Sounds like a Noobie (Question)

[Valentiaman]

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

[struth]

integrated really just means the preamp and power amp are "integrated" in the same box.

[Valentiaman]

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?

[struth]

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)

[Macca]

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.

[Landloper]

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.

[walpurgis]

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 .

http://i64.tinypic.com/13yq7mr.jpg


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

http://i68.tinypic.com/29mxezr.jpg


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

http://i66.tinypic.com/2h5via9.jpg


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.

http://i66.tinypic.com/hvb8tc.jpg


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

http://i67.tinypic.com/2i9nta9.jpg


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.

http://i64.tinypic.com/50ofnk.jpg


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.

http://i65.tinypic.com/30vg9z4.jpg

[nonuffin]

I see hundreds of INTERGRATED amplifiers on ebay, so are they different to an INTEGRATED amplifier?

[walpurgis]

I see hundreds of INTERGRATED amplifiers on ebay, so are they different to an INTEGRATED amplifier?

They are used in sterios.

[Stryder5]

They are used in sterios.

:) so, they are the same just spelled wrong

[hifi_dave]

Correct.

[Valentiaman]

Thanks for the help again everyone - what a great forum! :)

[walpurgis]

what a great forum! :)

Yup. It's a good place. Plenty of knowledge here and we're all friendly! :D

[Michael loves music]

I love my Denon 350SE

[Liffy99]

Yup. It's a good place. Plenty of knowledge here and we're all friendly! :D

I’m not, Grrrrrrr. ��

As for a suggested integrated amp - first off it depends what you want to feed into it, and possibly the type of loudspeakers you want it to drive. For example, do you want it to;

Have its own input for a record deck ?
If so, should it have an input for a moving magnet (high output) or moving coil (low output) cartridge ?
If it doesn’t have one then a separate phono pre-amp is needed.

Do you have a ‘line level’ source to connect, such as a CD player or streaming device like a Squeezebox Touch ?
And how many inputs to you need ?
And should those inputs be analogue or digital ? Some amps, like the little SMPS and my larger Lyngdorf can have their own inbuilt DAC (digital to analogue converter). If, for example, you have a CD player that only has a digital output you may need a separate DAC if your amplifier only has analogue inputs.

And some speakers are fussier on their requirements than others, or less efficient (i.e they need more power). For example many smaller amplifiers may baulk at the prospect of driving a pair of electrostatics which are often very difficult ‘loads’.

Once you. Are sure what you want to feed into the amp, and how many inputs (and their type) you need, and which speakers you want to drive (now and perhaps in the future) it will be easier to look at options.

[Frazeur1]

:) so, they are the same just spelled wrong

Kind of like Intergrated instead of Integrated? :)

[Macca]

Probably best to use both integrated and intergrated on your listings so that it can be found in searches by people who can spell and by people who can't.

see also: Bass and base.