek 50A was better for me.

 

[dansettemajor]

A previous comment about the K2 said 'good, err no'!

 

[Philim]

That was myself. To qualify i have owned a kandy and the power amp. Sadly the experience cost me a lot of money due to my inexperience.

 

[Cynic-al]

That was myself. To qualify i have owned a kandy and the power amp. Sadly the experience cost me a lot of money due to my inexperience.

Philm, why was your experience a bad one? Was it sound quality or reliability?

 

[Philim]

The issue is more around getting out to listen to a lot of different bits before you buy. Whilst buying blind second hand may be cheapest it can work out more expensive in the long run as you end up with gear that doesn't suit you and you end up changing. Equally buying second hand can be difficult as people don't want to bother dealers when they have no intention of buying. An idea may be to visit the whittle bury show in sept where you can listen to a variety of equipment.

I bought the roksan on the back of whf reviews and poor guidance from a dealer whom I shallnt name. The amp itself was well built and solid but the tonal balance and lack of clarity I thought was poor and listening was fatiguing. As I said earlier I suspect speaker matching is key.

So much so that I went to test another set of speakers with the roksan thinking it was the speakers. Interesting the dealer made the comment that whilst they stock the kandy it was tucked away in a corner and didn't sell any as comparatively to other items it didn't perform we'll. it was only after listening to a variety of different combos that it became obvious where the issue was. The problem is now I am a naim addict with serious upgraditous but that's another story.......