Suggested amp for Rega Planar 3 and EB1 speakers

jonnyr100

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Over time I have been souping up my Rega Planar 3 (80s model), When the tonearm was damaged in moving home I bought an RB300. That was then given an origin live mod (internal and external wiring and counterweight) and is now fitted with a Goldring 1012GX cartridge.

A while ago I came across some EB1s and bought them to replace speakers which got "left behind" in another move. I'm using a very very old Yamaha amp and the sound is not good: not clear but I don't know how to describe it. Not muffled, but not crisp. Muddy?

Apart from my beloved turntable, I have an Arcam CD player but am transferring my CD collection onto my computer (in FLAC format) and at the moment using the logitech squeezebox. Sound is not too bad (though recently doing a test run on the same piece of music on that and on vinyl, my daughter said the vinyl sounded richer and warmer). Can/will upgrade the streamer at a future date if necessary.

Anyway, I'm willing to spend up to £1000 on an amp or amp+speaker combo and would like some recommendations please.

My taste in music is classical generally and opera in particular. The room is 5m x 3.5m and has a suspended timber floor with bare floorboards and a rug covering about 50%. When we first moved into the house and I temporarily hooked up the turntable in my TV room to my AV receiver (RXV767) and Kef 3005 5.1 but in a slightly smaller and carpetted room the sound I thought was amazing. I'm really disappointed with the Hi Fi in the living room now and don't know if it's "just" the old amp in the setup or the EB1s or the room dynamics or a combination of them.

Does anyone have any views on what might be wrong and some suggestions to make it right.

Many thanks
 

BigH

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I presume you have the speakers on proper stands?

Sounds like your old amp. is struggling in a larger room.

As for amps. plenty to choose from: Rega Brio R, Arcam A19, Creek 50A and Roksan Kandy K2. The Creek will need a phono stage. Have some auditions and then try to have a home demo.
 

davedotco

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First make absolutely sure both the player and speakers are working properly and are at their best.

Once you are sure this is the case you need to do the following....

1) Make sure your turntable is properly supported, if the floor is good and does not move too much a light rigid table, properly leveled and spiked to the floor, close to a supporting wall, might be ok but if not the player should be wall mounted.

2) Mount the speakers on decent stands, again leveled and spiked into the floor. In my limited experience these speakers need some room to breath, there are some owners of EB1s about, they may be able to help further.

3) Buy the best amplifier you can get, if you are happy with a minimalist design the Croft Integrated phono is superb at £1000, if you want a 'full function' amplifier then the Creek 50a would be my choice. Order it with the optional onboard phono stage, still slightly less expensive than the Croft.
 

BigH

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Some good points by Dave as usual. I would also consider some used amps if you do decide to replace your amp. Although I did not hear them with vinyl I also thought the Creek 50A was the best out of those amps I listed. AS EB1s are not very sensitive you may want more power if you play at above moderate volumes.
 

DIB

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Talking of Creek, why not consider a 5350 like mine..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251407504425?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

This "sold" a few days ago for just over £450 but the buyer was a time waster, hence the re-listing. This is not mine I hasten to add, but anyone looking for a really classy integrated amp for under £500 will be hard pushed to beat this one. Bang one of the Sequel 40 MM phonoboards in for an additional £100 and you'll have no problem with your Planar 3 and EB1's.

.
 

davedotco

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BigH said:
Some good points by Dave as usual. I would also consider some used amps if you do decide to replace your amp. Although I did not hear them with vinyl I also thought the Creek 50A was the best out of those amps I listed. AS EB1s are not very sensitive you may want more power if you play at above moderate volumes.

Good point.

Checking the EB Acoustics website, I see that the sensitivity is on the low side at 86dBw. Were I using such speakers myself I would want at least 100 wpc which rules out my amp selections above.

Power wise the Roksan Kandy is the obvious choice but I find it's sound signature to be a bit mechanical and 'matter of fact', though I accept that is a personal reaction that others may well not have.

Any other suggestions?
 

BigH

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DIB said:
Talking of Creek, why not consider a 5350 like mine..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251407504425?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

This "sold" a few days ago for just over £450 but the buyer was a time waster, hence the re-listing. This is not mine I hasten to add, but anyone looking for a really classy integrated amp for under £500 will be hard pushed to beat this one. Bang one of the Sequel 40 MM phonoboards in for an additional £100 and you'll have no problem with your Planar 3 and EB1's.

Yes I saw that, thats the sort of used amp. I would consider.
 

BigH

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davedotco said:
BigH said:
Some good points by Dave as usual. I would also consider some used amps if you do decide to replace your amp. Although I did not hear them with vinyl I also thought the Creek 50A was the best out of those amps I listed. AS EB1s are not very sensitive you may want more power if you play at above moderate volumes.

Good point.

Checking the EB Acoustics website, I see that the sensitivity is on the low side at 86dBw. Were I using such speakers myself I would want at least 100 wpc which rules out my amp selections above.

Power wise the Roksan Kandy is the obvious choice but I find it's sound signature to be a bit mechanical and 'matter of fact', though I accept that is a personal reaction that others may well not have.

Any other suggestions?

I tend to agree about the RK, it has the power but I found it a bit dull and not very engaging, lacking in clarity. I did hear it twice, once straight after the Creek 50A. Problem with Creek is they have very few dealers in UK.
 

davedotco

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BigH said:
DIB said:
Talking of Creek, why not consider a 5350 like mine..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251407504425?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

This "sold" a few days ago for just over £450 but the buyer was a time waster, hence the re-listing. This is not mine I hasten to add, but anyone looking for a really classy integrated amp for under £500 will be hard pushed to beat this one. Bang one of the Sequel 40 MM phonoboards in for an additional £100 and you'll have no problem with your Planar 3 and EB1's.

Yes I saw that, thats the sort of used amp. I would consider.

I would always be wary of recommending anything secondhand.

You have no idea of the history or condition of the unit or in this case the preferences of the buyer.

Nothing wrong with buying secondhand of couse, you simply have to know enough about the product in question to minimise any risk.

Thw OP is clearly happy to buy secondhand, but I would suggest not that successfully thus far.
 

drummerman

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DIB said:
Talking of Creek, why not consider a 5350 like mine..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251407504425?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

This "sold" a few days ago for just over £450 but the buyer was a time waster, hence the re-listing. This is not mine I hasten to add, but anyone looking for a really classy integrated amp for under £500 will be hard pushed to beat this one. Bang one of the Sequel 40 MM phonoboards in for an additional £100 and you'll have no problem with your Planar 3 and EB1's.

.

That looks very good. Not long ago I was bidding on 5350 and only chickened out because it had a possible fault (which the seller did mention).

I've since reverted to cyrus and am very happy but would have no qualms about going for the creek otherwise.

regards
 

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