WTD: Integrated amp

[Lawrence001]

I'm thinking of getting one next week in the £5-600 range but thought I'd see what's out there first. Open minded on topology and power (but I'm not after a low power valve amp) although I'd like to have remote control. I'd also prefer to spend less if I can but would equally up the budget a bit if it was worth the extra. I'm also fussy about condition but if something's a bargain I can always look the other way :)

[steve-z]

Just before the lockdown I auditioned and bought a Rega Brio and have found it to be superior to my previous Cambridge CXA60, it's purely analogue and it has a very good sounding MM phono stage onboard. If you don't need digital inputs I don't think there's anything better at the price (£599). It does have remote control too.

https://www.whathifi.com/rega/brio/review


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[struth]

Consider the quad vena 2

[Westendboy]

Maybe the NAD D3020v2. Reviews say it carries with it the characteristics of the original and for connectivity it touches all the bases

[Lawrence001]

Thanks for suggestions so far, the amp I'm looking at was well reviewed at about £1.5k a few years ago so I'm looking for something in that ball park though. Sorry maybe I wasn't clear that's £5-600 s/h price.

[Westendboy]

Btw, that’s below your original budget but for more money and power you could elect for the 3045

[graham67]

Hi Lawrence what speaks will they be used with?

[Lawrence001]

Hi Lawrence what speaks will they be used with?Hi Graham hope your well. It's for my new Amphion Kryptons :)

[Lawrence001]

Btw, that’s below your original budget but for more money and power you could elect for the 3045Thanks, if a used one came up about half the new price I'd seriously think about it.

[twotone]

Hi Lawrence, I bought a Yamaha RN-803D, it's a brilliant amp for the money and does everything ie FM and DAB, internet radio and music-cast multi room etc.

I paid about £500 from Richersounds around 18 months ago, the only issue, if it is an issue, is that it can't be upgraded via a software upgrade to the newer Airplay thing.

I'm not selling as it's a keeper.

Cheers

Tony

https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha-rn-803-blk.html

[graham67]

Hi Lawrence hope you are keeping well too.
I know nothing about amphions so I will spare you my prejudicial advice ;).
Atb
Graham

[Lawrence001]

Hi Lawrence hope you are keeping well too.
I know nothing about amphions so I will spare you my prejudicial advice ;).
Atb
GrahamNo please share, the worst I can do is ignore you [emoji38]

[Lawrence001]

Hi Lawrence, I bought a Yamaha RN-803D, it's a brilliant amp for the money and does everything ie FM and DAB, internet radio and music-cast multi room etc.

I paid about £500 from Richersounds around 18 months ago, the only issue, if it is an issue, is that it can't be upgraded via a software upgrade to the newer Airplay thing.

I'm not selling as it's a keeper.

Cheers

Tony

https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha-rn-803-blk.htmlThanks that's interesting as I've always liked the Yamaha sound, and want to try the variable loudness feature they often fit as most of my listening is quiet late at night.

[Scooby]

A nice Accuphase for £575 but it’s a bit of a hike unless he will post.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Accuphase-integrated-amplifier-E-206/303520474805?hash=item46ab3ae6b5:g:SREAAOSwj0NedeX G

[twotone]

Thanks that's interesting as I've always liked the Yamaha sound, and want to try the variable loudness feature they often fit as most of my listening is quiet late at night.

I've a had few amps Lawrence and this one is right up there, the convenience of the remote and the app are excellent however it plays anything except a HDD connected to the USB port on the front think it has to be a pen drive with a small capacity I tried to hook up a HDD with my backed up flac files (250gig) but it wouldn't play them however when I had the innous Zen the amp played the files from that no problem a bit clunky though when selecting stuff but most of the time I used Ipeng and airplay to play the music from the network.

The radios are all excellent BTW even the DAB and the phono stage is decent.

Very occasionally the amps show up on AV forums (the smaller version has just been sold on there BTW).

Mine's silver but I don't think RS have any silver ones left.

Tony

PS, the Quad Vena 2 that's for sale here looks the business the Yamaha has a similar Dac to the Quad but the Quad one is probably better.

[Eagle123]

Roksan ? Got the kandy the l3 version its a warm sounding gutsy amp even has tape inputs

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[Jac Hawk]

I have a Marantz PM66 Ken Ishiwata Signature in fantastic condition that i'll be moving on once my new amp turns up.

