Another Amp Recommendation Thread

Nono I am skint already right now. London.

 

and do you rob banks in your spare time?

 

No I just rob pension funds.

 

i worked all over london for 25 years. where abouts?

 

lol

 

Ah, another taxi driver.

 

you have spent it all on your system you mad man

 

no i am a wood floor layer my friend, i was based in enfield for 18 years

 

Nah - I have hardly spent anything on it in years. The latest system was to replace one that was stolen so I didnt pay a penny.

markus - manners please.

 

Sorry for guessing your occupation wrong.

 

i was only joking nick

 

Quote of the day.

 

no problem my friend

 

north or south of the river nick

 

Dont squabble. Stick to the thread topic pls.

 

ok ,i am getting the wife nagging again, i should have married an english girl. got her at a good price though.

 

nick talk you tommorrow some time. got to sort out some wife problems right now

 

:swmbo:

 

If you're happy with the speakers,then concentrating on the amp is a good step forwards.

Asides from the Bryston amps mentioned,at your budget,you have a huge range of amps available,and more if you are willing to consider used/ex-dem.

I would generally avoid used valve amps,unless from traditionally reliable makes such as Audio Research,and similar.

Tubed amps to consider...Tube Technology(beautiful build and excellent sound for PP amps).
EAR make some beautiful valve integrated amps
Unison Research

You would probably want to avoid some of the lower powered SET valve amps,which also tend to be a little beyond your budget.

Solid state....this is where you'll find the biggest range,from used Krell/Brystons,through Parasound,plus all of the others such as Naim etc.

You would need to try at least a short-list with the speakers and system you already have,as matching an amp to your system is very important in terms of the end result.
Any decent dealer should be willing to do this for you.

Mixing pre and power amps from different manufacturers is an area where you would definitely need to try before buying...the results can be very variable,especially when the likes of input sensitivities,and impedance matching between pre and power amps are considered,even before considering how well their individual sounds may match.

 

Cheers for the advice alexs2

The ex-dem/ second hand market is what i've mainly been concentrating on, with the general focus on solid state amps. I've just read Harleys guide to high end audio so am in the process of getting to grips with matching specs, will def pay more attention to impedances.

Ideally I would go along to my local dealer and try out a few of their amps in my budget, but I feel a bit cheeky doing that when I'm going to then try and get the amps second hand. As you're saying, the amount of amps coming in at the price range is fairly vast but I have a month before the cash comes in so am going through loads of different reviews trying to cut what I'm after down to a shortlist.

By the way, my listening room is a rectangular attic (fairly large), with sloped ceilings and I tend to listen to Indie/ Jazz which should influence the matter somewhat.