New or used intregrated amplifier

Have been doing some reseach on the internet as guys do when we want to spend are hard earnt cash
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and now totaly confused[to much reseach]... My setup at the moment is,,,,

Speakers....Kef refrence 103/3 with kube 1980s /Cd player...Arcam cd73 / Amplifier....Eagle A7600 old 1970s /turntable..Dual 505...I wish to buy an intergrated amp £600 to £1200 looking on ebay s/hand hifi dealers lots of choice and dont want to buy something that dosent sute my speakers[kefs are 4ohms 50 to 200watts and hard to drive] my short list of amps are..... Musical Fidelity A5 or m6si integrated amplifier,AVI LAB SERIES,Krell KAV 300i Integrated Amplifier or would i be better buying a new Roksan k3 /Rega/Arcam....my music style is rock and loud as i somtimes play along on my acoustic drum kit room size 5x5x3 sound proofed log cabin at back of garden just to keep the locals happy*yahoo* any advice or recomendations greatly apprecated
 

drummerman

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The AVI is no longer produced so if something goes wrong, it may or may not be terminal.

Musical Fidelity are load tolerant and have decent power.

Someone else here is using the Krell you mention, They might chime in.

The Rega's may not be powerful enough, depending on volume required.

I had the K2 but not K3 on trial. Didn't like it, to soft in the bass.

So, out of the above I would probably choose an M6i for your purpose.

Nord will soon bring out a stereo chassis with Hypex Modules. For your budget you probably get a 250w/8ohm version and have some money left for a down payment on a Pre-amp.

NAD make amplifiers with a lot of headroom. Its new 388 (which also uses Hypex power amplifiers) is a little bit over budget and has a lot of features. - The 375BEE might just do the job. I remember a review where it put out over 1kw into a lower load. The company's 390DD is also a nominal 150w amplifier and you might find one for your budget now the new range has come out.

Cyrus' ONE is rated at 100w/8ohm and 180w/4ohm. Probably not powerful enough for your use.

Exposure's 3010S2 is 110w/8ohm, again probably underpowered for you.

Rotel's 1570 at 120w/8ohm, again, probably underpowered.

You could try a Behringer or similar cheap chinese made amplifier promising huge watts. It may go insanely loud but will probably strip the wall paper in the process.

Good luck :)
 

drummerman

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tino said:
I would look for a used Yamaha A-S2000 or even the A-S1000.
80w/8ohm (2000). Decent current not a lot of watts. Dynamic Power is not high either. I am not saying its a bad amplifier (I wouldn't know) but its no hell raiser.
 

rainsoothe

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Since you're a drummer, you might wanna look into a used Naim Supernait (1st gen) - you get a dac with that one as well, in case you wanna try running your CDP through it. Naim do a very nice thing with rhythms :)
 

tino

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drummerman said:
tino said:
I would look for a used Yamaha A-S2000 or even the A-S1000.
80w/8ohm (2000). Decent current not a lot of watts. Dynamic Power is not high either. I am not saying its a bad amplifier (I wouldn't know) but its no hell raiser.
Excerpt from lab tests report: "Rated with an output of 90-watts continuous per channel into 8Ω, Yamaha’s A-S2000 was tested at 103-watts continuous per channel, 20Hz–20kHz by Newport Test Labs. As you can see in the tabulated figures, this 20Hz–20kHz rating was the result of the maximum output power at 20kHz. At lower frequencies, the amplifier could deliver fractionally more: 105-watts per channel. The fact that the single-channel-driven and both-channels-driven figures are the same points to the Yamaha’s power supply being tightly regulated. Although such tight regulation is fairly unusual, I seem to recall it was a feature on the highend amplifiers manufactured in Australia by ME. Tested with 4Ω loads, the Yamaha delivered a minimum 170-watts single-channel across the frequency band (with a maximum output of 175-watts at 1kHz), and a minimum 172-watts across the band with both channels driven, with a maximum of 181-watts at 1kHz. That the two-channel figure is higher is interesting, but is likely a combination of the effects of the regulation, the low impedance, variations in the mains power supply and measurement tolerances. Given that the difference is a mere 0.2dB, it’s clearly not significant. (Indeed the dBW values for 172-watt and 170-watt figures, when rounded to one decimal place, are identical.)"
 

Blacksabbath25

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I have a Yamaha A-S 2100 it's got loads of power it will double up the power for 4ohms

my speakers are 4ohm speakers and the Yamaha managers my speakers perfectly .

ok back to topic ..... marantz PM-8005 I used to have one and there's lots of members who own one on here it's a cracking amplifier for £600 or less new will run 4ohms easily .

i would not go for a roskin k3 they are not that good for rock or metal music and to be honest I do not think much to the k3 . But going secondhand is ok as long as you know what your looking at .
 

drummerman

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tino said:
drummerman said:
tino said:
I would look for a used Yamaha A-S2000 or even the A-S1000.
80w/8ohm (2000). Decent current not a lot of watts. Dynamic Power is not high either. I am not saying its a bad amplifier (I wouldn't know) but its no hell raiser.
Excerpt from lab tests report: "Rated with an output of 90-watts continuous per channel into 8Ω, Yamaha’s A-S2000 was tested at 103-watts continuous per channel, 20Hz–20kHz by Newport Test Labs. As you can see in the tabulated figures, this 20Hz–20kHz rating was the result of the maximum output power at 20kHz. At lower frequencies, the amplifier could deliver fractionally more: 105-watts per channel. The fact that the single-channel-driven and both-channels-driven figures are the same points to the Yamaha’s power supply being tightly regulated. Although such tight regulation is fairly unusual, I seem to recall it was a feature on the highend amplifiers manufactured in Australia by ME. Tested with 4Ω loads, the Yamaha delivered a minimum 170-watts single-channel across the frequency band (with a maximum output of 175-watts at 1kHz), and a minimum 172-watts across the band with both channels driven, with a maximum of 181-watts at 1kHz. That the two-channel figure is higher is interesting, but is likely a combination of the effects of the regulation, the low impedance, variations in the mains power supply and measurement tolerances. Given that the difference is a mere 0.2dB, it’s clearly not significant. (Indeed the dBW values for 172-watt and 170-watt figures, when rounded to one decimal place, are identical.)"

