Wanted: Recommendations for an integrated amp for Celestion SL-600 speakers!


Hello Fellow Forum Members,

I just gave my sister a pair of Celestion SL-600 speakers that I found on the curb in front of a fancy Upper East Side apartment building in Manhattan. They had a note on them that said, "Take me, I am free." (Only in New York would this happen.)

I am now searching for a used integrated amp that sells for about $400, that I can get for her. I'm looking for an amp that will make these speakers sound very good. I know the budget is limited, but perhaps I can find an older integrated that can drive these speakers to a satisfying level.
Thanks for your help! Joe
jbcello
Wow! SL-600's! Enjoyed them for years. The 3D imaging never failed to send me. I even had one one of them repaired when its copper tweeter blew. Later, one of them fell off its stand and bent a corner of its metal cabinet This didn't harm the speaker a bit. I also don't remember if this was the one that had the tweeter replaced. What finally prompted me to get rid of the SL-600s  was a listen to a pair of NOLA Boxers, which I still enjoy mightily. Nobody would buy the Celestions and I donated them to the Salvation Army.

Now to your question. To escape the faintly metallic sound of those metallic tweeters, I eventually found a good deal of nirvana with a PrimaLuna Prologue One. 
Amazing find. They need alot of high current power...perhaps one of the better rega?
I bought a pair of SL-600s for a system for my mom years ago. We had luck with one of the larger Rotel integrateds. IIRC, they do need fairly high current and power for a smaller speaker.
You have a lot of good options: Parasound, Belles, NAD. One online now, Arcam A90 is one of the more powerful that would be a safe bet. 

Cheers,
Spencer
Emotive maybe a good spot to look you should be able to get the power level you need for those speakers there for your price range.

also don't rule out class D amps they will give you the power you need for those speakers at reasonable prices. 

From my time with those speakers you need more than 100-120wpc to get much out of them. but set up right they can do some wonderful things in sound staging etc.