Replace Aura Evolution va-100

[Pi-age]

Hi,

I own a 21 year old Aura va-100 amp, a set of Rogers ls2 speakers, and a sonos zp70. The amp has lately been heating more than it used to. It also seems to need some warmup time before any sound comes out of the speakers (sometimes more than ten minutes).

1. Does anyone know what could be wrong with the amp? Would it be possible to repair it?

2. Is it worth repairing it? It is afterall 21 years old...

3. Someone suggested replacing it with a Creek a50 but i'm not sure how these systems compare. Will the Creek be an improvement and what alternatives are there

Any advice would be welcome!

Pi-age

 

[James7]

This is a fairly old thread but did you get any further with this?

My Aura VA100 is of a similar age - I had it cleaned up a couple of years back (the volume pot, which was creating quite a bit of crackle, cleaned, that sort of thing) and it sounds good as new, though now you mention it, it seems to run even hotter than it did in the past.

If you are still looking to replace it, the Creek is a lovely amp, though leaner - for a slightly fuller, richer sound more akin to the Aura you could try Arcam or Marantz perhaps.

 

[Pi-age]

Thanks for your answer! We seem to have the same experience, my volume pot also needed cleaning four years back ;-)

The Aura could be safed but at a price, so i decided to replace it. I did look at Arcam, but also listened to Rega. In the end I bought a Rega Elicit-r, which is imho a huge step up from the Aura. I'm now considering upgrading my Rogers for something more modern.

 

[James7]

Good choice, though quite a different sound from the Aura I imagine. A good match with the Rogers though I would have thought. Rega speakers would be worth checking out once you do look to upgrade. Depending on budget, the new Epos K2 floorstanders might be worth checking out too.

i am at some stage going to have to bite the bullet and replace the Aura. In perfect working order at th moment but as you say, new amps at the Elicit R price point are going to provide a step up. The Evolution has served me well though ...

 

[Pi-age]

I’m not sure I can find the speakers you mention in the Netherlands. At the moment i’m looking at spendor and harbeth, but that’s just because I’m hoping they will provide the same feeling my rogers give me (with more detail, and maybe a bit more bass)

The evolution was indeed brilliant! Who knows, maybe it will last another ten years?