British Integrated Amps


I have a great affinity for British gear.  I have owned many British speakers from ProAc, Celestion, Mission, Wharfedale, Tannoy, Mordaunt Short, KEF, Linn & Monitor Audio and they were all very musical sounding.

I had a Rega Planar 3 for over 25 years and much shorter stints with a Linn Basik/Akito arm, Thorens TD125 mkII w/Rega RB303 arm and now an Ariston RD80 SEL w/Jelco arm.

I have also owned several British integrateds:  Onix OA-21s, OA-20/2, OA-60, Creek 5050, 4330, Musical Fidelity B1, Rotel RA870 and maybe a couple others that escape me right now and I now have a Meridian 504 tuner.  

I particularly like the shoebox sized units, I just like the size and shape of them and that they don’t take up a lot of room.

Which British integrated amps have you owned, which were your favorites, which ones were overrated, overpriced and what speakers were you using with them that made them a yay or a nay?

Look forward to your comments!  Thanks!


lou_setriodes

Showing 3 responses by jjss49

@tomic601 

i agree, for fun, i hooked up my nait xs2 w teddycap, driving my harbeths and then spendors... the sound is excellent, alive yet not harsh, trademark bass drive... the better naims beautifully walk that fine line --  attention grabbing, thoroughly engaging sound, but without being bright or tiresome...
your mention of the Acurus DIA100 brought back great memories


haha for me that one brings back one of my few episodes of hifi ptsd... i had these driving totem 1’s back in the day, just brutally harsh and aggressive treble -- am sure the amp/speaker match was not ideal but man what a painful learning experience that was ... don't just pick random 'recommended components' and expect them to work together
excellent -- naim nait x2 w pardo ps

very good -- lfd lfe 4 se (but ergonomically challenged)

ok - naim nait 5 si, rega brio, creek evo50

poor - arcam fmj, cyrus 1