The merry go round. $700 seperates or integrated?
If I remember these speakers correctly, they are 4 ohm and drop down to somewhere more like 3 ohms.... With that.... Audio Refinement Complete 50 watts to 8 and 90 watts to 4 ohms. Coda Unison 3.1, 3.2 or 3.3, all will drive this speaker. this is a great sounding unit and extreme value. Probably $1000 Krell 300, should find one of these in the $1000 range. If, I think of others, I'll reply, These are all that come to mind Tim |
I owned a Cambridge 840A V2 integrated for a few years. You should be able to find one for $700 or less. Owned a lot of separate components over the years that were great bang for the buck pieces, but nothing competes for the money against a CA 840A. It’s a great unit for the money with a nice remote and has a balance input and a headphone input. Pick up a Pro-Ject or Cambridge phono preamp and you’re set. The 840A will easily drive your speakers. I used my 840A on Apogee Centaurs and it sounded great on a very revealing speaker. The 840A is a rock solid performer and not at all bright or thin sounding. Has plenty of drive but finesse. Even at it’s retail price of $1800 it was a solid performer. I took home a Marantz PM 11S1 to compare against the 840C and I preferred the Cambridge hands down. The Marantz was a beutiful built machine but was too laid back and boring against the Cambridge. Rotel, Anthem and Adcom, not even close for the money. NAD is always a strong contender. Parasound Halo yes, but not in this budget. |
Here’s another option. 60 day money back if you don't like it! http://www.musicdirect.com/p-257924-yamaha-a-s501-integrated-amp.aspx?gclid=CM7CuMbe8s0CFU5ZhgodmVsJ... |
I am familiar with the RS 2.5 and other Infinity speakers from that time, and I think it needs a very powerful amp. Infinity recommended a minimum of 100 watts, and that should be a very high current amp. Being a 4 ohm speaker dropping much lower and the type of drivers used means this speaker will be a very demanding load on the amp. It would be best for the amp to double power into 4 ohms or at least get somewhat close to a double. I seriously doubt that many of the amps listed in this discussion could adequately drive that speaker. Not meaning that anything is wrong with those amps, they just don’t have enough power. Like putting a Toyota Tacoma 4 cylinder engine in a Hummer H2 resulting in much less overall performance of the Hummer and it being capable of more. The issue is not integrated or separates, but making sure the amp has adequate power to drive and control the speaker. |
"I second the Audio Refinement integrated" I'm sure the Audio Refinement is a nice integrated amp, however it would be a very bad choice for the OP speakers, Infinity RS 2.5. Excerpt from Stereophile review, "the amplifier was current-limited into lower loads" As I previously stated, the speaker is 4 ohms dropping much lower, and a very demanding load. It needs high current that is not limited. |
Pretty sure a Cambridge 840A V2 will drive your speakers no problem. If you have a Cambridge dealer near you, see if they will let you drag home the newer 850A; if you like it then find a 840A. Know Adcom amps well, especially the older units and their preamps. Unless you're going to spend some money to mod one, such as with Musical Concepts or if you know how to mod yourself a CA 840A V2 is a much more refined amp. If you're going to drift off to separates as some are suggestion I really don't think you're going to outclass a newer / used integrated. There's a lot of really nice older amps out there that are under your budget but it's now finding a decent preamp for what you have left for funds. If you don't get the best preamp you can for the money, you're wasting your time and money on an amp. If you can double your budget I agree you can likely build a better system with separates. The CA 840A V2 is not overly polite, laid back unit; so if you're wanting that look on. It is lively and has PRAT. Not bright or edgy but is revealing . Use decent cables, and PC and it will reward you. Very well built. When I had mine, I had B&K, Counterpoint separate amps as well and the 840A was much better. My speakers at the time were Apogee Centaurs which are fairly revealing speakers with their ribbon tweeters. Eventually I did replace my 840A but it took a ModWright 9.0 SWL and an Audio Research 100.2 to do it. I dragged home a lot of gear to outdo it; I'm lucky I have two great stores nearby that let me take stuff home. Best advice any of us can give you is try before you buy. |
Those Infinity speakers most people probably aren't familiar with. I only heard of them when researching an amp I was interested in that could do 250 wpc. I kept reading about how this amp would go into protect and shut down when paired with Infinity speakers of the same variety. I'd be careful on the amp you select, those speakers go down to 2 ohms or so apparently. You need an amp that can handle low impedance. The Cambridge 840 V2 indicates on the back that it will accept 4 ohm speakers, but I can't find if it's okay with occasional 2 ohm loads. I would stay away from Nad unless you check with the manufacturer first. They do have a slightly warm sound, which would be a good match with ribbon tweeters, but I'm not sure their BEE integrated amps would handle ohm drops to 2 ohm. |
The 3 amps that I recommended earlier are all integrateds...I haven't seen curves on the Infinity's, but I've heard the old Audio Refinement drive for ohms in the past with very good authority... Unless the Infinity's are straying into 2 ohm territory it should be good. Id the speaker stays in lower impedences below 4 ohms over any real frequency range, then no, I would not use it. The Coda and the Krell both however would drive these speakers to any level that you would care to listen. I can't speak for others, but I wouldn't compare the Adcom with either of these integrateds. When John at Musical Concepts Modifies an Adcom, he replaces the boards, they really are not Adcoms anymore. He adds a substantial cost to the 555 and you would still need a preamp.... All 3 integrateds that I recommended also have a remote. Just trying to stress the points of why I suggested these... |
Looking at the power amps mentioned.... An old Parasound could be decent as well as one of the 200 watt B&K models. The Sumo and Adcoms will also work. And an old Muse would be great. The Usher is newer, great bass, a little edgy on top and you won't fine one under $1500. The Audio Research mentioned really is a phenomenal choice, but finding one would be tough. Overall trying to keep a budget, If possible, I would still look the integrated route. Of course a great buy on anything could change it all. This minute, there is a Musical Fidelity A3.5 on Ebay for $900 or best offer. The is a possibility. Good Luck, Tim |
Here you go, not mentioned above and I didn't think of it either, but it fits the bill of everything on your checklist.. It is a tubed preamp with a solid state power amp, 200 watts into 8 ohms and has a remote, PLUS its in your price range. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shanling-A3000-Integrated-Stereo-Hybrid-Amplifier-Vaccum-Tube-Solid-State-/232020350833?hash=item36057d9771:g:Hd8AAOSwsTxXj3O5 I hope this helps, Tim |
