George mentioned a really good amp already, Parasound Hint, John Curl design. Another choice is the Modwright KWI, which is a beast, has tremendous design and is beautiful IMHO. A third choice, I don’t know if it is still being made, but I would not hesitate buying used is the Musical Fidelity M6 500i. A dual mono integrated that I have heard and has the power for demanding speakers. Mono amps are preferrable but one needs the space and that choice is uber expensive. Plus the WAF (wife acceptance factor) is not very good.
Please tutor me on some integrated amp basics.
I’ve recently purchased Magico A3 speakers and a VPI Classic 2 SE turntable with an Ortofon Black 2M moving magnet cartridge. I have a Marantz SA 8005 CD/SACD player to play the few (maybe a hundred or so) CD’s in my possession.
I’ve mostly vinyl albums and no streaming sources. I’m next going to upgrade my old amp/preamp purchased back in the late 70’s with a new, probably integrated, one and am starting to do some research.
Here’s where I need some tutoring. A lot has changed since the seventies with the advent of digital technology. As well as I need to learn more about amplification components in the high end of audio technology. I keep running across terms I don’t understand. I’ll give you a list and if someone would be kind enough to explain these basics I’d be obliged.
For instance I was reading about the Hegel H360 integrated amp that Magico’s Alon Wolf recommended for their A3’s. The review mentioned they were a Class A/B amp, another person commented Class A’s were better, and a third person said he didn’t care for Class D amps. What do these classes signify?
A second question is about DACs. I generally understand their purpose of the DAC, converting a digital to an analog signal. However my only digital device, the Marantz SA 8005 already has a DAC, ostensibly of good quality. The turntable ’s Ortofon cartridge would not need to play through a DAC, I presume. Would I bypass the CD’s players DAC if I purchase the higher quality Hegel H360 integrated amp?. Or could I find an equivalent integrated amp without an integral DAC?
On the other side of the equation I understand the turntable’s cartridge cannot play through the Hegel without first going through a phono stage. My old Phase Linear 4000 preamp you just plugged the turntables RCA cables into the back of the preamp and you were done. What’s that about? Do they make equivalent integrated amps to the Hegel H360 with integrated phono stages already in place, so I can just plug my turntable in as I’ve been able to do before. The amps don’t seem to be well integrated at all if you have to add a pricey phono stage to make them work, and end up having an extra DAC. That’s just me whining.
Third question is what are monoblocks, how are they used, and what are their advantages to a system? They were used at one of my speaker auditions.
I figured out the answer to what amplifier damping was myself, so I’m sparing you that one, but what does the term impedance mean? I keep coming across that.
Thank goodness I don’t have to figure out the cabling nightmare yet. Thanks for any help.
Mike
I’ve mostly vinyl albums and no streaming sources. I’m next going to upgrade my old amp/preamp purchased back in the late 70’s with a new, probably integrated, one and am starting to do some research.
Here’s where I need some tutoring. A lot has changed since the seventies with the advent of digital technology. As well as I need to learn more about amplification components in the high end of audio technology. I keep running across terms I don’t understand. I’ll give you a list and if someone would be kind enough to explain these basics I’d be obliged.
For instance I was reading about the Hegel H360 integrated amp that Magico’s Alon Wolf recommended for their A3’s. The review mentioned they were a Class A/B amp, another person commented Class A’s were better, and a third person said he didn’t care for Class D amps. What do these classes signify?
A second question is about DACs. I generally understand their purpose of the DAC, converting a digital to an analog signal. However my only digital device, the Marantz SA 8005 already has a DAC, ostensibly of good quality. The turntable ’s Ortofon cartridge would not need to play through a DAC, I presume. Would I bypass the CD’s players DAC if I purchase the higher quality Hegel H360 integrated amp?. Or could I find an equivalent integrated amp without an integral DAC?
On the other side of the equation I understand the turntable’s cartridge cannot play through the Hegel without first going through a phono stage. My old Phase Linear 4000 preamp you just plugged the turntables RCA cables into the back of the preamp and you were done. What’s that about? Do they make equivalent integrated amps to the Hegel H360 with integrated phono stages already in place, so I can just plug my turntable in as I’ve been able to do before. The amps don’t seem to be well integrated at all if you have to add a pricey phono stage to make them work, and end up having an extra DAC. That’s just me whining.
Third question is what are monoblocks, how are they used, and what are their advantages to a system? They were used at one of my speaker auditions.
I figured out the answer to what amplifier damping was myself, so I’m sparing you that one, but what does the term impedance mean? I keep coming across that.
Thank goodness I don’t have to figure out the cabling nightmare yet. Thanks for any help.
Mike
Showing 5 responses by 2psyop
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/modwright-instruments-kwi-200-integrated-amplifier/ http://www.tonepublications.com/review/musical-fidelity-m6-500i-integrated-amplifier-2/ The Musical Fidelity is not offered anymore, But the Nu Vista series is very nice. All three would drive Magico speakers wonderfully. https://www.stereophile.com/content/musical-fidelity-nu-vista-800-integrated-amplifier |
Most people here are talking about getting an amplifier that your speakers will DEMAND. When you invest a lot of money on speakers, you want to get the best performance out of them that's possible. Therefore if you have speakers like the Magico, that are really hungry for power, you will need an amplifier that is up to the task. I would take the advice given above and start learning about the classes of amplifiers, as that makes a difference in how much power and current you will need. Speakers that are very low ohms (2) need a great deal of power. Speakers that are (4) ohm need a little less, but still more power than (6) ohm speakers. With a (4) ohm speaker you will need more power than an (8) ohm speaker. Also the sensitivity of your speakers is something should factor into how much power you need and how loud you will be able to play your speakers. Sensitivity measurements of 88 dB are about average. Anything below 84
dB is considered rather poor sensitivity. The sensitivity of 92 dB or
higher is very good and should be sought after.(Mostly because many amplifiers can drive higher sensitivity speakers).To get the best performance from your Magico speakers you may have to seek out a very good amp, that can produce a lot of current and a lot of power. Anyone here, correct me if I am wrong.... |
Skyscraper Although I understand your reservations about Chinese manufactured audio products, not all of audio equipment is of bad quality. Line Magnetic Audio makes very good products, just look in these audio forums. Primaluna products are made in China but many audiophiles all over the world really like the products. Among just a few audio companies that have gear either designed somewhere else and built in China or Taiwan....or designed and built in China or Taiwan; BMC, Sonus Faber, Krell, Classe, Bada, Doge, Jolida, Opera Consonance, Musical Paradise, Lawrence Audio, Melody, Auralic, Aerial Acoustics, Dussan, TAD, KEF, Luxman, Musical Fidelity, B&W, Cambridge Audio, YBA. |