Help! Need a sub £200 amp to drive Q Acoustics Concept 20s

[bazpaul]

Hi folks,

I'm a little stuck with a decision. I have a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 20s that I want to use with an Audio Technica LP3 and sometime in the future might use Bluetooth.

I'm looking for a sub £200 amp to drive these speakers. I've came across the Cambridge Audio AXA25 which is £180 on Richer Sounds The only problem is that it only has 25W X 2 which is at the lowest end of the power that is needed to drive the Q Acoustics.

Keen to get everyone's input. Are there any good amps out there (ideally with bluetooth) with more power for £200 or less.

Thanks

Edit: Also found the Sony STR-DH190 but it's rated at 100W x 2 which is a little overpowered

 

[Deleted member 824153]

The Concept 20s are extremely good little speakers and will really shine with some decent amplification. Are you happy to buy used? You’d get much more bang for your buck. If you were, I’d recommend a Rotel amp. Very neutral with quality power supply.

 

[bazpaul]

The Concept 20s are extremely good little speakers and will really shine with some decent amplification. Are you happy to buy used? You’d get much more bang for your buck. If you were, I’d recommend a Rotel amp. Very neutral with quality power supply.

Yes more than happy to buy used. What model would you recommened. Budget is £200 max and ideally would like Bluetooth or Optical

 

[Deleted member 824153]

Yes more than happy to buy used. What model would you recommened. Budget is £200 max and ideally would like Bluetooth or Optical

Hmm. Only the newer Rotel amps have Bluetooth and you won’t get one of those for £200 or less. You can buy separate Bluetooth receivers fairly readily these days. You might find a Marantz PM6005 or Yamaha AS501 with digital inputs for close to £200 but I suspect you’re going to have to up your budget a little bit to find what you’re after.

 

[acgingersnaps]

One of the good things about those speakers is that they're a very easy load. I think the CA would easily drive them. Could you do better? Yes, easily. Would the amp cope to a perfectly acceptable level? Also yes.
As an aside, I've had QA and Marantz togwther before and think they make a great combo. If you can get a PM6005, as suggested above, they'd sing and you'd have an optical input.

 

[Deleted member 824153]

Have a browse here. Some good bargains to be found.

HiFi Separates | Hyperfi

www.hyperfi.co.uk

 

[bazpaul]

Thanks both for your feedback. I came across the Marantz PM6005 in my research but yeh it seemed out of budget but after looking back over ebay sales it seems to have sold a few times for just under £200 which is great.

On the Hyperfi site above there is a Marantz PM5005 for £150. Can I ask, would there be a major difference in quality between the PM5005 and the PM6005? I realise the PM5005 doesn't have digital input but that's not a deal breaker. I've gone over the spec sheet between the two prosucts and it seems like the only difference is that the PM6005 has a DAC and the PM5005 does not.

I would use the amp for Vinyl 95% of the time and maybe can connect my phone via RCA cables to an input the other 5% of time i want Spotify.

 

[FootHealer]

Hi,

If you could go up in you budget just a little, I would recommend the Rotel A11 Tribute or Rotel A10. They sound great together. Both are available on Hyperfi.

However, owning the Concept 20s myself, they are very easy to drive. I have them on a 30w per channel NAD D3020v2 and they sound amazing. They are happy to accept more power, but sing on even a low powered amp.

 

[bazpaul]

Hi,

If you could go up in you budget just a little, I would recommend the Rotel A11 Tribute or Rotel A10. They sound great together. Both are available on Hyperfi.

However, owning the Concept 20s myself, they are very easy to drive. I have them on a 30w per channel NAD D3020v2 and they sound amazing. They are happy to accept more power, but sing on even a low powered amp.

Yeh I've read a lot about the Rotel A10. It sounds great but I think if I was to stretch to £250 I would prefer to get bluetooth and/or optical in with the amp - so maybe would spring for the PM6005.

I think I'll keep the Rotel A10 on my shortlist when I go to upgrade in a year or two.

 

[FootHealer]

Yeh I've read a lot about the Rotel A10. It sounds great but I think if I was to stretch to £250 I would prefer to get bluetooth and/or optical in with the amp - so maybe would spring for the PM6005.

I think I'll keep the Rotel A10 on my shortlist when I go to upgrade in a year or two.

I think a B-Grade or used PM6005 would be good.

 

[password1]

The pm5005 won't do the concepts justice. I had one and tried it with concept 40s. The sound of that amp is a little thin in the mid range.