tube technology unisis integrated or manley stingray , jolida valve dac , should be able to pick up these for £1000 seconhand if it has to be ss then avi pre and monos
phil.
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 394
I'm Phil.
tube technology unisis integrated or manley stingray , jolida valve dac , should be able to pick up these for £1000 seconhand if it has to be ss then avi pre and monos
phil.
Phil.
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 791
I'm Svend.
Thanks Phil. I appreciate the recommendations. I've heard very good things about Jolida products, incl. their DACs.
Just as an aside, the contrast of very old school tube technology being used in a 21st century digital product amuses me. Makes me want to go there just for that reason.
Best,
Svend
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posts: 105
I'm Paul.
Used NAD C372 at 150wpc has rock solid bass, very dynamic sound. How good? I preferred it over the far more expensive NADC375BEE, had them both and would keep the 372 over the 375. Used sell for maybe $440 CDN, leaves money for a decent DAC. The 372 sounds more real than “hifi” and does jazz and such well, along with rock, orchestral. I wish I had never sold it. I use the 375BEE now in a second system.
Another fantastic choice is the Cambridge Audio Minx XI, only 40wpc but drives my Epos bookshelfs to volumes louder than I need. The built in DAC handles up to 24/96, has 2 analog inputs (no phono pre), 2 USB inputs for external HDD, and digital inputs. The sound is very refined for the price and unnaturally even across the board with no peakiness. I have it in a third system which gets heavy use in our kitchen. Have cable box, DVD, and 1TB HDD drive with hi-res files connected. Plus it has very good wifi connection for internet radio, solid bluetooth connection which I use to stream my TIDAL hifi account. My main sytem is a $12000 CDN Air Tight tube amp, but I absolutely love the sound of the very cheap Minx XI. What HiFi gave it a 5 star review and 93% user ratings. To me this would be an ideal starter, and easy to use and stylish and ticks all the boxes. Not sure about driving your Kefs but my Epos speakers rock. https://www.whathifi.com/cambridge-audio/minx-xi/review
Pauls Stuff
Amp and Pre — Air Tight ATM1-S tube amp 36wpc EL34, Linn Akurate Kontrol 2 channel preamp
Speakers and Analog - Proac Response D Two, Thorens TD160HD with Clearaudio Talismann V2 cart, Clearaudio Basic+ with Accu+ phono preamp
Digital — Auralic Aries streamer, Cambridge Audio 840C CD
Rack Isolation - Solid Tech Radius Solo, HRS, Symposium, and Synergisitc Research isolation shelfs.
Power treatment/cables — Audience AR6TS power conditioner, interconnects and power cables mix of Cardas Golden Reference and Nordost Valhalla.
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 791
I'm Svend.
Hi Paul,
Some great recommendations there -- thank you! I will definitely keep those NAD and Cambridge models in mind. I've always liked the NAD sound, but don't know Cambridge at all. We'll see how things evolve with my daughter and her taste in sound quality. She has a good ear, so hopefully is discerning as to what sound character she likes in a hifi system. First thing I need to do is get hold of those KEFs and see how efficient (or not) they are. That will tell me much about what we need to drive them.
Regards,
Svend