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In Reply to: RE: Amp Change posted by nickgreen43@hotmail.com on June 05, 2016 at 13:21:19
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I will look into them and hopefully be able to get what I´m looking for.Any more suggestions greatly appreciated.
Follow Ups:
The first thing that I did was to look at your location. I don't remember there being too much of a high end audio scene in Andalucia unless things have changed recently and most of the shops that I do recall along the Costa del Sol which attempted it as dealers didn't last long. There was a guy selling Linn in Marbella a few years ago but I don't think he was still there a couple of years ago. Even El Corte Ingles (Puerto Banus) had a go at one point with B&W and Vincent amongst other brands.
Unfortunately I doubt that most of the recommendations made so far will be attainable within your budget. The reason being that all of the American gear bears the cost of being imported into the EU. If bought used from a dealer it will also have VAT imposed on the sale.
If I were you I would be looking at a European manufactured brand and one for which I could reasonably expect service in the future. Maybe Naim - it would be quite a change from yout Unison integrated.
You may find a bargain buying privately but I think that you will need to look beyond your locality which means that your budget will have to be supplemented by shipping costs for a pre-power combination which is usually pretty heavy. I am guessing that you are an ex-pat Brit so maybe you could buy in the UK ( loads of available Naim of course due to its popularity) and drive it back?
Yes I am an ex pat and your advise about weight and carriage is something I´ve considered. I don´t know the sound qualities of NAIM and thought they´d been surpassed by other makes, I have Anthony Gallo Nucleus Classico Ser 4 speakers, Krell CD Player and a SME 10 Deck. Thanks for your advice.
Nick
Now we know a bit more about your system do you need a phonostage in the pre-amp or integrated amp or do you have an outboard one ?
In regard to your comment, Naim have continued to develop pretty rapidly since their merger (takeover) with/by Focal and are interestingly large enough to have unique electrical components (transistors, regulators) made for them. However the sound of the brand may or may not be to your taste - that's always the difficult part giving advice on a forum; understanding what you might like.
I have a good phono amp in the Whest 20. My Unison Research S8 is good with a rich sound but it cannot seperate the instruments sufficiently in the more complicated pieces of my music, from prog rock to classical.
Good, that simplifies things a bit.
If I were in your situation there are two high end integrated amps that I would seriously want to look at. Both are made in Europe. Both come from companies with great reputations. Both are distributed in Spain. Both can be afforded by you new (which serves to relieve your concern about the possible reliability of second hand). Both could also be obtained in the UK if that is how you want to do it. Also both have a DAC section which may be an interesting alternative to the Krell player used directly ( I assume the Krell has a co-ax digital output).
The first is the Hegel H360 ( Spanish distributor is in Madrid):
http://www.hegel.com/products/integrated/h360
The second is the Gato DIA 400( Distributed in Spain from Portugal):
http://gato-audio.com/dia-400.php
Good luck and let us know what you end up choosing.
Thanks, I´ll check them both out. Having checked out Naim, it does interest me.I´m not buying till later in the year but will let you know what I buy.
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