Which amp to go for?

[Pezerinno]

I know you guys probably get these questions all the time but I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm after an amp for a secondary system I will be taking to uni, room will be fairly small, speakers are Epos M5 bookshelves, source is denon 1910 dvd player and TagMclaren Dac20. Here are a few amps I've been looking at (want to buy second hand/ex dem ideally)

Cambridge Audio AZUR 540A
Cambridge Audio AZUR 640A (main difference over 540?)
NAD C320BEE
NAD C352CT (again worth the extra over 320BEE?)
Rotel RA-02 (do need a remote hence no RA-01)
Audiolab 8000A (something a bit different, is this a bit long in the tooth now though?)
Musical Fidelity X-80 (originally out of my budget but you can not buy new for £250 - this seems straight away like a league above the other amps although I've heard its quite bright?)

Also while I'm here, I'm after some speaker stands that take up as little real estate as possible while being easy on the wallet. The Epos M5's are only 17cms wide and 21cms deep. What are the Alphason Akros I-45M speaker stands like?

Thanks for your help. Nick.

[Dankeech]

Hi Nick.
Got to say, I had a pair of Alphason Akros stands and the curved plastic base on it was awkward, fault cheap, and wasn't that sturdy. For the price, there's much better stands out there. I'm using Alphas Aragon AG stands. Found quality to be miles better. 50cm high ones cost me £50 delivered. Base is probably larger, but the product is of a far higher quality too.


I dont know the amps you were saying, but the BEE gets good reviews is all I know..

Hope this helps somewhat

Dan

[CJROSS]

Rotel RA-02
MF X-80

[Pezerinno]

Thanks for the reply Dankeech, what are your views on the alphason AD50-S speaker stands? These also offer a relatively small footprint but look of better quality than the akros.

[Dankeech]

Nick,
Never seen these stands, but they don't have those tacky plastic bases. I'd hazzard a guess that these will be solid, sturdy and they look nice as well.
The AG series has two extra front poles which make my stands rock solid, but I suspect the AD50s would be solid. What speakers will you be placing on top?

[Dankeech]

Originally Posted by Dankeech

Nick,
Never seen these stands, but they don't have those tacky plastic bases. I'd hazzard a guess that these will be solid, sturdy and they look nice as well.
The AG series has two extra front poles which make my stands rock solid, but I suspect the AD50s would be solid. **What speakers will you be placing on top?**

oops. Epos M5's. Should have read your post more carefully. Best guess is they'll be fine. Appear smaller than my Evo 1's, so will assume fine.

I wouldn't recommend getting these unless they come with (or you have) sandfill or ballast material to put down the centre stand. The ballast will deaden any sound coming out, but more importantly shift the weight balance so it's not so top-heavy. Stand should then sit firmly upright with no intention of toppling.

Remember; Blu-tac still the best way of sticking standmounts to their stands. Tend to find is an accident awaiting to happen without it lol.

Dan.

[Pezerinno]

The stands do come with 'Mineral Aggregate' which alphason describes as 'Sound Sink Filling that reduces unwanted vibrations'.

Sorry Colin you obviously wrote you reply as I was writting mine - thanks for your opinion. How much do you think I should be paying second hand for the rotel and MF amp assuming mint condition? Also have you heard others describe the MF amp as bright sounding?

Thanks again. Nick.

EDIT: Forgot to add, if there are any other amps you think I should be looking at please say

[CJROSS]

Originally Posted by Nick25

How much do you think I should be paying second hand for the rotel and MF amp assuming mint condition? Also have you heard others describe the MF amp as bright sounding?

£200 Tops second hand. Nope not heard it described as bright.

Originally Posted by Nick25

EDIT: Forgot to add, if there are any other amps you think I should be looking at please say

Sony ES (Ebay) £100-150 or Primare A20 £250-350.

[Pezerinno]

Is there much difference between the A20 and the A20MKII?

[CJROSS]

Mk II has pre-outs. One was for sale on HFC the last few days for £250.

(Primare sounds very good with that particular DAC)

[Pezerinno]

I see I just missed out on that Primare - I do read HFC forums a lot but never got round to registering. Not sure what would be best out of the MF or the Primare...

[CJROSS]

cough Primare cough.

[Pezerinno]

Found one, supposedly mint condition for £295 - will see if I can get that down a bit.

[Scott_Mac]

I'd suggest looking at Naim... can get a Nait 3 on ebay for around £250 and it'll blow the socks of anything else in your list - IMHO anyway.

[Pezerinno]

Back when I was demoing for my main system at home I tried some Naim gear (admittedly not nait 3) but didn't really get on with it - thanks for the suggestion though