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Integrated amp advice

Jeephead

Jeephead

New Member
New to site, looking for advice. My girl got me an Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntable. I did not want to bother connecting it to my AV Yamaha so opted to use my old Kenwood KR-A20 receiver. Yup, the one with a built in eq. OK noise maker but that is about it. For speakers I have a pair of Polk RT55's (91 db) that sound good. I also have a pair of Boston Acoustics HD5's that I have connected to a Polk PS140 sub which actually sound good together. Better once my refoam kit shows up for the HDs. The stand I am using has a little over 4" tall shelf which I would like to put an amp on sitting in my 11x22' living room. That way i could squeeze in my Kenwood DP990SG CD player. I was looking at the Rega Brio-R for size and the clean looks. Seems like it has some decent specs but we are talking about a grand. Looking for advice on something I could use with vinyl or CDs that would give me better sound than the AV or noise maker can do. FM tuner is not needed or wanted. I just do not want to jump on an amp because it cost $1000 when there might be other choices out there for less cash and better sound. For a while I was looking at the Glow Audio 2 tube amp but that is around $1500 and I have never heard it in person. Open to suggestions. I like the simplicity of the Rega, no display just music approach. I did not realize how hard it was to find just a 2 channel integrated amp.
Thanks in advance.
-David
 
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I'm a big Yamaha fan so I'd recommend checking out any of the recent 2ch models in your price range. They range from very inexpensive to pretty far up there but have gotten great reviews from most.
 
OMGCat! said:
I'm a big Yamaha fan so I'd recommend checking out any of the recent 2ch models in your price range. They range from very inexpensive to pretty far up there but have gotten great reviews from most.
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I agree with cat. I'm a Yamaha wonk and have two of their newer integrated amps as well as a couple vintage units. The A-S301, 501, 701, 801, and on up are really wonderful amps. They are well built, clean and powerful.
If you like to hear detail in your music I'd highly recommend an amplifier in this series.
 
WPC? Watts per channel I take it? I want good sound, not looking for big watt noise. Trying to keep components in a small foot print. I do not like some of the amps I have seen that are over sized or have so many buttons that you can't show your wife how to use it. Not a slam ladies, I must admit my AV receiver is a PIA to use sometimes, too many remotes, inputs and settings. Drives the Mrs. Crazy when we watch a movie and I am changing sound fields. For our music we want a simple solution that can offer the best sound for our budget that either of us can turn on, sit back and enjoy.
 
SuperLead100 said:
I agree with cat. I'm a Yamaha wonk and have two of their newer integrated amps as well as a couple vintage units. The A-S301, 501, 701, 801, and on up are really wonderful amps. They are well built, clean and powerful.
If you like to hear detail in your music I'd highly recommend an amplifier in this series.
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Yes I saw these but had no experience with them. Clean simple looks, seemed well built. Think I was steering clear of the S-301 model, something about the speaker connections on back I did not like. Spring clips or something. The price seemed good as well. I did get to hear the Rega at a local shop but they had it connected to a sick pair of klipsh speakers. They said I could bring in my RTs and test them on any models.
 
Regarding watts; it's more about headroom and clarity, and less about noise. My best sounding amps and receivers have been the higher wattage units.
I have to look at the A-S301 and the speaker terminals but I thought they were the same in that series except the A-S1000 and up which are even better.
 
SuperLead100 said:
Yes, the A-S301 has the non-spring clip terminals. It may be the R-S300?...that has the spring clip terminals.
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I will stop and look again. Thank for info. I am not an audiophile, I just know I want a better sounding system that will not break the bank.
 
If you don't want to break the bank , you can't go wrong with a Yamaha A S series amp , clean layout , well built and easy to use .
 
Another vote for Yamaha AS series amplifiers. Unfortunately (IMO) the AS301 ($349 @ Amazon) doesn't come in Silver. However the AS-501 ($549 @ Amazon) and higher are available in Silver or Black. All of the AS series amplifiers accept banana plugs, bare wire and spades for speaker connections. You just have to remove the plastic inserts from the binding posts to use banana plugs.

Accessories 4 less has refurbished Silver AS-501's for $399.
 
OK, so I stopped by local shop to look at Yamaha integrateds.
They showed me the new

Yamaha R-N602

I started thinking that maybe it would not be such a bad idea to have some other ways to connect our music. A networked amp seems like a good idea. I should be able to use my JRiver server to select music. Seems like it is built just as good as their straight up integrateds. Specs look good. With the additional Bluetooth and network connections along with an FM tuner it should take care of us for a while. Plus I can connect my Kenwood DP990 CD player and actually use the digital direct button which I understand will bypass the built in DAC on the player and use the one in the amp. It does not seem to come in silver but I can get it for $560 in black. Which I guess will make it basically disappear into the cabinet, not a bad thing I guess.
 
AFAIK digital direct means bypassing all the processing in the amplifier. To bypass the DAC in the player you need to use the coax/optical connector.
 
A class-T amplifier is a switching (class-D) audio amplifier, and Class T is a registered trademark for Tripath's amplifier technologies

I've tried a couple, a Lepai 2020a (~$30) and a SMSL SA-36A (~$56). The Lepai comes with an inadequate power supply. I replaced it with a 6A LED supply ($10). They both sound excellent within their power restrictions. My SMSL has a Gold colored front panel. The latest Amazon price is >$80. The Gold ones must be in short supply. The Black ones are still ~$56.

Either one coupled with some small bookshelf speakers and a powered sub could be all someone needs. You only need to add a source with analog outputs.
 
JoeESP9 said:
A class-T amplifier is a switching (class-D) audio amplifier, and Class T is a registered trademark for Tripath's amplifier technologies

I've tried a couple, a Lepai 2020a (~$30) and a SMSL SA-36A (~$56). The Lepai comes with an inadequate power supply. I replaced it with a 6A LED supply ($10). They both sound excellent within their power restrictions. My SMSL has a Gold colored front panel. The latest Amazon price is >$80. The Gold ones must be in short supply. The Black ones are still ~$56.

Either one coupled with some small bookshelf speakers and a powered sub could be all someone needs. You only need to add a source with analog outputs.
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Thanks for info, I see your icon says "ESL's and Tubes since 1983" You a tube guy? What do you think of Glow Audio Amps?
 
I've never checked as none of Glow's amplifiers have enough power for my ESL's. My radically modified Dyna MKIII's are barely adequate. I've been looking at Bob Latino's VTA M-125 mono blocks.

My preamp is a hybrid.
 
JoeESP9 said:
I've never checked as none of Glow's amplifiers have enough power for my ESL's. My radically modified Dyna MKIII's are barely adequate. I've been looking at Bob Latino's VTA M-125 mono blocks.

My preamp is a hybrid.
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Yes, I have looked at his stuff. Looks like he does great work. Wish I had the time to assemble one myself. I am want to use my Polk Rt55s on what-ever amp I can make up my mind on. They are 91 db according to specs.
 
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