Integrated Amp for Rock and Metal

patton

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I am looking for an amp which will be good with Rock and Metal music and price is budget at around £250 i'd be up for second hand to go with my Mission 792 speakers and Sony DVPS 7700 DVD/CD player Chord Silver Anniversary XT speaker cable.

I currently have a Sony TAFB930R QS Amp which is around 10 years old but has a good 80 watts per channel on tap, can i do any better with todays amps?
 
i'm enjoying my rega brio 3, and like rock and metal. using chord rumour 4 to epos m12.2s

£255 new.
 
The problem with used equipment, is that you are at the mercy of what equipment is available at the moment.


While these are not in a class with Rega, if you can consider new, then give these a look -

SuperFi.co.uk - Yamaha AS300 Stereo Amplifier 60w/ch

SuperFi.co.uk - Yamaha AS500 Stereo Amplifier 85w/ch

There are plenty of other choices in the roughly £250 to £300 range. You can buy a very nice new amp for that price. But, you won't be picking up any new Rotel, Arcam, Rega, or similar amps for that kind of money.

Just trying to add some perspective.

Steve/bluewizard
 
+1 for buying used:smashin:

Yes you are at the mercy of what folk are selling, of course you are....but if you're not in a rush then it can be quite fun keeping an eye out for a potential bargain; after all, you want a new amp to replace one that already works...How urgent can it be? It's not like you're replacing a broken water heater in the middle of winter.

You are also taking a chance on the kit not developing a fault soon after you plug it in. But really, if you're buying kit like Rega, Roksan or Naim then it's most likely been owned by the sort of person who looks after their kit and also these are quality brands that invaribly go the distance and some....just my view, FWIW;)

Talking of bargains, check this old flea-bay auction out for a Rega Mira (One above the Brio) Rega Mira Integrated Amplifier NO RESERVE on eBay (end time 07-May-11 14:02:44 BST) (Scroll down to the bottom...and yes, I was watching this one)

Still, I understand buying used is not for everyone but the benefits outweigh the risks IMHO.

All the best
Darren
 
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Steve you've confused me. The Rega Brio 3 (which i love and rock is my most listened to genre) is £255 new. I think it's a ridiculous bargain personally. Slightly lacking in bass if you like heavy dance or hip hop, but that's all.
 
Steve you've confused me. The Rega Brio 3 (which i love and rock is my most listened to genre) is £255 new. I think it's a ridiculous bargain personally. Slightly lacking in bass if you like heavy dance or hip hop, but that's all.

Yes, old stock will most likely be snapped up as the new, half-size (same design as the new DAC) Brio R is listing at £480 or thereabouts:eek:

Hi Fi Separates Rega BRIO R | hifix.co.uk
 
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I know :) A remote is sooo tempting! I might see if i can demo and see if it sounds any different
 
The Behringer is probably awesome. Not too sure about the CA preamp but i guess you can get any preamp which is pretty sweet. Could the Arcam be used as a preamp? (i dont really understand this preamp business.)
 
The Behringer is probably awesome. Not too sure about the CA preamp but i guess you can get any preamp which is pretty sweet. Could the Arcam be used as a preamp? (i dont really understand this preamp business.)

Preamp is basically a glorified volume control ;)
 
Preamp is basically a glorified volume control ;)

Silly question from a complete ignoramus in these matters...

Aren't passive pre-amps dependent on volume controls being pretty high-quality? What's the score here? If well implemented are they generally better than active pre-amps?

Cheers
D
 
Silly question from a complete ignoramus in these matters...

Aren't passive pre-amps dependent on volume controls being pretty high-quality? What's the score here? If well implemented are they generally better than active pre-amps?

Cheers
D

Tbh you'll probably know more than me :rotfl:

what I've gleaned reading those much much more knowledgable than me on the hifi forums is the best preamp is no preamp as anything that alters the signal can only change the "colour" of the sound which is supposedly a bad thing if your after the pursuit of "studio mastered nirvana"

However there are those who prefer preamps that generate a "house" sound which is tuned to their listening preferences

If you don't want the sound coloured, passive preamps are considered more desirable as the electrical path should be less compromised

bTw I fully expect someone to post that I'm talking pish and be fully right :D
 
i'm enjoying my rega brio 3, and like rock and metal. using chord rumour 4 to epos m12.2s

£255 new.

i have heard a lot of good things about the Brio3 but one negative remark is that it lacks bass what do you think?
 
It's not bassy like dance music would need, but it's fine with the rock and metal I play. I'm not a bass fiend though. My speakers are the weak point bass wise I think
 
Well... it depends on the speakers. I've used it with DJ Speakers and the bass was insane. For my tastes the bass is fine and really quite substantial with Monitor Audio BR2. It doesn't 'thump' the bass at you though, it controls and recreates it. I would say thumping is a bad thing, others may like it.
 
Preamp is basically a glorified volume control ;)

There are two types passive and active. A passive basically sits between source and power amp to control volume.

An active type Such as my Cambridge Audio C500, adds buffering electronics, input selection, tone controls and tone control bypass (pure direct) plus additional IR volume remote control. Also usefully has two sets of preamp outputs for biamping. So much more than a glorified volume control. :)
 

Mmm, that's interesting reading. Mr Pig has been enlightening me as to the virtues and vices of Naim and the vices mentioned in the link seem to match up with what he's been saying.

I've got a Nait 3 amp and expect to buy a CD5i tomorrow. I intended to use the supplied DIN cable to connect the CD5i to the Nait 3 and a non-Naim phono cable to connect the CD5i to my headphone amp, but reading that info has made me think again. Should I be worried about it?
 
Naa. The speaker cables matter but non-Naim interconnects are no big deal.

Cheers Mr Pig, that's good to know as it simplifies things and lets me use the DIN-Phono cable I recently bought to connect another source to the Nait 3.

I'll ask about the importance of using NACA5 speaker cable and if they say I really should, I'll pick some up on eaby. I do need a 1.5m phono-phono cable though, so I'll try and haggle one for free or at least, get a deal on it.
:smashin:
 
I'll try and haggle one for free or at least, get a deal on it.

Free, tell them you want it free man!

Interesting read that unofficial Naim thing. I see I got a mention for coining the phrase 'sheep' ;0) Do try not to turn into one?
 
Free, tell them you want it free man!

Interesting read that unofficial Naim thing. I see I got a mention for coining the phrase 'sheep' ;0) Do try not to turn into one?


I had a look and sure enough, you're the sheep source lol Are you a member there or have they been reading AVF and decided your perception was apt and worthy of repetition? Either way, fame beckons: :clap:or :eek:, you choose!

I'll ask for a free cable as John @ L&C did say he'd do a better deal than £850 and a free 1.5m phono cable would seal the deal nicely. I'll take my DVD player in for a comparison and the CD5i better blow it out of the water or the deal's off, free cable or no free cable!
 
I say this without anger just curiosity: what the fudge has this got to do with this thread?
 
Are you a member there or have they been reading AVF and decided your perception was apt and worthy of repetition

That goes back a long way, almost twenty years I think. I was on the Naim Forum many years ago, and the Mana forum and quite a few others too. This is one of the best forums I've been on. It's the best moderated and there is very little snobbery.

I'll take my DVD player in for a comparison and the CD5i better blow it out of the water

Yeah, that'll be interesting ;0)
 

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