I believe separates are the way to go. For pre I like my Topping Pre90. Power amp I would get a Purifi based amp, from either March Audio or Audiophonics. Phono pre I would go Darlington MP-7, or whatever is left in the budget but their TOTL is quite affordable. I find balanced XLR connections are a great plus and the way to go.
Another "Best" amplifier Question.
Hope I'm not beating on the old horse too hard. I had originally intended to buy The now discontinued KEF r3s but ended up with the new Meta instead. Very pleased so far but still in burn-in mode on days wife not working from home.
Given my age, I intend for this to be my end game system (yea right). As per my previous post, system is the new R3 Metas, Bluesond Node, Technics SL-1200 MK2 with Ortofon Red, Sony UBP-X800M2 Blueray/CD and a Sony 55" XBR. No home theater set-up just seeking better audio from TV. Also Have an HSU VT1 sub. All feeding from a Yamaha R-N500 Receiver. System is hooked up to gigabit internet sevice and I listen mainly to Amazon Ultra HD music. All in all, not a high end system but somewhat better than box store IMHO.
I feel I need to replace the receiver as it not the best power choice for the KEFs. In researching, I've hit that deer in the headlights point where I'm frozen and overwhelmed by choices. Right up front I need to establish that my budget is around $2k. Only local dealer I consider audiophile carries Lyngdorf, Atoll, Marantz, NAD and Boulder. He is really pushing The Atoll IN-100 but says the Lyngforf doesn't have enough grunt. Did not even discuss Marantz or NAD and Boulder is in another universe. Atoll lacks phono but can be added at extra cost.
Online choices that intrigue me most: Emotive BASX A2/PT2 combo. Lots of features and power. Can be had (w/ first time buyer discount) for about $1100. Yamaha A-S1200 or Marantz 30 are available open box or refurb for my price range as is a JBLSA750. The JBL has a strong amp and interesting feature set including room correction. I'm probably missing many choices but I'm interested in a high currebt and from communicating with KEF, best to have something thats comfortable driving up to 150 watts into 4 ohms.
Lots of knowledge laden people so I'm looking forward to some solid advice. Thanks in advance.
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@llg98ljk Wrote:
I get it! Separates will give you better sound quality then any receiver. The Vidar 2 amp is 100 watts @ 8Ohm, 200 watts @ 4Ohm and the Tyr amp is 200 watts @ 8Ohm, 400 watts @ 4Ohm. The TYR are true monoblock amps. I prefer monoblock amps, they have even better sound quality then a stereo amp. Hope that helps.😎 Mike
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The Shiit combos Go over budget. Gotta ask, any love for Emotiva here? The Yamaha I was eying is gone. Emotiva BasX series looks really good from where I sit. X A2 amp is 160wpc @8 and 250@4. PT2 preamp has an awful nice feature set. All in for about half my budget. Would leave me some extra for accessories and interconnects. What think you?
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- 66 posts total