Another "Best" amplifier Question.
Hope I'm not beating on the old horse too hard. I had originally intended to buy The now discontinued KEF r3s but ended up with the new Meta instead. Very pleased so far but still in burn-in mode on days wife not working from home.
Given my age, I intend for this to be my end game system (yea right). As per my previous post, system is the new R3 Metas, Bluesond Node, Technics SL-1200 MK2 with Ortofon Red, Sony UBP-X800M2 Blueray/CD and a Sony 55" XBR. No home theater set-up just seeking better audio from TV. Also Have an HSU VT1 sub. All feeding from a Yamaha R-N500 Receiver. System is hooked up to gigabit internet sevice and I listen mainly to Amazon Ultra HD music. All in all, not a high end system but somewhat better than box store IMHO.
I feel I need to replace the receiver as it not the best power choice for the KEFs. In researching, I've hit that deer in the headlights point where I'm frozen and overwhelmed by choices. Right up front I need to establish that my budget is around $2k. Only local dealer I consider audiophile carries Lyngdorf, Atoll, Marantz, NAD and Boulder. He is really pushing The Atoll IN-100 but says the Lyngforf doesn't have enough grunt. Did not even discuss Marantz or NAD and Boulder is in another universe. Atoll lacks phono but can be added at extra cost.
Online choices that intrigue me most: Emotive BASX A2/PT2 combo. Lots of features and power. Can be had (w/ first time buyer discount) for about $1100. Yamaha A-S1200 or Marantz 30 are available open box or refurb for my price range as is a JBLSA750. The JBL has a strong amp and interesting feature set including room correction. I'm probably missing many choices but I'm interested in a high currebt and from communicating with KEF, best to have something thats comfortable driving up to 150 watts into 4 ohms.
Lots of knowledge laden people so I'm looking forward to some solid advice. Thanks in advance.
The Shiit combos Go over budget. Gotta ask, any love for Emotiva here? The Yamaha I was eying is gone. Emotiva BasX series looks really good from where I sit. X A2 amp is 160wpc @8 and 250@4. PT2 preamp has an awful nice feature set. All in for about half my budget. Would leave me some extra for accessories and interconnects. What think you?
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Have you listened to a tube amp yet? You seem hung up on watts, don't be, it's a very misleading stat, just get a quality integrated. You've got a small 2 way bookshelf design. It's not going to need anywhere near the power of a large tower speaker with a half dozen or so drivers. Check out the Willsenton R8. You can buy them through Amazon, get free shipping and a 30 day return period. |
Not really hung up on watts. The Yamaha A-s1200 is only rated at 90wps @ 8ohm.However, it has a 624 v/a toroidal transformer and will happily drive 4ohm loads, Solid build at around 48 lbs. I've tossed around the idea of a tube amp. Most high-quality ones are far above my self imposed budget. in addition, I'm leery of tube amps because of maintenance and tube life. At this stage of my life, I favor set and forget. Thats one of the reasons I retired my Yamaha CR2020 to storage.
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@llg98ljk, What is the budget? Mike |
