Better Integrated Amp?


Hi, I'm looking at my first set up and have been advised by people on this website to get an integrated amp (including phono stage). I'm looking at the Quad Vena 2 which I would have to get second hand due to cost, and the Denon PMA-800NE which I could buy new whilst still being the cheaper option. I'm open to other suggestions to just wanted to get your thoughts on which amp I should go for or if I should look at some others too.
oliverben5672

Showing 8 responses by oliverben5672

A lot of you seem to agree that the Rega Io is a really good option so I'm having a look into that now. Its power output seems much lower than others at 30W at 8ohms, I'm guessing this isnt an issue given how popular it seems to be, its a similar price to the others so that is good. It seems to have a few less features then the denon but im assuming you sacrifice that for sound quality and performance which is more important. If I were to go with the Rega anyone got any good speaker recommendations? I would like to go to some shops and listen but with Covid I dont think thats happening anytime soon.
Set up wise the turntable is a pro-ject debut carbon evo but I have not got a speaker yet, I thought i would try and figure out what amp to get before figuring out what speaker to pair it with.
Budget wise I'm in the UK and i can get the Denon for £350 which seemed reasonable for how its reviews look, the Vena is £700 but is more like £450 second hand. So thats a rough idea of my price range wouldnt want to go any higher than that unless I really have to.
This is also my first set up so I can always upgrade parts later down the line.
Music will mostly be Indie/Rock/Metal but a bit of other stuff as well, the room isn't massive so it wont need to be incredibly loud. Say this is my first set up so I'm learning a lot here thanks
Okay I will try and find a speaker first and then circle back to an amp which matches it well. Speakers are hard to find out about atm as we are in lockdown I cannot go into any store to listen to them so I’m only going off reviews and peoples opinions on here.
Total budget wise I’m really wanting to keep it under 1,000 total, I was planning on splitting that equally between turntable, amp and speaker but maybe I should prioritise one over the others?
The debut carbon evo turntable is £450 which is a lot of the budget but I was considering the Rega Planar 1 as a cheaper alternative £250, (or the Rega Planar 1+ which has built in Phono preamp and then finding an expensive pair of active speakers but I’ve been told to stick to Passive if possible). Pretty much all of the amps recommended come in around the £350 mark which is about right if I’m splitting it equally.
So considering speakers then, if we’re splitting equal and looking at passive there’s £200 left if I go with the carbon evo, £400 with the RP1.
A few that seem popular and well reviewed are the Elac Debut B5.2, Dali Skeptor 2, KEF Q150, Fyne Audio F302 and Klipsch R-41M which are around budget range. If were to look for an active one for the RP1+ I’d probably go for an edifier. Again open to all advice and really appreciate your guys help, I am completely new to this so would be lost without you
Okay lots of information I worry I might miss some stuff. I’ve been looking at speakers and one that seems to have a lot of positive reviews are Q Acoustics 3050, and I’ve found a website selling them at £330 which is about £200 less than other websites. Not sure if anyones had any experience with these? They have a really high sensitivity at 92db but do have a rear port which some people have warned me about. Its also had a newer model replace it, the 3050i but for the extra money there doesnt appear to be too much of a difference in its make up.
The recomended power listed on their website is 25-100W at 6Ohms, the 6 does confuse me a little as all amps and almost all speakers I've seen say 4 or 8.
Another amp thats come up quite a few times is Marantz PM6006 (some Uk edition) which seems decent to. Its almost like theres too much to choose from!
Like Arizonabob says so many options so little time... (and so little moeny)...
Tbh £1000 is quite a lot of money for me to invest into this, I'm aware this is an expensive thing to do and I intend to upgrade as I go along. If you think it is not worth to try on this budget please say I'd prefer to save my money if it will only produce "junk". Also worth noting I am not an established audiophile, I don't think my ears are quite at a level where they can pick up on all the things some more experienced people can.
Based on the budget and what people have said, the current set up I'm looking at is:
Project Debut Carbon Evo + one of the amps we've mentioned (rega io/quad vena ii/marantz 6006) + Q Acoustic 3050
or
Project Debut Carbon Evo + Rega Fono MM Mk3 Phono Preamp + Edifier S2000Pro (active speaker).
These both fall at the upper end of what I can afford so I'd appreciate all your thoughts. Open to alternative speakers and would like to hear from some people that own these ones or who are knowledgeable about them. Between the two options which gets your vote, passive and integrated amp, or phono preamp and active speaker? 

Okay based on what all of you’ve said I think I may be able to stretch my budget a little bit, probably only a few hundred pounds extra but it might make a difference. I’ve also found a website which offers massive savings when you buy an amp and speaker set together which is looking like a really good option for getter better equipment affordably.
The speakers that this bundle and extra cash opens me up to are: Q Acoustics 3050i, Dali Oberon 5, Wharfedale Diamond 12.4, Yamaha NS-F350, Fyne Audio F303, KEF Q550 and BowerWilkins 603. Amp wise I could choose between a few but the two that stand out are Marantz PM6007 and Yamaha A-S501. Like you guys have said though, I’ll disregard picking one for now until the speaker side is sorted.
This seems to be a significant improvement on my previous options and at a very small change in price, what do you guys think?
Speaker wise I haven’t been able to look at all in detail just yet, I’ve heard good things about the Dalis, the 603s are the most expensive to buy separately but obviously that’s not always an indicator of quality - I haven’t looked too deeply into these yet - and Wharfedale and KEF seem to be a strong brand name. The website also says that I can request quotes for other speakers they have listed as part of a speaker amp deal but these seem to be the top speakers there.
I checked for offers with monitor audio and there is the Monitor Audio Bronze 200 and 500 (6th gen) available
Monitor Audio sounds good then, I'm having a look into their silver models to see which one would be the best fit. I've narrowed down the other options as well a bit and will continue to do so til i get to a few favourites.