Amp to complete a "budget" vinyl setup

Stever750

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After years of spiralling debt pursuing audio nirvana that peaked at an LP12/Ittok, Hegel and ATC SC40s I sold the lot partly as I lost all of my vinyl collection in a house flood, and partly because I realsied I was listening to devices, not always the music. After a few years of digital streaming and headphones as my main source of hifi, I now have the space to set up a modest vinyl system again, ideally with a vintage vibe. I've recently acquired a restored to better than original Technics SL-1800 mk1, and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 and now need an amp to match it.
I'm a bit wary of going back to the 70s and 80s for this as the condition is going to be uncertain, and not something I can easily fix, so looking more recent, up to 15 years max age. I've also included some current gear in my list as there are a couple of appealing features; list so far:

OLD
Pioneer SX-700L receiver
Technics SA-5250 receiver
Denon PMA-725R
NAD C352
Yamaha A-S500 I like the sub-out capability, as I have a fairly large room and do not want a huge pair of floorstanders again to have to fill it

New
Yamaha A-S501 the onboard DAC is useful, not essential. I have a JDS Element II for those duties if I needed to, but my headphone system is in another room in any case.

That's about it this far based on what I've found available used right now in the UK, and from a bit of research. Welcome any suggestions to add to the list, e.g. Sony TAF700 (none used in the UK right no though) etc etc
A receiver is appealing as we have the radio on in the mornings and early evening, and our sonos no longer streams BBC radio
 
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Depending on your budget the Rotel Ra1062 is well worth a look, there is one on eBay at £350 which I think is a bit over priced as they tend to go for £250-300. There is a group test if you search online that has it coming out on top of some pretty heavy hitters. It also has a pretty good phono input and preouts for the sub.

If the bust can stretch to around £400-450 then the Arcam A32 is worth searching out, possibly their best all round amp.

These will both stand a couple of speaker upgrades in the future.
 
If it’s got to be vintage vibe, I’m guessing that would rule out something like a Rega Brio?
 
My 35-50 year old vinyl was sitting here unused for years as I have FLACS. A couple of days ago I got a cheapo Teac turntable because I thought it might be nice to recreate the vibe I had from the early 70's to mid 80's - school kid, student and beyond. Vintage and cheap.

It's great to hear the clicks from scratches on my favourite tracks. Not as much rumble as far as I can remember (which is a shame). I'm playing a couple of albums each day.

Maybe I'll dig out my 80's Pioneer SA-408 amp (still near-perfect) and Marantz HD-440 speakers (serviceable) and try them with the Teac. My Garrard SP25 mk 3 plays a bit slow. Perhaps I'll try and fix it.
 
If it’s got to be vintage vibe, I’m guessing that would rule out something like a Rega Brio?
Not that precious about it. Tbh, in reality most of the chrome era 9f the 70s and 80s wasn't great at the time, and 40 odd years won't help. I'm more interested in finding a bargain, a hidden gem.
Which brio? There is the R and the mk1, a few examples of both on ebay. The pricing seems to be somewhat random, so Rega owners don't appear to be detail orientated kind of folk!
 
My 35-50 year old vinyl was sitting here unused for years as I have FLACS. A couple of days ago I got a cheapo Teac turntable because I thought it might be nice to recreate the vibe I had from the early 70's to mid 80's - school kid, student and beyond. Vintage and cheap.

It's great to hear the clicks from scratches on my favourite tracks. Not as much rumble as far as I can remember (which is a shame). I'm playing a couple of albums each day.

Maybe I'll dig out my 80's Pioneer SA-408 amp (still near-perfect) and Marantz HD-440 speakers (serviceable) and try them with the Teac. My Garrard SP25 mk 3 plays a bit slow. Perhaps I'll try and fix it.
My collection is only 5 LPs at the moment, but I miss the tactility, the ritual of playing vinyl. In my experience, the more money I spent on more esoteric equipment, the less involving the experience became. In hindsight, the fun times were with my Linn, NAD and B&W system in the mid 90s. I look back at some old posts I made in this very forum, and casually dropping £4k on a new amp, what the hell was I thinking?!
 
I miss the tactility, the ritual of playing vinyl.

