Tangent RS2

[Saul too much]

Hello all,I just picked up a set of these for around £100 with the intention of using them in a new living room set up.I try not to be a hifi buff but I know plenty of people here are very knowledgable . Can anyone suggest amps that would be worth trialling with these.I listen to everything from classical/jazz to rock so I'm hoping to get something versatile with decent soundstaging/depth,rhythm , a touch of warmth reasonable dynamics. I'm not loaded so I'll be looking at used gear under £250 and using an oldish slightly analogue cdp such as Rotel 965 or Cambridge cd4se as a source.
So far I'm thinking Pioneer A400 or Cyrus 2 may be worth a listen but I'd really value further suggestions.
thanks in advance
Steve

[MartinT]

You could try anything from the warm-ish NAD 3020 (you'll get one for under £100) to one of the better class T amps - bright-ish but highly detailed sound. These you could buy new with your budget. The A400 is also a good amp. Also look at one of the Fatmans if you want a valve amp.

What kind of music do you listen to and how loud do you need it to go?

[Saul too much]

Thanks for the reply Martin,a lad on another forum has them running happily on a Nad pre power set up so may be worth considering.
The room is fairly small. Bog standard 80s terraced living room, slightly lively acoustics that I may need to address with some wall hanging.Essentially not going to need massive volume.My old 30watt amp never went past 12 oclock with a pair of reasonably efficient cyrus 780s(8ohm 90dbw I think).
I have a Trends T amp but it's pretty low output,certainly not enough for the Tangents. It is detailed but seems to lack dynamics and depth tho that could be the speakers of course.I'd consider another T amp but I thought they all had to be lower powered due to the nature of the tripath chip. Not investigated them for a while.Do you know of one with a decent output I should look into?

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Steven,
I know you sort of introduced yourself in the user name thread but would you mind starting a new thread in the Welcome section? To do things properly, you should tell us a little about yourself, your system & musical taste.

It's important that you do this because then you'll have enough posts under your belt so that I can send you a private message with a tip for a brilliant amp at a great price that I've spotted for you (I have no connection with the seller other than being a previous customer).

Cheers

[Saul too much]

As for music I really do listen to a wide range from classical especially piano/guitar,singer songwriters and jazz through to punk,prog,indie and folk. I'm no fan of banging stuff or metal tho . I'm trying to square the circle to some degree and get a genuine allrounder set up. Previously I've tried Naim (Nait 3,too harsh) and Exposure 20(better but noisy),audiolab 8000a(too cold) with epos es11s, then a valve kit that was too muddy which led to some high sensitivity speakers and then a sonic impact followed by trends t amp.Which ultimately led to a system with a NAD cdp at the head which I just didnt listen to.

[MartinT]

I think you're talking yourself into acquiring an A400, then.

[DSJR]

If the RS2's are the "classic" original ones (almost certainly they are), then you'll have a highly characterful and often magical little box there, BUT with reservations on partnering equipment (I sold these enough at the time).

These do have a tweaked response which favours "musicality" and an "enhanced" soundstage over clinical flat response etc and in the Tangents of the period (TM3 and 1/RS2 and 4) it worked really well as long as very high volumes were avoided. They did need a little more power though as sensitivity wasn't their strong point. HiFi Choice "recommended" them too, which is no mean achievement (yes, I do have a copyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz)

Regarding amps, a properly fettled A&R A60 would be the minimum I think. One of the sweeter Japanese integrates being re-discovered (some of the Luxmans, Sansuis and Denons from the mid 70's - the NAD 3020 may be too bloated possibly) would work I think. A mate's Sony TA5650 V-FET amp was lovely with his RS4's, but all of these amps will need preventative service to certain caps and diodes, if a fatal (to amp and speakers) blow-up is to be avoided, as happened to his sample (check on the vintage-knob site as there's some info there).

Ideally, a bolt-up Naim would be PERFECT for these Tangents. very rare now, as they're collectors items but a re-built 120 power amp (or bolt-up 250) with suitable preamp (not so critical) will be a true marriage in heaven. A top notch source (vinyl or CD, it doesn't matter - if it's a good one) will be needed as well. The LP12/Grace 707/Supex 900E being ideally "adequate" then, or possibly a VERY well fettled Rega 3 with original R200 arm and one of their cartridges I think, or possibly a Grado or Stanton 681EEE at a pinch (for sweetness sake).

[The Grand Wazoo]

Steven,
You've a PM now

[Saul too much]

If the RS2's are the "classic" original ones (almost certainly they are), then you'll have a highly characterful and often magical little box there, BUT with reservations on partnering equipment (I sold these enough at the time).

These do have a tweaked response which favours "musicality" and an "enhanced" soundstage over clinical flat response etc and in the Tangents of the period (TM3 and 1/RS2 and 4) it worked really well as long as very high volumes were avoided. They did need a little more power though as sensitivity wasn't their strong point. HiFi Choice "recommended" them too, which is no mean achievement (yes, I do have a copyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz)

Regarding amps, a properly fettled A&R A60 would be the minimum I think. One of the sweeter Japanese integrates being re-discovered (some of the Luxmans, Sansuis and Denons from the mid 70's - the NAD 3020 may be too bloated possibly) would work I think. A mate's Sony TA5650 V-FET amp was lovely with his RS4's, but all of these amps will need preventative service to certain caps and diodes, if a fatal (to amp and speakers) blow-up is to be avoided, as happened to his sample (check on the vintage-knob site as there's some info there).

Ideally, a bolt-up Naim would be PERFECT for these Tangents. very rare now, as they're collectors items but a re-built 120 power amp (or bolt-up 250) with suitable preamp (not so critical) will be a true marriage in heaven. A top notch source (vinyl or CD, it doesn't matter - if it's a good one) will be needed as well. The LP12/Grace 707/Supex 900E being ideally "adequate" then, or possibly a VERY well fettled Rega 3 with original R200 arm and one of their cartridges I think, or possibly a Grado or Stanton 681EEE at a pinch (for sweetness sake).

I had noticed on Audio Karma a big love of 70s Japanese gear,solid warm and powerful seems to be the identity. I'd have though the Naim would be quite different in approach and hard/expensive to aquire.Elsewhere Exposure,Rega,Rotel,NAD have all been suggested.At present I'm thinking the route to take is to go MOR and match the speakers with a 90s rotel just to trial cdps then once the source is established look further at amp options.
What is it about the 70s Japanese stuff and the old Naim unit you mention that particularly work with these speakers?
The other advantage to going rotel is that I can pick up a familiar speaker Mission/cyrus 780 and assess cdps in the context of an amp/speaker combination I am familiar with that balanced well.I'd forgotten how complicated this whole separates business gets!

[Saul too much]

I think you're talking yourself into acquiring an A400, then.

Perhaps at the right price,along with a rotel