View Full Version : WTD: Decent cheapo amp...
Hi all,
A good friend of mine (my forum techie as a matter of fact) has recently caught the hifi bug. I have told him he is doomed as there is no cure... :lol:
Anyways, he has my old system which comprises of a Cambridge Audio A1se mk3, a Sony CDP-XE370 CD Player and a pair of KEF Q35 speakers. He is discovering, as I did, that although the A1se is a decent sounding bargain basement amp it is not quite man enough to drive the KEF's efficiently. He has asked me to cast about for something with a bit more oomph and finesse. His budget is just £60 so he isn't expecting miracles. It would also be helpful if the amp had a phono stage fitted. His living room measures 18ft x 12ft and is arranged to suit a good listening position. What have you got which might fit the bill? :cool:
With correct alignment of the stars ( and a bit of luck) he may be able to get a SONY TA-F940R, which sounds superb for this sort of Wonga, and he may have to patient...... but it is worth the wait.
walpurgis
16-09-2013, 21:32
What about something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Denon-PMA-350SE-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier-/121177326760?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item1c36bb44a8
Plenty of wellie and excellent sound!
An excellent suggestion Geoff and a damned good amp, and I will go to ebay if I must but would much prefer to buy from someone on the forum if poss ;)
istari_knight
16-09-2013, 22:26
I've got a spare Arcam A65 but will want £80 for it... Its worth it ! :D
Hold that thought for 2 days and 14 hours please James as I am currently watching a Musical Fidelity A1 on that infamous auction site. If that doesn't pan out I will get back to you ;)
The Grand Wazoo
16-09-2013, 23:36
Is the A1 beefy enough Dave?
They sail a bit close to the wind thermally and that's a pretty large room.....
The Musical Fidelity A1 is an excellent sounding amp. However, the 'fit and finish' could have been better. And it runs hot, very hot and because of that is not as reliable as one would like.
I have it on good authority that despite the rather modest 25wpc rating this amp delivers current like there's no tomorrow due to its beefy PS. I hope someone will be along to confirm that at some point as I don't want to make boo boo here and leave my friend in the same position he is currently in... :eyebrows:
Is the A1 beefy enough Dave? They sail a bit close to the wind thermally and that's a pretty large room.....
The Musical Fidelity A1 is an excellent sounding amp. However, the 'fit and finish' could have been better. And it runs hot, very hot and because of that is not as reliable as one would like.
Hmmm, not a good choice then?
The Grand Wazoo
17-09-2013, 00:02
As Barry says, they can sound excellent. However, I would really want to be sure of my ground before I used it in a room that size. Nothing too taxing in the way of levels and programme material & you may be fine, but I'd be extremely cautious, myself.
Righto, thanks both... I definitely do not want to leave him in a similar position to that which he is in right now and I certainly wouldn't want to recommend an amp which may develop reliability issues in the future. Perhaps James' Arcam A65 might be the better bet although that is 20 quid above his budget. He has £110 pounds to play with in total however he was hoping to be able to upgrade the CDP at the same time. Would the cash be better spent on the amp at this time leaving the CDP upgrade for the future?
istari_knight
17-09-2013, 11:01
Whats his current CDP ?
AFAIK any original A1 still around that hasn't been serviced in the last 5 years will be about as reliable as an Alfa Romeo... Loads of good reading about it here: http://www.mhennessy1.f9.co.uk/mf_a1/introduction.htm
It's a budget Sony CDP-XE370 (my old player) which is alright for what it is but it doesn't exactly set the world alight. As I mentioned in my first post the amp will be driving a pair of KEF Q35's (which also used to be mine).
I'd go for a Denon or maybe an Audiolab if you can find one at that price. Stick with the Sony CDP for now, it's good enough.
istari_knight
17-09-2013, 18:53
:doh: sorry I missed that somehow ! To be honest I think you'd be better off getting a Rotel integrated & Marantz cdp off the bay for that budget... Unless it was you that snapped up that HK in the classifieds ? ;)
vinylspinner
17-09-2013, 21:16
:doh: sorry I missed that somehow ! To be honest I think you'd be better off getting a Rotel integrated & Marantz cdp off the bay for that budget... Unless it was you that snapped up that HK in the classifieds ? ;)
No, that was me, will be using it for my record fair system, very good amp imho.
nigel
Got a denon pma 590 or a sony 555es if your interested
Hi Henry. I will get back to you on these, I will need to call my friend to give him some details on each amp. How much are you asking for them?
Still looking for an integrated amp, preferably with phono stage, for around 60 quid delivered ;)
Andrew B
22-09-2013, 18:57
I really hadn't planned on selling it, Dave, but I've got an A60 that I could ship to you for £50 all in. I bought it a few months ago and only had it on once, so I'd need to give it a good run to check it's A1 before shipping.
It's a later one with black case. I'm not selling it otherwise. I just saw your post and thought I'd offer. Always had a soft spot for them :)
I really hadn't planned on selling it, Dave, but I've got an A60 that I could ship to you for £50 all in. I bought it a few months ago and only had it on once, so I'd need to give it a good run to check it's A1 before shipping.