Yes, I hadn't realised I missed that. No skipping the odd track, just getting up once to flip it over. Happy days.
 
What's really bugging me is how frequently folk lose the remote control that came with their device, the majority of amps I'm looking at are all sold without / missing remote. Now, I wouldn't buy used from a "dealer" as they don't know or give a toss about the product, but as a private seller I've managed to keep all of the accessories and original boxes of all my gear over the years, and managed to avoid scratching it, bending it or generally covering it in sh*t! It's a real insight as to how some folk conduct their lives!
 
Not that precious about it. Tbh, in reality most of the chrome era 9f the 70s and 80s wasn't great at the time, and 40 odd years won't help. I'm more interested in finding a bargain, a hidden gem.
Which brio? There is the R and the mk1, a few examples of both on ebay. The pricing seems to be somewhat random, so Rega owners don't appear to be detail orientated kind of fol
I’ve had a look at your original post to check budget. Assume it’s about £400 as the Yamaha 501 mentioned?
If so, then a new Brio is currently £549. It was almost £700 until recently.
When I eventually sell mine (not yet though), I’d be aiming for £375. That could help when looking at used stuff on forums and auction sites. I have the latest, half-width version.
If you’re not overly concerned about power output, then I’ve read several reports of the Rega Io (30w per channel?) being something of a star performer for its price. Phono input plus two other analogue. No digital inputs. New, I think they’re about £420, but I have noticed a few dealers with new ‘B’ stock around the £320 mark.
So just to confirm, I’ve never owned or heard an Io but do own the Brio.
Hope this helps.
 
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@Stever750 - There’s a Rega Io for sale in the Amp classifieds on here for a really good price. Check it out

 
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Good grief, I expected it to be good, but not this good. Just picked up the restored SL-1800 and it's really impressive through the element II and Rokits on my desk.
 

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@Stever750 - There’s a Rega Io for sale in the Amp classifieds on here for a really good price. Check it out

Will do, though I was looking for more power and since this is 2023 I want tone controls!
 
The SL1800 is a very competent deck, congratulations (as are the 1600 fully auto and 1700 semi auto versions, noting the xx10 versions are the same but technics brown/grey).

What cartridge/Stylus are you running, may be worth factoring either a new stylus (unless you know the running hours on the one that came with the deck) or upgrading. I can highly recommend the VM95ML which can be bought on a headshells if you need a spare.

The MK2 version of this deck is/will be a collectors item imo. Same arm and motor as the SL1200mk2 but in a Hifi friendly sprung chassis.

Enjoy.
 
+1 for VM95ML
 
It's fitted with a Technics 270C cartridge, just like the original. Manufactured by Nagaoka, stylus is new. I've only read a few reviews, but it's similar to an MP110.
 
I think it looks super interesting. Pre and 2x 200w monoblocks for under £700!


+2 for the VM95ML.
The Tangent is different, but it's digital source orientated, whereas I won't be putting a PC anywhere near this system, I've got Sonos everywhere for that, and my headphone setup in my office. This system is going to be analogue, so vinyl, tuner and my barely used TOTL Sony cassette deck, even if the latter will be there purely for looks. The Diamond 9.1s turned up today, they really are small. £99 for a brand new pair of decent budget mini speakers to hang on the wall. They'll do to start things off, but the idea here is to setup a cheap best bang for buck system, as I'm resolutely not going to jump back onto the whole audiophile spiral of upgrades. I'm probably going to need a sub too though, as I can't see those little Wharfedale's lasting more than a week otherwise.
 
I picked up the refurbished Denon after listening to it and a NAD C340 that I know from past experience. After chatting to the seller for well over an hour, and listening to different units, it was clear he knew what he was talking about. The Denon hits really hard and has a great sound stage, for £80 it was a no brainer. I picked up a sonos connect too for £20 so I've now got vinyl, cassette, tuner, and streaming into a £200 analogue setup! Impressed with these little Diamonds, no bass to speak of, but they don't half let you know they're in the room. If I wasn't from a science and engineering background I'd be making wild claims about it besting my old C352 & DM602 S3 system that I owned 15 years ago
 

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