Small amp to drive AVI Neutron 5?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I was here previously and asked about bookshelf speakers; got excellent advise and ended up buying AVI Neutron 5 which I am very happy with. However I am not doing them justice by currently driving them with an Arcam Alpha 5 amp and a mid-range Toshiba DVD player.

I've decided against getting a dedicated CD player and plan to buy the DacMagic instead, and keep the DVD player as CD transport (although it will likely be replaced by a Bluray player at some point).

So then there's the amp... And here I've got a small dilemma again. Similarly to the speakers, I've got a space constraint as the (built-in) shelf with all the hidden cabling is only 38cm deep against the wall. So allowing some for interconnect ends etc, that pretty much disqualifies a lot of the popular choices (incl Roksan Kandy, the bigger CA Azurs, Cyrus 6/8). Hanging over the edge is a possibility but not ideal as there are kids around... What probably *would* fit into the space is NAD C355BEE, Naim Nait 3/5i/XS, some of the Arcam FMJs, as they are not so deep (around 30cm).

Would anyone like to comment on these, and how these listed might work with the Neutrons and a DacMagic? I haven't auditioned any of them yet. Is there anything else I am completely overlooking? Any past makes and models I should be hunting for on eBay?

The Nait XS is out of range right now, but then again if I decided it was *the one* then I'd just have to stick it out with the Alpha5 for a bit longer while I save up.

Would appreciate any thoughts or pointers!

Svante

 

[chebby]

The Nait 5i would be an ideal fit.

The case is 30cm deep and the amp never seems to get very warm. (No vents on top or sides to collect dust.

The remaining 8 cm is fine for mains connection and interconnects, speaker cables etc. (Choose fairly flexible ones though.)

Don't forget Rega's amps. (Mira 3 and Brio 3) both around 27cm deep. (And both available in black to order.)

 

[Messiah]

As an alternative, what about seeing if AVI can upgrade the Neutrons to THIS Active (or powered) version.

Then you could get a DAC/Pre-amp like the Beresford........

 

[theadmans]

I would be interested in the answers to this too!

I have AVI Neutron IV speakers and my equipment is on a narrow shelf also. Having spoken to Ash at AVI the Neutrons need ideally more than 100 wpc. Unfortunately our equipment shelves are too narrow for most amps in this power range. The Cambridge 840 would seem ideal for the power but is too big for the shelf.

I currently run an old Creek 4330 integrated which is tiny so fits on my shelf. It is only rated at 40 wpc (but it has a high current) - it works pretty well with the Neutrons. However, like you I would like to upgrade this amp in the future. The Audiolab 8000s had a good review in HiFi World recently and is pretty compact, however, I have seen mixed reviews of this amp elsewhere.

I think also that with the Neutrons it important to get a fairly smooth sounding amp - a bright amp would be a mismatch in my opinion. I suppose another option would be to look into buying a secondhand AVI Lab Series Integrated - does anyone know how these sound with Neutrons?

 

[John Duncan]

Sounds like exactly the same setup as me. You have about three centimetres more depth than me, so Chebby's right, the Nait will fit. I use a Primare A20 Mk2 (has to be one of their older A/20 series as the new i-series and older A/30 series are too deep).

Creek is another option - I think the Evo might be pushing it, but the Destiny and Classic/5350SE will fit.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot everyone for the replies.

So it sounds like I need to regularly start scanning well known auction sites for used:

- Primare A20 Mk2
- Creek Classic/5350SE

Or could look at buying new or used:

- Creek Destiny
- Naim Nait 5i/XS
- Audiolab 8000s
- Rega Mira 3 / Brio 3

Chances are, of course, that if one of the above would come up on the 2nd hand market I'd have to decide without being able to audition. Would anyone care to comment on some general characteristics of the above amps? How many of them would blow my current Arcam Alpha 5 out of the water in terms of clarity and timing (I'm guessing most of them ;-) )?

theadmans: the AVI Lab Series integrated certainly looks sweet but I think it is too deep for my shelf. Shame, because I'm sure it would partner great with the Neutrons.

Messiah: ditto, the amp packs on the Neutrons make them too large to fit the space they have to go into!