[Eagle123]

I have a Marantz PM66 Ken Ishiwata Signature in fantastic condition that i'll be moving on once my new amp turns up.I used to have a marantz 66se its a soft sounding amp easy going but strains at the top end when u crank it up

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[Jac Hawk]

I used to have a marantz 66se its a soft sounding amp easy going but strains at the top end when u crank it up

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i beg to differ, the KIS version has a better power supply, better caps etc. i use it with my Monitor Audio's and it sounds very nice indeed, in my room half volume is enough to shake the floor and make your ears bleed.

[Eagle123]

i beg to differ, the KIS version has a better power supply, better caps etc. i use it with my Monitor Audio's and it sounds very nice indeed, in my room half volume is enough to shake the floor and make your ears bleed.Meant the 66se not the ksi version that u have

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[Jac Hawk]

looked on the net at the speakers you have, they list at £12k a pair and you want to run them from a £500 amp, am i missing something

[RobbieGong]

looked on the net at the speakers you have, they list at £12k a pair and you want to run them from a £500 amp, am i missing something

:lol:

[Lawrence001]

looked on the net at the speakers you have, they list at £12k a pair and you want to run them from a £500 amp, am i missing something

Not at all, it's just a case of budget, I was pretty lucky to get these for the price I did. I've got an ice power amp which is technically the same as the highly reviewed v1 Bel Canto Ref 1000m amps but I find it a bit clinical and I prefer the sound of my Inca Designs Talon integrated which set me back £250. So I don't believe that spending more always gets you more and I'm looking for something to upgrade from what I've got.

There's an amp I'm looking at for £600 that retailed at £1.5k and was well reviewed, I think that will be an upgrade but I want to see what's out there first. I've been offered something interesting on PFM that should suit them nicely, a bit over budget but worth it I think.

[Eagle123]

What amps that lawrence

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[Lawrence001]

All will become clear once I've made a decision and secured the amp I want [emoji2]

[Lawrence001]

I'm going to demo the Stormaudio RI-70 amp I've been offered on PFM once the lockdown is over. There's only one review I can find online so if anyone has any experience of it I'd be interested to hear.

[Idlewithnodrive]

For that money, a Denon PMA-850, all day, every day.

[hifinutt]

I'm going to demo the Stormaudio RI-70 amp I've been offered on PFM once the lockdown is over. There's only one review I can find online so if anyone has any experience of it I'd be interested to hear.

sounds a good idea , shame they went bust

[Lawrence001]

sounds a good idea , shame they went bustI noticed the website only seems to offer room correction type gear now so I guessed something happened to them. If the review is anything to go by that's a shame but I'll find out more when I get to listen to it.

[Lawrence001]

What amps that lawrence

Sent from my SM-G960F using TapatalkBTW the amp I was after initially was an Arcam A39.

[Lawrence001]

Gone very quiet on the Storm audio front so back in the market for a nice integrated amp. Preferably up to £500 but will go up to £1k for the right one.

Preferably remote controlled and not too old - 90s or later but 80s Japanese monster amps considered, without remote if necessary.

At least 100wpc into 8 ohms unless genuine class A (none of this heavily biased nonsense please, if it ain't got big heatsinks it ain't true class A).

I've got a nice valve amp so SS only please.

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[hifilover]

Gone very quiet on the Storm audio front so back in the market for a nice integrated amp. Preferably up to £500 but will go up to £1k for the right one.

Preferably remote controlled and not too old - 90s or later but 80s Japanese monster amps considered, without remote if necessary.

At least 100wpc into 8 ohms unless genuine class A (none of this heavily biased nonsense please, if it ain't got big heatsinks it ain't true class A).

I've got a nice valve amp so SS only please.

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Any interest in the battleship'esque NAD I'm selling?

Not a Jap monster; but bags of power in its own right, typical of NAD

[Lawrence001]

Any interest in the battleship'esque NAD I'm selling?

Not a Jap monster; but bags of power in its own right, typical of NADSadly not, I had a 370 a few years ago it was good but not up my street any more.

For further context, I'm looking to upgrade the Arcam FMJ A32 I'm currently using so it needs to be a good step up from that.

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[Lawrence001]

Another thought I might stretch myself to a nice Accuphase, I've always wanted one since I sold my E302 nearly 10 years ago.

