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2020 quest for stereo amp with DAC for about 1000 USD

Hello all, I am looking for a new amp for my home office...which due to covid I am in 10 hours a day.  I want to keep the price around 1000 USD.  I am driving a old pair of B&W 601s (may upgrade those later).  I need it to have at least 2 DIG inputs (CD player and HD tuner).
Soooooo... I have found the following: product, price and short pros n cons.  I would love to hear your comments on these or alternatives.
Marantz pm7000n, Alexa voice control, Heos, bluetooth, other streaming, long reliable reputation
Vincent Audio SV500, Tube pre+SS amp+DA built in, interesting idea, German Design/China made reliability??
Cambridge CXA61, super popular for value, bluetooth
Audiolab 6000a, outstanding specs, bluetooth (reminds me of NAD specs before they went Damp)
Rotel a12/a14, good specs, usb for ipod, bluetooth, why not as many loving reviews?
...
Anyways... each has a different approach... but I will say... I loved my old NAD, the Denon2112 i have now is ok but I miss the dynamic warm.

fortiz1970
archguy's avatar
archguy
46 posts
 
I think you'd be very happy with the Cambridge and if you wanted to save real money you can get the model it replaced (CXA60) and quite possibly be just as happy, plus a little bit richer. 
dtrandall
43 posts
 
i have the audiolab 6000A and I like it.

It’s a very heavy component with nicely machined metal knobs and a very basic display. The matte black finish is a nice change from the overused glossy piano black. There is zero flash here, but a lot of value. Very good specs and class AB amplification. 3 analog inputs, 2 optical, 2 coax plus a phono stage, remote trigger inputs/outputs and wireless bluetooth streaming. It has a very good ESS Sabre DAC and a mode selection switch allows it to function as just a power amp, just a preamp, or as a full integrated. amp.  The remote is good with solid button feel. It can be had for around $950. 

If you add the 6000cdt, you get a great sounding cd transport that makes a very nice short stack and can be operated from a single remote. 

Sadly, there isn’t as much experience with it on this side of the pond, which worried me before purchase...but it sounds very good and I wasn’t disappointed.



ovinewar's avatar
ovinewar
172 posts
 
I own a Vincent SV500. It is my main amp in a vacation home. I run it through modified Klipsch Quartets. These are highly efficient but can be edgy. Between  the mods and the Vincent the edginess disappears. I don’t recall the DAC specs but running a vintage Sony ES CD player through the integrated sounds amazing. I also stream aN RPI using Tidal. For the money you have mentioned, I would suggest the Vincent would be quite pleasing. I realize Audiogon members have a wide range of disposable income so one mans amazing is another mans Goodwill donation. For reference, most of my equipment is a decade or two old, TOL Thiel, Vandersteen, and LSA, Klipsch, Enlightened Audio, and some really Vintage TOL Mitsubishi gear. I also have two NAD Receivers T765 and possibly T743. To reiterate, I would buy my Vincent again with zero reservations. When at this home, it plays for 14 plus hours a day and does not fatigue or disappoint.
maginness
1 posts
 
I am in the same boat. Covid has me working from home in my office lots. Also wanted to see what I cloud do for $1000. 
I have an older set of M&K S150 speakers and MX200 sub. The speakers where powered by an old Denon AVR and connected by a basic bluetooth dongle. System always had noise in it and sounded a bit muted. 
I tried a few different amps and Bluetooth dongles. Ended up with:

Apple AirPort Express $60
Topping E30 DAC $110
Class D Audio CDA-250C Amp $300
DSPSpeaker Anti-Mode 8033S-II $250
Benchmark Toslink to Mini Optical Cable $50
Furman PST-8 Dig $90
iFi Audio power $50 (for the DAC)
The AirPort Express, Amp, Furman and Anti-Mode I bought used. 
Tried several class AB amps and did not like them with the speakers as much as the Class D Audio amp. I listen at very low volumes during conference calls and there is no hiss at all from the Class D Audio amp. 

I bought the Furman chasing down noise in a Rotel amp I was trying out. The Furman did nothing for the hiss (sound floor I guess), but swapping out the amp made a difference. 

The AirPort Express is much better than Bluetooth for wireless and is an ok DAC. The Topping is a better DAC though. I use the Topping as the pre-amp and there are three digital inputs (USB, Coax, and Optical) 

I have a smaller room and sub placement is not great. With the Anti-Mode in the system I was able to cross over the speaker amp at 100hz using Harrison Lab FMods for the high pass cross over. 
I had fun shopping and piecing things together. Next up is the garage system :) 
cdc2
122 posts
 
I recently purchased an Audiolab 6000a for a secondary system. Hooked it up to a pair of hales transcendence 1 speakers I had around, and wow!

I was stunned about how good they sound with the Audiolab. Highly involving sound. Well worth the money, much less I like the bluetooth functionality too.



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