Naim at TMR Audio
A decent integrated amp under 2K ...
I'm looking for an INTEGRATED AMP. My speakers are Altec 620A (100 db efficiency) and my listening room is 14 x 21. I mainly listen to digital files from my DAC (Metrum) but sometimes I feel less lazy and put on a vinyl on my Garrard. I don't need a phono stage, I use the one from another integrated amplifier (Spendor D40). Here's my shortlist:
1) Belles Aria Integrated (slightly powerful for my needs)
2) Croft phono integrated (since I don't need a phono stage, I think it's a shame to burn tubes for nothing)
3) Rogue Sphinx V3 (too powerful for my needs)
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS: I can live with tubes but only in the PREAMP section and I try to avoid Class A due to the heat. I'm open to Class D (proof: the Rogue) but the choice is limited and these devices come with a bunch of stuff I don't need. I rather spend my $ where it will make a difference.
regards
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I may be late to the table here but I believe one thing that does not get talked about when choosing an amp for a highly efficient set of speakers is damping factor. Choosing a normal solid state amp on efficient speakers will strangle them. Judd Barber of Joulle Electra fame talked about damping factor that anything above around 8 and the amp will start to swallow up the bass notes - this is compounded with high efficiency. Hence Croft makes it a great choice for your Altec speakers - it measures like a tube amp.
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@waltroman : very interresting comment... I end up buying a Belles Aria Integrated about a month ago and I've been listening to it ever since... its damping factor is 2000 and I lost quite a bit of bass..I would like to compare with the Croft, but I don't know its damping factor and this info seems hard to get on the web... |
to those who are interested... I bought a Belle Aria Integrated about a month and a half ago... At first listen, I was a little disappointed because it’s quite neutral compared to my Sugden A25B. Like many British amps, the Sugden has a pleasant coloration. After a few days of listening, my ears ended up "detoxifying" and the Belles gradually seemed to be superior to the Sugden on several criteria: more nuanced, better image and above all NO harshness at all, which is quite rare for a SS amp... the Belles is so neutral you forget it’s there... the only thing that seemed weaker is the bass... Its high damping (2000) produces a much thinner bass but, on the other hand, it is very nuanced. I haven’t listened to enough vinyl records yet to comment on its phono stage but when I did, it sounded good. It’s by far the best transistor amp I’ve heard, but I must admit I didn’t listen to many high end SS amps. |