Appreciate that but the NAD is much more powerful.

I am sure the the Yamaha is a good amp :)
 
Hi John, as drummerman hinted, I have the Krell KAV-300i integrated amp, which I bought in 1998. It still sounds great and is probably the best on your list.

If you knew how to check it out and/or repair any problems it would be my choice, 100%. But, it is getting on a bit now and I've no idea how long it will last! Some amps seem to last thirty or forty years. If you can get an immaculate one for around £750 I'd go for it. It is very heavy for its size and I'd try to get one in the original double box. My remote is a bit scruffy looking as the fascia has yellowed from the uv.

Of the others, I'd look at the MF 6si.
 

Electro

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An alternative option is a good quality pro amp.

MC2 Audio based in Honiton Devon make a very good range of pro hifi amps that are very powerful but also sound very good too.

The T500 or T1000 model;s would be ideal .

The T500 is 215wpc/8ohms and 375wpc/ 4ohms.

The T1000 is 450wpc/ 8ohms , 750wpc/4ohms and 1150wpc/2ohms and they come with a 5 year warranty.

http://www.mc2-audio.co.uk/products/t-series/

http://www.polaraudio.co.uk/MC2-T500/product/Z%2DT500/T500/?search=true

http://www.polaraudio.co.uk/MC2-T1000/product/Z%2DT1000/T1000/

You will probably need a few rca/ xlr adaptors and fit speakon plugs to your speaker cable but you would have one hell of an amp for relatively little money.
 
Thanks guys for all the info,Think my short list is

Nad c375bbe Some very good reviwes,But then some not so good, Seen it for sale ex demo £650 is it worth it??at least its newish and comes with full warantee,box and manuals..*biggrin*

MF 6si Now looks out of my price range {£2,300new and not much cheaper s/hand] ,I must of got confused with another model*shok*

Mc2 Audio...lots of second hand units out there and cheap,looks to pro/compleycated to set up.*blush*.Hence why i want itergrated amp..

krell,,Seems to tick the right boxes, but as said it will be old @ £750

Think the Nad ???
 

drummerman

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NAD's are easy to sell.

As a by note ... the test I referred to (where the NAD scored over 1kw into low loads was eventually 'won' by a nominal 55w/8ohm amplifier, the Creek Evolution 50A.

The test (HifiNews May 2013) also included; Arcam FMJ A19, Pioneer A-70, Peachtree Audio Nova 125, Primare I22.

The Nad came an honourable 3rd. Other power figures for the NAD were; Dynamic Power <1% THD 295W/580W/1.06KW/1.34KW into 8/4/2/1 ohm and a continuous rating of 205w/8ohm at 1%.

It'll go loud thats for sure and has a handy soft clip protection feature.

I would have thought that both the Krell and Yamaha AS2000 may be better amplifiers if you can find them for the same price.
 

Andrewjvt

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John Harrington said:
Thanks guys for all the info,Think my short list is

Nad c375bbe  Some very good reviwes,But then some not so good, Seen it for sale ex demo £650 is it worth it??at least its newish and comes with full warantee,box and manuals..*biggrin*

MF 6si Now looks out of my price range {£2,300new and not much cheaper s/hand] ,I must of got confused with another model*shok*

Mc2 Audio...lots of second hand units out there and cheap,looks to pro/compleycated to set up.*blush*.Hence why i want itergrated amp..

krell,,Seems to tick the right boxes, but as said it will be old @ £750

Think the Nad ???

The nad is a very good option
And so is the krell.
 
Andrewjvt said:
John Harrington said:
Thanks guys for all the info,Think my short list is

Nad c375bbe Some very good reviwes,But then some not so good, Seen it for sale ex demo £650 is it worth it??at least its newish and comes with full warantee,box and manuals..*biggrin*

MF 6si Now looks out of my price range {£2,300new and not much cheaper s/hand] ,I must of got confused with another model*shok*

Mc2 Audio...lots of second hand units out there and cheap,looks to pro/compleycated to set up.*blush*.Hence why i want itergrated amp..

krell,,Seems to tick the right boxes, but as said it will be old @ £750

Think the Nad ???

The nad is a very good option And so is the krell.

Having heard nopianos Krell KAV and SF combo I can only agree...
 
Reduced to £650 5 year warrantee,The guy in S/O/Sounds set it up in there sound demo room,With there 2k speakers and cables to mach and yea sounded very good "as he said very detailed sound"

Now got it home and setup,Big diffrence to my £50 Eagle amp and so it should be,Does not sound quite as good as it did in shop but i expected that...

Its loud very loud,Sound is detailed iam happy.....

Thanks guys for all the help and advice......*good*
 

Andrewjvt

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John Harrington said:
Reduced to £650 5 year warrantee,The guy in S/O/Sounds set it up in there sound demo room,With there 2k speakers and cables to mach and yea sounded very good "as he said very detailed sound"

Now got it home and setup,Big diffrence to my £50 Eagle amp and so it should be,Does not sound quite as good as it did in shop but i expected that...

Its loud very loud,Sound is detailed iam happy.....

Thanks guys for all the help and advice......*good*

And a bargin at that price.
 

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