It's a later one with black case. I'm not selling it otherwise. I just saw your post and thought I'd offer. Always had a soft spot for them :)
Me too Andrew but unfortunately it's not really the sort of thing my friend is looking for. He is looking for an amp that looks a little more contemporary and has a few more inputs, despite my best efforts to persuade him that the A60 has a very special sound and an excellent phono stage. Thank you for the offer though ;)
walpurgis
22-09-2013, 20:33
I still reckon you should be looking at PMA-350SE or maybe PMA-250SE amps. They're affordable, bomb proof and sound decent.
I still reckon you should be looking at PMA-350SE or maybe PMA-250SE amps. They're affordable, bomb proof and sound decent.
I'm still waiting on henrym to get back to me with a price and some photos of his PMA590 Geoff, my friend likes the look of it and seemingly it is a decent sounding amp if what I've read about it is accurate. On the plus side I've bought a Pioneer PD-S801 stable platter CDP for my friend this evening for 50 quid shipped, so he's happy about that ;)
walpurgis
22-09-2013, 20:54
Not familiar with the 590, but Denon amps are usually good.
It's a shame about Andrew's A60 as I think it would be right up my friends street soundwise, unfortunately it has too few inputs for his liking and the fact they are 5 pin DIN's is a deal breaker for him. He's also not keen on the styling :rolleyes:
Andrew B
22-09-2013, 21:45
The Denons aren't bad amps. There's always the Pioneer A400x too. £60 is just about achievable with postage if you pick the right one on Ebay. I've always liked the x version, but it doesnt work with everything.
The Denons aren't bad amps. There's always the Pioneer A400x too. £60 is just about achievable with postage if you pick the right one on Ebay. I've always liked the x version, but it doesnt work with everything.
We missed out on a nice A400X on Saturday evening on the 'bay which went for 51 quid and a few coppers. He was keen for me to go for a couple of other amps which finished this evening but both exceeded his budget :rolleyes:
walpurgis
25-09-2013, 22:06
Dunno if you got anything sorted Dave, but this may be OK. I'd ask a few questions though, as there's no description and it's a stock photo.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Denon-PMA-255-Integrated-Amplifier-/370902997481?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item565b8a99e9
istari_knight
25-09-2013, 22:29
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIONEER-A-300-STEREO-AMPLIFIER-WITH-REMOTE-CONTROL-/171135260190?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item27d874d61e
The last one sold for £77 so not a bad price...
Idlewithnodrive
26-09-2013, 10:05
I can thoroughly recommend a QED A240SA.
Stupidly good for that sort of money and with a very good, fully discrete MM / MC phono stage with separate supplies.
Still looking, what have you got?
You might laugh at this, but nothing wrong with an old Pioneer or similar home theatre amp. Bags of inputs, plenty of power owing to the huge transformers and SQ is anything but diabolical. OK, not glamorous but if the budget is too tight for anything with a pedigree then it could suffice at least for a while.
Temporarily had an old Pioneer VSX and was surprised how easy it was to sit in front of.
Hal55
The picture of what he wants is becoming clearer. So far I have recommended Pioneer A400/x's, various Denon pma350's, a Marantz PM44se and a few Sony TA-FB 9 series amps, all of which should perform admirably in his system. Most have rocketed out of budget on ebay, however not all. What has emerged as a consequence is that he would prefer a few more knobs and buttons as he finds the look of the A400 and pma350 for example to be a little austere.
I have found a possible candidate which certainly looks the part, however I don't know a thing about how it performs, neither am I able to find a consensus online as to its power output. Actually opinions and facts are scarce about this unit, full stop. The amp in question is a Pioneer A-307R ;)
dantheman91
26-09-2013, 13:30
Hi Dave
I have a Pioneer SX 300 inputs are Aux / Phono / Tape/REC
1973 vintage 7 watt receivers & pretty beefy condition excellent & fully working.
£70 ONO??
He's looking for something a little more modern Dan and around 60 quid shipped, a tall order I grant you, although he has hinted recently that he might chuck a few extra quid at the right amp ;)
Have you any experience of a Pioneer A-307R Dan?
dantheman91
26-09-2013, 16:27
Hi
No worries dave just a nice little thing i thought i would offer.
No experience of the A 301 but if you look at this thread "James" mentions its near enough the same as the A 400 so in all honesty it can't be bad and lets face it the guy knows his onions..
Thanks
Dan
istari_knight
26-09-2013, 22:22
The A-307R is quite poo I'm sorry to say... Hows about something like this ? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sansui-AU-317-Phono-Integrated-Amplifier-/121180974856?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item1c36f2ef08
The quest is over. Bought a very tidy Marantz PM66SE for a tad under fifty quid this evening which should do him for now, I owned one for a while and it was a decent sounding amp. That Sansui is very nice James :)
istari_knight
26-09-2013, 23:19
Bargain :thumbsup: I doubt you'll find anything better that met the criteria for £50.
Bargain :thumbsup: I doubt you'll find anything better that met the criteria for £50.
I think you are right James, this one is in top condition and even comes with the remote, which is more than mine did and I bought that unit from Dixons... :lol:
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