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gadgie
06-12-2016, 14:17
Hello,

A friend of mine is looking for a new amp for his set up. He understands that his current set up has some good equipment but lacks in the amp area (his words not mine).
So he is on the look out for a new amp to go with the rest of his system. He's confused as to go for valve, or bi-amp etc etc.
He has a decent budget set aside for this.
Any ideas.

current system:
B&W CM9 S2 SPEAKERS
LINN SONDEK LP12
YAMAHA AV AMP
Macca
06-12-2016, 14:38
What's the budget, does he want integrated or pre-power combo, what sort of music, does he like to bang it up a bit or is it just for quiet relaxed listening, will he consider second-hand?
Bazil
06-12-2016, 14:44
Why the AV amp is there a TV involved in the set up ?
I would tell him to forget about bi-amping , I'm sure he will do just fine with a single amp.
The Sondek has its own phono stage doesn't it ? If not an amp with a phono stage is required or a separate phono amp is required as well.
Valves ? He needs to listen to some amps to compare any dealers nearby ?
gadgie
06-12-2016, 17:10
I'm sure he would be okay with 2nd hand. He has a couple K for a budget...maybe a bit more depending etc.
Macca
06-12-2016, 20:17
World's his oyster then. Out of my league but you could probably do with narrowing his wants down a bit if you want recommendations from others, there are a lot of good amps out there for £2K used
walpurgis
06-12-2016, 20:30
Quad amps are a safe bet. Reliable, nicely made and they work well with B&W speakers.
SLS
06-12-2016, 20:36
Quad amps are a safe bet. Reliable, nicely made and they work well with B&W speakers.

Vickers are selling an ex demo Quad QSP for £895. Good amp and you could get the price down to £800, so you could make £1,200 commission on arranging it.


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southall-1998
06-12-2016, 20:39
The Quad 405-2 is a nice amp.

S.
hifi_dave
07-12-2016, 09:55
Vickers are selling an ex demo Quad QSP for £895. Good amp and you could get the price down to £800, so you could make £1,200 commission on arranging it.


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Radlett Audio is selling a new but out of the box, QSP for £795. Also a matching Elite pre at £595.
gadgie
07-12-2016, 11:32
It seems he is now looking at ICON amps. Are these any good, what would be a good alternative to ICON? I saw the price of the ICON he was looking at and it was over 5k but he reckons he can stretch to that level if required. Way above my level for sure.
walpurgis
07-12-2016, 11:42
It seems he is now looking at ICON amps. Are these any good, what would be a good alternative to ICON? I saw the price of the ICON he was looking at and it was over 5k but he reckons he can stretch to that level if required. Way above my level for sure.

Why would there be a need for an alternative to a decent product?

Icon Audio valve amps are sourced from MingDa in China I believe. Those sold under the Icon brand have a slightly different spec to the equivalent MingDa models if I recall. Probably mains supply matching. The products under both labels are well built and have been favourably reviewed.
SLS
07-12-2016, 15:50
Why would there be a need for an alternative to a decent product?

Icon Audio valve amps are sourced from MingDa in China I believe. Those sold under the Icon brand have a slightly different spec to the equivalent MingDa models if I recall. Probably mains supply matching. The products under both labels are well built and have been favourably reviewed.

From what I recall Icon got all their stuff made in China (sensible) and then the Chinese manufacturer started selling their own brand in the UK, so the build quality is probably the same.

A friend of mine, a professional violinist (and a good one) bought an Icon Audio amp. He records for the Hyperion label, lots of excellent quality 24/96 downloads. He says it makes the best of his chamber and orchestral recordings. That's a pretty good recommendation for me.