T
the record spot
Guest
Popped in to one of the shops in Edinburgh today, thought I'd check out the amps on offer there and see what was on the shelves. Quick scout round, Arcam A18 at £600, Rotel 1520 at £695...Naim and Bryston at various points upwards, so, given my max budget is £699, looks like we have two to think about. Went up to the assistant, explained what I was after and my budget, mentioning, critically that I'd like to spend no more than £699, but if I could spend less, this would be fine. I also need an amp that balances out the detail and brighter leaning Missions and Marantz CDP. So, I asked about the Rotel, bearing in mind a recommendation I had elsewhere on here. The guy reckons no, too bright and a bit lean. Not good. Nice looking amp. They had the Rotel 05SE as well, but he didn't mention that. He reckoned the Arcam at £600 would do. Everything else was over the budget. I left, but reckoned I'd book a session to try the Arcam out, I can take the CDP in and they've some nice smaller floorstanders I can use in place of the 752s (some smaller Naims I noticed and a few others). Got back home and thought I'd read up on the Audiolab 8000 series. Lo and behold, the self-same shop has the 8000S for £349! This - IMO - is a ballpark amp, I didn't see it in the shop but perhaps I'm expecting too much that this might get a passing mention. But part of me does wonder, that if one goes into a shop, mentions a budget, the staff (on several occasions over the years now) do naturally gravitate towards the top of the scale. I know they're sales guys, but by the same token I want best advice wholesale, not best advice for the top end of my budget only. I'm maybe being unfair - the guy was very good, didn't push at all and listened. He could've easily plugged the Naim which was only £100 more at £795 (and there are plenty of shops who'd have done just that), so credit where credit is due.