YANAT (yet another new amplifier thread...)

[lordsquirrel]

Sorry for posting another one of these... anyway, my old Technics separates gave up the ghost and were disposed of a while back. I recently acquired a second hand pair of speakers from a friend (Celestion F30 floorstanders, 8Ohm), and I now need something to power them. Have been looking at integrated amplifiers in the sub-300 bracket. Main source is Logitech Squeezebox Touch with Napster (or other streaming sources), also have my old Technics turntable which will also be used but less frequently. I plan to add a CD player soon but not immediately.

RS suggested Marantz PM6005 or Yamaha A-S301/501, though the two advisors disagreed over power needs. One said large floorstanders would benefit from more power than the Marantz delivered. The other, having looked up the speaker specs, said that their sensitivity was good enough that the Marantz would be fine. I'll mainly be listening at low to moderate levels in an average size living room (might occasionally turn it up a bit louder if i know the neighbours are out... but that's not an important use case). Music is varied from classical to rock but with a current leaning towards indie/acoustic/folk (like to be able to hear individual instruments/voices clearly, more than big wall-of-sound style production)

Here my thoughts based on my research so far:

Pioneer A30: Really liked the design, is well reviewed, and would be a cheap option. But has even less power than the marantz (40 Watts into 8 Ohm), so not sure it would be suitable.

Marantz PM6005: obviously well reviewed, not so keen on the design and not sure on power.

Yamaha S301/S501: has the power and features, can't see too many negatives (shame about the small plasticky volume knob but can't have everything) (except one recent post here frome someone very disappointed with theirs)

Onkyo 9030/ 9050: Would seem to suit the bill though slightly sniffy review for the 9050 here on WHF, and individual user reviews on amazon complaining about weak phono stage - but probably shouldn't put too much stock in that, they might have been using the wrong cartridge type, had faulty units etc.)

Cambridge: not an option as no phono stage.

Leaning towards Yamaha or possibly Onkyo to be on the safe side power wise. Digital inputs not essential though possibly sensible for future-proofing? Don't drive and can't see myself getting the heavy speakers to RS to "audition".

Any thoughts on any of the above would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rainsoothe]

well a bit of reading around says that these speakers would profit from amps that have some bite, since they're rather soft. In which case, the Marantz (even though it sounds amazing) might not be a good choice, since it's also rather smooth. And I find Yamaha even wimpier, but without the Marantz's bubblyness. The dealer that said they're easy to drive is right, assuming they dont drop in impedance, because they have a sensitivity of 90db, so either entrylevel amp will be enough. BUT don't just take my word for it, try to demo, you might love it.

One pro would be the PM6005's integrated dac with optical in, which would bring much better sound out of the touch - just use an optical cable. Another option to consider is Nad D3020 (no phonostage though), or, if you don't need dac, Rotel RA 10.

Or, look for second hand Rotel RA 1062 or RA 1520.

 

[matthewpiano]

At 90dB sensitivity and 8 Ohm nominal impedance those Celestions should be straight forward to drive and pretty much any of those amps will handle them, as would a Denon PMA720AE which is currently a bargain. The Pioneer A30 you mention is a very good amplifier as is the Yamaha A-S501. The Marantz is perfectly decent but IME they can sound a bit thick and heavy which you may or may not like.

 

[lordsquirrel]

Thanks! From both of your comments it sounds like I don't need to be so concerned about the power issue, which gives me more options (though given my indecisiveness that's not necessarily a good thing...) Will investigate rotel and denon as well, and reconsider pioneer...

 

[lordsquirrel]

In the end i was constrained by the size (depth) of the shelf the amplifier is supposed to live on - i didn't realise how big some of these amps are. The shelf being only 40 cm deep immediately ruled out the yamaha and marantz and some others. I settled on the onkyo 9030 in the end which is only 33 cm deep leaving clearance at back for cables, and looks stylish (to my eyes).

Only had it a few days, but so far so good...