Integrated Amps with HT bypass?


I'm looking to purchase an integrated amplifier to match with a pair of Paradigm Studio 20s. I would like to limit my search to those with HT bypass, throughput, pass-thru, or whatever it's being called these days.

My budget is around 1K used so any models that retail for 1500-2000 might be ok too.

It's hard to find a list of amps with this feature so I'd like to hear about any models that have an HT bypass, even if your not too keen on the sound.

Thanks for any and all input.
portraitinjazztv

Showing 2 responses by portraitinjazztv

To elaborate, I currently have no amplifier,pre-amp, integrated or receiver of any kind, so my system is currently dormant.

I will be using whichever integrated I choose to power my Paradigm Studio 20s in a small room (10'x13'6") and my source is a Cambridge Audio D500se CD player.

I would like to get an integrated amp (for budgetary reasons) that will satisfy my need for quality 2 channel music but will also allow me to add an AV receiver to handle the processing and the additional speakers for my home theater needs later on down the line when my budget permits.

Therefore, I would like to take a look at whatever integrated amps have an HT bypass feature (I know there are not many), in order to make the future upgrade easier.

Thanks again for any wisdom in this matter.
"03-06-07: Chadlesko
2 years ago I was on the same quest...at that time the following had HT bypass:

Musical Fidelity A5 - I bought this one and loved it
Musical Fidelity A3.5
Musical Fidelity older models as well
Krell 300xi & 400xi (Various Integrated Models)
Plinus 8500 or 9200 - I think have HT Bypass"

Chad, I believe it was your old posting from 2 yrs ago that I somehow stumbled across recently. It gave me hope to see that someone else in this forum had the same equipment goals.

Thanks Chad and everyone else for the input. Please keep it coming....I know there must be others who have wondered about this.

So far, I've come up with these models that have HT Bypass/Passthrough:

PS Audio GCC-100 Control Amp
Musical Fidelity A3.5
Musical Fidelity A5
Sim Audio I3se
Arcam FMJ A22 (no bypass but has input "gain adjustment")
Krell KAV 300i
Bryston B-100 ("reprogrammable pass through")
Naim Nait 5i (unity gain)
Arcam A80 ("software configurable AV processor switch")

There are apparently others but these were the closest to my budget. My understanding is that some manufacturers call HT Bypass other names like "pass-through" "throughput" or "unity gain", but it is difficult to find dealers that truly understand these features or even know which models have them, so most of my research was conducted online or by phone, therefore I am open to any educated corrections in my list.......enilighten me please!

For now I am leaning towards the MF 3.5, the Naim Nait 5i, or one of the Arcams, but I am going to keep an eye on things and take a week or two to decide. Any suggestions on which would be most musical with my Paradigm Studio 20s v3 for 2.0 or 2.1 setup?