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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
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
@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...
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes OP
701 posts
 
 Never had any Naim gear before, although it looks awesome.  I’ve only ever heard the Nait 3, cd3, and CDX.  The Nait 3 had trouble with Epos ES11’s in a large room, not a good pairing for a large room.  The CD players were phenomenal.

Ended up getting a Linn Majik I (orig shoe box sized) and a Meridian 551 to match my 504 tuner.  Now just need to get the MSR remote.

Many have mentioned Croft, LFD, & Sonateer but since I’m moving overseas soon, I was looking to get a shoe box sized integrated.  This gear will suffice and I can always upgrade and add an amp if I want to have separates.  
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes OP
701 posts
 

Update:  We’ll, it’s now almost 4 years later and I’ve been in Israel the last 3.5 years.  The prices for used audio gear here is insane, almost double of what you would pay in the US for audio gear.  I managed to sell my Meridian gear (551 & 504) and sold the Linn Majik I too.  I got back into tubes with a Yarland EL84 integrated amp and a Custom ECL82 SE int amp that I’m trying to sell or trade and considering either a Sugden A25B or an Ion Obelisk 1 in trade.  
 

Anyone have any experience with the Ion Obelisk?  The Sugden is my first choice…

audition__audio
1,636 posts
 

My experience with older Exposure models has been very good. I believe the same designer as the Hi-Watt guitar amps from back in the day.

 

tko956
35 posts
 

I still use my Creek 4330 MkIi in a second system to this day.  It was my first "real hifi" purchase and it will never leave.

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