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Thread: Sounds like a Noobie (Question)

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2018

    Location: Ireland

    Posts: 35
    I'm Stephen.

    Default Sounds like a Noobie (Question)

    I've been listening to, and reading about, hifi for a very long time (over ah em 45 years), so I should know this...but I'm going to ask anyway, and then get me coat.

    What exactly is an "integrated" amplifier?
    b) Are most of them "integrated"?
    c) Is there another kind?
    d) When looking for a new amp, why would I choose integrated (or something else).

    Walking sheepishly away...

    Stephen

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    integrated really just means the preamp and power amp are "integrated" in the same box.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
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    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

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  3. #3
    Join Date: May 2018

    Location: Ireland

    Posts: 35
    I'm Stephen.

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    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    integrated really just means the preamp and power amp are "integrated" in the same box.
    Thanks Grant. So, I assume that means my current amp (Cambridge Audio Azur 540A, which does not have a phono preamp, is not integrated? If so, as I now have 2 phono preamps, bought trying to sort out my turntable, can anyone recommend a decent amp without a preamp in the £250 region - or am I asking for the wrong thing?

  4. #4
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    no, its integrated. by pre amp, i dont mean a phono pre.. a main preamp is whats counted.. it may or may not also have a phono stage too. technically it could be a passive or an active pre as well. (passive means no amplification in the pre; ie basically just a pot)
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  5. #5
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,778
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    Phono pre-amp is a different thing.

    All amps have a pre section and a power section, the pre-amp lets you select the volume and different inputs, the power amp amplifies the signal to a level that will make the loudspeakers work.

    An integrated has pre and power in the same box, it may or may not include a phono stage in that box.

    the alternative to an integrated is to have a stand alone pre-amp with volume and source selection and a power amp (or amps) which will usually just have an on/off switch. Stand alone pre amps also may or may not have a phono stage built in.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  6. #6
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Navan

    Posts: 378
    I'm Jo.

    Default >>>

    Quote Originally Posted by Valentiaman View Post
    I've been listening to, and reading about, hifi for a very long time (over ah em 45 years), so I should know this...but I'm going to ask anyway, and then get me coat.

    What exactly is an "integrated" amplifier?
    b) Are most of them "integrated"?
    c) Is there another kind?
    d) When looking for a new amp, why would I choose integrated (or something else).

    Walking sheepishly away...

    Stephen
    Hello Stephen, and welcome.

    An alternative to an integrated amp is a combination a pre-amplifier and power amp[s]. I think I am right in saying that most amps are integrated.

    One of the benefits of an integrated amp is they tend to be less expensive than the two or more box combinations needed in a pre-power set up. They usually take up less space too.

    Each element of pre/power has its own power supply so that it can devote its current to one job, not to two. This is said to provide an improvement in sound reproduction over the integrated amplifier. One also needs an extra set of interconnects to link the pre-amp with the power amplifier, adding to cost. You may also need to add another shelf to to your rack to house the extra amplifier, again adding to cost.

    Another option si to have an integrated with a pre-out for attaching a power amp. I have a Cyrus 8vs2 linked to Cyrus power amp and have the integrated for pre-amp duty and treble amplification, with the power amp taking care of mid and bass amplification. This combination gave some improvement over the integrated alone, but for me the improvement didn't justify the expense of the power amp. I could also use the integrated [as it has a pre-out] as a pre-amp providing all the signal for amplification to the power amp.

    I have used the power amp alone with DACs that have a pre-amplifier function as well, so I do feel that if the integrated packed up I could still have a usable system.

    Integrated amps take up less space than combos, and, just to confuse matters further, I expect some posher ones may have separate internal power supplies for pre-amplification and amplification duties.

    I'm no expert and there are other members here far more able to furnish technical explanations than I am able to.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    An integrated amp and a pre-amp may have an integral phono stage or may not. Depends on spec. An external one can be used if needed.


    Here is the front of a typical integrated amplifier, a Denon PMA-350SE, it has the controls on .




    Here is the back. Note the speaker sockets and input sockets.




    Here is the front of a Quad 34 pre-amplifier, it has controls on.




    The rear view of the Quad 34, the inputs and 'line level' outputs are here, they feed the inputs on a power amp. No speaker terminals.




    This is a Quad 306 power amp. The front only has the on-off switch.




    The back of the 306 power amp. It has 'line level' inputs so it can be connected to a Quad 34 pre-amplifier. It also has speaker terminals.




    This is a pair of Restek monoblock power amps. They are fed 'line level' signal from a stereo pre-amp. One is used for each channel.


  8. #8
    Join Date: Apr 2018

    Location: South East Cornwall

    Posts: 322
    I'm Dominic.

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    I see hundreds of INTERGRATED amplifiers on ebay, so are they different to an INTEGRATED amplifier?
    CD player = Marantz CD6006
    DAC/pre = Rotel RC 1572
    Power amp = ADA PF201
    Speaks = Quadral Chromium Style 6

  9. #9
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nonuffin View Post
    I see hundreds of INTERGRATED amplifiers on ebay, so are they different to an INTEGRATED amplifier?
    They are used in sterios.

  10. #10
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Much Wenlock

    Posts: 1,522
    I'm Gary.

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    Quote Originally Posted by walpurgis View Post
    They are used in sterios.
    so, they are the same just spelled wrong

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