Newbie

[timpdj]

Hi all

Happy to join the Art of Sound forum. I've been a lifelong hifi fan, having been encourages to take listening to music seriously by my dad, who is also into his kit and sounds. I go through phases where I obsess over sound and trying to improve things, and I think I'm in one of those periods now following around eight years of relative hifi inactivity, starting a family and having limited time (and money). Music-wise I like a huge variety of stuff - I like a lot of offbeat electronica, but also jazz, funk, soul, blues. Just good music.

So I've upgraded a couple of bits recently and am on the lookout for a new stereo amp, as I don't think I'm doing my stereo sources justice from my AV amp (as good as it is with movies). This is my set up:

Rega RP1 Turntable
Rega Apollo CD
Lossless files (lots of them 24-192) played from my laptop via a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100
Yamaha RX-V2600 amp
Neat Motive SX2 (recent purchase, replacing a long-owned pair of JM Lab Focal Chorus 715s)
QED and Chord wires and cables.

Whatever stereo amp I end up getting will need to share my Neats with my AV set-up, which set me the challenge of finding a switch that can fire one pair of horns from two separate amps. My solution to this is the Beresford TC-7220 AUDIO ROUTER, which doesn't seem to have enjoyed an official review but many owners suggest it's a great solution that doesn't degrade quality.

If anyone has a better/different solution, happy to hear.

All the best
Tim

[struth]

Welcome Tim. hope you enjoy the forum. I have a set of JM Lab Focal's too. superb speakers for the money. cant remember the model but they do sound great. Hope you find your amp

[timpdj]

Thanks Grant. I see you have Thorens. I had a TD turntable too, but I sold it a while ago when I was hard up. I live every day with the regret! All the best.

[walpurgis]

Hi Tim. Welcome to AOS.

So you're looking for a new amp. It'll need to be reasonably powerful to drive the Neats to useful levels. I'd suggest a minimum of around 50 watts per channel. What budget do you have?

I have to admit, I'm not keen on switching boxes for proper Hi-Fi use. But if it sounds OK to you, maybe it's worth having.

If you have any other plans for your system we'd like to hear about them.


Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[timpdj]

Thanks for the welcome Geoff. Considering the Arcam FMJ A19 or the Rega Elex-R if I can stretch to it (made an offer to an AOS member last night on one actually) - both seem to have lots of drive and should complement the Neats pretty well.

You're right that a switch box is not ideal, and I agree. It's a pro tem compromise I guess. In an ideal world I'd have sepearate systems, but I can't afford the space required for lots of speakers (or the cost), so I'm trying to see if I can have the best of all worlds. I'll try out the Beresford switch box to see if I can discern any quality loss issues and perhaps I'll post my thoughts after the experiment. Sadly my gear is inaccessible, so constantly swapping out wires etc would be a pain.

So, as ever, compromise is the watch word: quality, cost, space, what my wife will allow etc etc!

Tim

[walpurgis]

If your budget could stretch a little further. Take a look at the Creek Destiny 2. http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/news/article/creek-destiny-2--pound;1749/9718

[timpdj]

It's nice, but my boat probably can't be pushed out that far. I'd also need it with the phone input for the turntable which I guess would be extra cost. Might browse classifieds thoough to see if I can spot one. Certainly smart looking.