Twiddler
Member
I owned Cambridge 640 and 650 integrated's as well as a Rotel RA 1062. To sum up the Cambridge sound I would say it has great detail and PRaT but an upper-mid/high end that can be unbearable with some recordings. Match it with the wrong source/speakers/cables and you're in for a world of pain. Properly matched they can be fun little amps but limited. The Rotel felt very clumsy in comparison and I never really got along with it. I can't speak for the newer versions of these two manufacturers. If I were looking for a budget amp today I'd check out the NAD 316 BEE or the Yamaha A-S301/501 models. I ''borrowed'' a PM6005 last year and could have easily lived with it as well. It came up short but wasn't embarrassed by my much more more expensive Naim. As far as speakers go entry level B&W are good all rounders and play well with a wide variety of amps but older models sound too muffled for my tastes. The newer ones 685 S2 are better but probably out of your price range. I'm not familiar with Eltax but many popular inexpensive stand mounts from Dali, Pioneer, Elac, JBL, etc are worth checking out.