low cost integrated amp for newbie

I'll chime in again. Lots of great posts, even Geoff who must "completely disagree" with me. He recommends some fine equipment, which will certainly provide a lot of long term satisfaction.

I guess the ultimate question is what truly is the budget, and the priority.

I have heard the NAD 320BEE, and it bettered some nicer receivers IMO, including a Yamaha and Pioneer. It even edged out a more expensive Rotel integrated to my ears as well.

As for driving speakers, the NAD is stable into lower impedences, no worries. Deepest bass may be lighter than the heavyweights, but muscially, it is a winner overall.

I am an ex-Audio Analogue owner, I bought the Puccini SE a few years ago over 4 other integrateds, ALL of which are more expensive by 1.5 to 3 times the SE's price. I thoroughly agree, that would be a great amp to get. Based on the original post, though, it may be best to keep the recommendations closer to the original budget. Maybe we convinced Ann to spend more, maybe not...

But the NAD's or any of the other recommendations would be a warm welcome into the world of music and "audiophilia."

Best of luck to Ann, and hope there is years of good listening ahead !

Fishinfool's advice, while not totally incorrect as far as it goes, to me seems a little beside the point, considering that any major future system upgrade (if Ann decides to go that way) will likely mean improving upon any small integrated amp bought in the circa $300 range, no matter what she chooses first at this juncture. That is, after all, how better systems are built over the years.

Since I really doubt she will be in any danger of trying to mate, for the moment, a particularly 'tough load' speaker (read: larger, maybe esoteric, more expensive, and more revealing) with her modest amp choice, this 'danger' can be safely disregarded for the time being. Any decent small integrated she is likely to get should do an appropriate job of driving any decent, small, and relatively inexpensive speakers she might pair with them as her potential next step.

Yes, it would be ideal to be able to choose a new amp and new speakers concurrently and audition the options together as a system to create a synergistic match with no prior constraints, but her amp is on the fritz now, and she's just getting her toes wet in this stuff. Significant further upgrading, should it occur, would mean eventually upgrading everything anyway, small integrated included. But she will not be unduly limited in her choice of matching speakers in the commensurate size, price, and fidelity range she is likely to be shopping in this time around by choosing her amp first to meet her current needs, so I wouldn't encourage her to needlessly worry over having to go 'amp-first' now.

However, I do concur, as a general rule and when other conditions (such as a broken amp) are not prevailing, that if and when Ann decides to progress higher up the audiophile food chain, the ideal upgrading sequence is speakers first, amp to follow - though as in everything audiophile, there is hardly universal agreement with that view. But even in that scenario, the amp she gets now will probably suffice to produce acceptable sound for the meantime if she has to stagger her upgrades and go speakers first, amplifier second in the next round (even if that round winds up beginning with her next speaker purchase and not a subsequent one). Besides, I suspect her next moves, beyond maybe changing the present speakers, would be in the areas of sources and wires, and anyway, one of the beauties of buying on Audiogon is that she will not be facing much depreciation when it comes time to sell the small integrated (especially one bought in the price range she is contemplating here), so the whole prospect should be neither daunting nor painful in the pocketbook at this stage of her audio-development.

I have read reviews on several amps mentioned in this thread and am starting to get a sense of the differences between them (and between amps in general). One of the amps mentioned by a couple of you is the Acurus DIA-100. Wow, stellar reviews. However, I noticed that some reviewers mention the high degree of "detail" this amp provides, and how it can sound less-than-pleasant with lower quaity speakers. In fact, this "detail" issue was mentioned in reviews of other amps, too. This leaves me wondering if it would be better to get an amp designed for a more modest system.

This discussion is helping to clarify something for me: I was under the impression initially that there was some kind of absolute scale of good-better-best, but I'm concluding that at a certain point it boils down to context: what other gear you're combining it with and your personal preference for sound.

Time to head over to a listening room and educate my ears. Right now it's all too academic. I'm ready for some test-drives.

The best advice yet, Ann: Your own ! Follow your ears, your heart, and your wallet :-)

Bring a selection of music you most like, good recording or not. Sometimes the dealer will try to impress you with superbly recorded "audiophile" music. And sometimes it sucks as music goes !

I bring my own music, as well as listen to some audiophile music. This way, I can judge the emotional impact better (my music, even if not recorded as well) and also the POTENTIAL of the gear (audiophile music).

Good luck, let us all know how you fare !

Todd - chams_uk

I agree with Mcfavre4. A used NAD C340 or C350 would be a good match with your tuner, and have sufficient power and flexibility to handle a wide range of speakers. A used Creek 4330 might also be a good choice, if you could find one within your budget.For and/or reviews on these amps, see: http://207.228.230.217/info/NAD_C340.pdf
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/archive/perl/629_printreview.htm
http://207.228.230.217/info/NAD_C350.pdf
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=909
http://www.creekaudio.co.uk/products/old_products/4330mk2.asphttp://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=321
Once you have an amp which is working properly and you've saved up some more money, you can think about other components such as your CD player, speakers, and interconnect cables and speaker cables; but one thing at a time for now.