what would be the best of of these two (cheap) amps

ok i ahve a couple of cheap amps (stay with me here)

a sony ta-fe370 that was about 120 pounds a few years ago, its not a bad amp when all is said and done but i also have a old 1989 technics su-v560 in good working condition (plus it was free)

the main souce is a nad 521bbe cd player using just a cheap cambridge audio interconnect i got richer sounds to throw in due to being messed about, the speakers are a pair of mission 771e bookshelf speakers using issac sibson brand speaker cable

the general taste in music is pretty varied, but it usually had discs like vaneesa-mae, reel big fish, prodigy, white stripes, nightwish, bonkers happy hardcore, motown, bass mekhanik (basicaly ive listend to john peel for years so i will give anythign a whirl)

i tried both amplifiers and the technics was not as loud but it had a more warm sound almost vinyl like if that makes sense, the sony had a more modern sound to it, agian i am not the greatest at describing the sound of these amplifiers) but now i ahve hit a problem

i dont know what amplifer i prefer the sound of as the sony excels at some of my collection and the technics excels with other parts of my collection.

so to get to my question if it was your system personally (yes i know most of you have much better hifi systems) how would you go about choosing out of the pair?

 

I'd work on listening to both and finding which one suited my tastes best overall. If there was no clear winner, I'd look into getting rid of both and using the proceeds to buy something better than either, or sell one and keep the other, happy in the knowledge that you'd have been happy with either one.

 

actually the selling them both and getting a new amp has crossed my mind

but my mother will not let me buy the amplifier i was looking at getting if i replaced these

the main problem is they both suit different genres in my music tastes (that and the technics was well free is a bonus)

 

Hello sam...selling both and getting something better would be my choice

Why won't your mother let you buy a new amp though? Its your money, you're an adult (I think you are anyway but my memory may be failing me) so you choose how to spend it, simple as, providing its not harming anyone, which I doubt an amplifier would do.

 

I'm getting the impression that you're not really happy with either, so I too would suggest shifting them both and getting something else (Pioneer A400 perhaps? - or one of the older Marantz KI Signatures would be nice if you could stretch to a little more cash)

 

because she knows i would go and buy a rotel pre amp and two evil mono poweramps (you forget i am a basshead at heart)

i ahve been eyeing up that marantz 7200 as i have heared damn good reviews on it but i am also lookign at nad amplifiers but i could probably dig up a rotel ra-01 for sensable money

look how long it took to sneak my car hifi (still not fitted) under parent radar

 

Sam

Easy way to get round your mum, sell your amps and buy your rotel stuff, a better amp will allways be able to be played at lower volume, the best amps will sound the same at low and high volume, the sound doesn't change as you turn it up, it just gets louder, the transients are better controlled, and as such you will be happier with the sound at a lower volume, and will need to turn it up less to enjoy it, go on try that argument, it really is the truth, besides the bass you get will be cleaner and not so boomy and one note.

 

I have no idea about the Technics but the budget Sony amps have always sounded a little bit too safe for me, they do nothing wrong but they don't do much right either. The higher frequencies are often rounded off, which can be a good thing when dealing with budget kit.

The Technics is probably the better amp but the age may mean capacitors are due for replacement and the potonmetres would probably require a good clean.

The Marantz PM7200 should make mince meat of the Sony especialy since my Marantz PM6010OSE does.

The Sony is simply very good if you want a decent quality HIFI seperate system for not much money, but you're not really interested in going down the audiophile route.