Amplifiers

Now, I'm in the market (or will be soonish) for a new int/pre-pow and will have about £1500-£2k to spend. What should I be looking at, second hand or otherwise? Will I be able to pick up anything like a Chord for that money? Also, I might go mad and get a Cyrus Pre X/Mono X's ('cause I do like Cyrus stuff ) - would this be significantly better than any second hand integrateds I can pick up for sub £2K?

 

Hiya Gambit -

whats the rest of the system, and how big is the room?

People will need to know more to help you I think.

NB
I didnt like the Chord amps Ive heard, so much so it would be hard to think of a system that would suit them. Id rather have a second hand arcam alpha 9 amp than a Chord SPM1200, and thats true mate.

Listen for yourself. I found them hard, dry and cold (if that makes sense).

 

I've enjoyed the Sugden Masterclass every time I've heard it so far and I believe that they do an integrated. It's definitely worth an audition.

 

As is the ATC SIA2-150. One of the cleanest amps around, clean, smooth, powerful, open and very musical.

 

nnnnn..nnnn....nai..? naaah!

 

go on say it data, you know you want to...
actually i'll say it.. for 2k you could put together a very nice
naim 102\hicap\napsc\250 system or with a bit of bargain hunting an 82\hicap or flatcap \250 which kicks arse.
inegrated how about a pathos logos? i think it;'s called, looks sublime and is meant to sound it too.
alternatively an audio research integrated ca 50 like robbos sounds absoulutely stunning.
cheers


julian

 

Gambit - you might find this thread interesting

Pathos Logos I've heard good things about. The other usual suspects (s/h all around £2K or just over) from the above thread were SimAudio i-5, Krell KAV-300i, Gryphon Callisto 2100, Audio Research CA50.

Your choices may not be so limited as mine if you don't have the unity gain requirement.

Michael.

 

82\hicap or flatcap \250 which kicks arse

I've owned this combination. It decidedly does not 'kick arse', not even close.

 

...FIRE IN THE HOLE.... :duck:

Michael.

 

Hi Guys

I'm using a Cyrus CD8 and (what will be) Totem Model One's (which are coming at christmas ). I tend to like quite a fast, detailed sound, even edging on harsh, I'm not huge on "warm" sounding kit.

 

Well Gambit, you quite safe about avoiding 'Warm sounding' with Cyrus

 

Hi Gambit -

Well, if you like that a CHORD might be your cup of tea.... even if its not mine.

Naim has a fast sound too - so Julains reccomendation would be good.

Dynavector, Plinius, Krell, Bryston all worth checking out if you're looking for the sound described above. If you find a second hand belcanto worth looking at too, its very detailed and fast - but only harsh if the recording is harsh IMO.

Chris

 

A lavardin IS reference. £2300 or a bit less SH if you can find one...

 

I used to own a Naim cd 3.5, 102 pre amp, 180 power amp and linn kan,s.
I really enjoyed this combination but you had to be in the right mood or it would give you an instant headache. I added a Hi-cap power supply to the cd player which smoothed out the sound but it lost some of the fun, so i sold it

 

james,
it only sounds shoddy if you place it on a stack of wobbly angle iron and glass.

30 all.
cheers

julian

 

Sorry Julian, in my pre-Mana days. Oh well.

 

Has anyone had any expirience of the AVi Lab Series? These seem to be getting decent feedback (though I'd like a end users opinion).

 

gambit, funnily enough I heard your cd/speaker combination with several amps I was auditioning recently (very nice speaker I thought). Anyway, for me the Cyrus8 (and thus probably the pre/X) was too bright. In the end I settled for a Primare 30.1 (£1500) which is just as agile and exciting with plenty of oomph..but doesn't set your teeth on edge

cheers, Liam.

 

Bub I am quite suprised you didn't like this combination.

I know you find it fashinable to kick naim now (although no where near the tops of the fashion stakes as our horsey friend)

What is it your didn't like about it?

I will laugh my tits off if you come up with something like it couldn't drive briks.

 

Even a Primare A20 [mkII] might have plenty of poke.
It certainly does with my 92dB/2.83V/[voltage efficient, but heavy load - 2 bass driver] system.

I'm not sure how it will cope with my new 85dB + 4 ohm project being built. I might need a bigger amp then