300 budget

There's no rule that says one must prefer an tube amp.

ok well I ended up getting the Luxman L3 and I think it sounds better than the NAD 3220 pe I just blew up,though Im no expert,hopefully this will last me till I can take the next step and get a tube amp,thanks everyone for the input much appreciated

Are you listening to other sources now? if so, how? Maybe you only need a phono pre.

Your lucky day, for I am going to provide exactly what you should buy. Go to u-TurnAudio.com Can't be better, great sound, great value. Nothing to lose.

I agree with the Yamaha and Onkyo recommendations. Are you using AR2 speakers?

While I agree that NAD makes a very good, high value integrated for the money, many of the newer used NAD's do not have phono sections. So check any model your considering carefully.

Also, if you're considering vintage, try and audition it first. Many of these units will be in need of some degree of maintenance and repair such as replacing the caps to bring it back up to factory spec. At the very least, it will need a thorough cleaning such as deoxidizing the pots. If you can do this yourself, great! If your not comfortable with this and need to take it to a shop, then you're probably going to exceed the cost of new.

So if new, consider the Yamaha A-S300 and Onkyo A-9050. Both are within your budget and have phono stages.

Friends and myself had lots of qualty control problems with that generation of NAD gear. I much preferred the Onkyo to the NAD or Luxman, but all are good sounding gear.

I would buy new. Any time I have picked up 30 year old and older equipment, I would wind up spending a few hundred dollars to have the equipment professionally serviced. There is always a power supply that goes or some other stuff.

For $300, you can pick up the Onkyo 8050 receiver . It has a phono input and enough power to drive you AR2's, which need a lot of power to get going.

Rich

Luxman R-1050. Excellent phono section, very good pre/power sections. Will best the Onkyo and NAD stuff. If you go with any integrated with pre-out/power-in then Chrshanl37 is correct about the jumpers. Big difference.

NAD should be just as good as anything else in that price range. Also, I'm assuming you don't have a phono preamp.

Onkyo A-9555

Nad 320 or 325 bee. There is a 320 on here for $200. Replace the stock jumpers and your good to go.