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[hifinutt]

Nice tucana on the wam tonight, good vfm

[hifinutt]

And you could get a brand new arcam integrated sr250 now for your budget!! Might just beat your arcam and with a long warrenty too at richer sounds

[oneills]

Nice tucana on the wam tonight, good vfm

Thanks for the mention

I have just put it on here :-)

[hifinutt]

big fan of leema , looks a lovely amp for the money

[Lawrence001]

And you could get a brand new arcam integrated sr250 now for your budget!! Might just beat your arcam and with a long warrenty too at richer sounds
Thanks for the mention

I have just put it on here :-)Yep have been posting my thoughts on the Wam Arcam thread. Definite possibility given the Dirac functionality.

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[Rana]

There's a Linx Nebula over on PFM for £249. It's a fab amp (I have one) but relatively unknown. Unfortunately not remote controlled. If it's un-serviced, then might be worth an offer.

[Rana]

Just read you had an Inca Designs Talon, I had that plus the Katana CD. Good kit. That Nebula in my last post (assuming that it's in good nick) would be a step up on the Talon.

[Lawrence001]

Cheers not sure it would drive my speakers better than the Arcam I'm using now. The Inca is boxed up and on eBay but might end up in Durham if it doesn't sell.

[Eagle123]

What sort of price range u after a amp?
And wat kind of amp u require?

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[Rana]

Cheers not sure it would drive my speakers better than the Arcam I'm using now. The Inca is boxed up and on eBay but might end up in Durham if it doesn't sell.

The Arcam SR250 suggestion looks like great idea. Half tempted to demo that myself as I am now a fan of room correction after hearing the CAMRA facility on my Audionet.
I've had twinned Arcam Delta 290 power amps running off an Avondale pre in the past and I'm pretty sure the Nebula integrated would have seen that combination off in terms of detail and drive. But it is a 30 year old amp and my particular one needs a service, so understand why one might want to give that a miss.

[hifinutt]

Don't hang around as stocks won't last , its quite a good deal imho

[Lawrence001]

It is but the updated model SA30 is the same spec in output terms and has things like WiFi, Roon and MQA whereas this one is limited to streaming at CD quality, if you can get it to work at all. Yes the new one is £2k but that's £500 less than the original price of this one, so it's clear that the apparent saving of 60% is based on the price when this technology was not quite so old (although I believe sales were slow as even on release it was rather behind the times).

I downloaded the Arcam app and it crashes every time I open it, as reported on forums and reviews. Not that that helps with the newer amp either. If you're going to release an Android app at least keep it updated for new versions of the OS.

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[hifinutt]

mmm i doubt if the sa30 has anywher near the build quality of the sr250 !! the original price was 2500 so its less than half price . I do take your other points though , i would be more than happy with streaming at cd quality myself .

[Lawrence001]

Despite what I said I've gone and bought a 250 anyway! If anyone else is interested PM me and I can put you in contact with someone at RS who did the Dirac training and set them up, and can also give you a small discount :)

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[hifinutt]

wow , well done lawrence

[Lawrence001]

And thanks for the tip off Phil.

Good news for Arcam owners, I called them about the issues with their Music Life Android app and they said they don't have an in house Android developer (only iOS) so it's taken a while to make it compatible with the latest release. However, they are beta testing a compatible update which should be available on the Play store in a couple of weeks [emoji3]

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[Lawrence001]

mmm i doubt if the sa30 has anywher near the build quality of the sr250 !! the original price was 2500 so its less than half price . I do take your other points though , i would be more than happy with streaming at cd quality myself .True I hadn't noticed it lacks the FMJ branding of the SR250 so it's quite possible.

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[chelsea]

Selling a Sony ta f30 es for £275

[Rana]

Despite what I said I've gone and bought a 250 anyway! If anyone else is interested PM me and I can put you in contact with someone at RS who did the Dirac training and set them up, and can also give you a small discount :)

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Cool, keep us informed as to how it compares.

[Lawrence001]

Cool, keep us informed as to how it compares.
Yes will be interesting to compare the older class AB of the A32 to the newer class H of the SR250 with 20 watts in "class A".

Relieved to find out that they will have the android app up and running soon. Might not be within the 14 day cooling off period though. I'll be judging it mainly on the standalone amplification plus the Dirac room compensation.