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Who is the Andrew Jones of Amp design, I wonder. Where are the $229 amps?
Bill
Follow Ups:
received rave reviews and sale price now around $300
I've been looking at budget integrated amps, 2 channel stereo. No radio. Yamaha and Marantz make some. Both companies have lines that with prices ranging around $400? and models going up over $1,000. Both have higher priced lines.
I've also wondered about the sound quality. I wonder a lot about this: do mass market companies still fall behind 'audio enthusiast' approved brand?
Assuming the ever did.
Reading reviews on the internet there a small plethora of sites filling the shoes of the long gone Stereo Review and other US mass market magazines: they never heard an amp they didn't gush over.
If you can read an electrical schematic and handle a soldering iron, you can build a pretty nice single ended integrated tube amplifier.
Trick is to use uncommon driver and power tubes:
6AV6 = 1/2 an 12AX7 preamp tube
6AB4 = 1/2 an 12AT7 preamp tube
12SL7 preamp tube
6AX5 rectifier tube
6BY5 dual damper (rectifier) tube
12V6GT power tube
5V6GT power tube
12AB5 power tube
6AQ5 power tube
PCL86 preamp & power tube in one bottle
PCL82 preamp & power tube in one bottle
5AQ5 power tube
8BQ5 power tube
10BQ5 power tube
And this is just the tip of the iceberg...............................
Steve
I liked the Parasound Zamp (at least the early version). I found it to be a very cost effective little guy and played surprisingly well.
Can't say if the newer versions are as good or not...
Happy Listening!
DeeCee
Thank you all for the feedback.
When I see audiophiles going gaga over the Elac B5 speaker, I wish for an equivalent amplifier which is the star among budget amps. Like the old NAD 3020.
Cheers
Bill
Agreed Tough to equal the 3020 . But in My experiences the Chi Fi 'stuff' from Parts express is a poor choice.
Hows about a used NAD ? At least theres' a fighting chance :-0
Good thinking. 'Inspired' by the surge of Lepai buying on thr Net, I bought a SMSL amp, a tiny one for $60. But it couldnot drive the Elac B5 speaker. I have an old NAD 3150 still going strong. I have this constant worry of that breaking down. I have an old Harmon Kardon which is not as good as the NAD. I wanted to know from fellow inmates if a new bright star was born.
Regards
Bill
NAD and Cambridge Audio have integrated amps that start in the $300.00 range, give or take.
A friend of mine bought a Chinese tube amp for $150.00 that was surprisingly decent. There was no remote and I believe only one input.
I haven't seen them in a while but the little T amps were like $150.00 when they first came out. There's also other budget Class D stuff around, but sometimes you get what you pay for.
The Parasound HCA line is out there although I haven't seen pricing in ages.
I just don't thing there's much of a market anymore for budget 2-channel, people are going to, built in in DAC's, and other features, The Swiss knife approach to audio. Onkyo, Cambridge and Yamaha, maybe others, offer stereo receivers. I think NAD does as well.
It would be nice for the next Adcom 535 to hit though. Speaking of Adcom, that stuff is a steal on the used market for what you get.
Crestron CNAMPX-2X60 power amplifiers tend to be a great find on eBay. The power amplifier was designed and built by ATI for Crestron's distributed audio systems, and a number of them show-up on ebay from time to time at low-cost. The American-made 2-channel dual-mono CNAMPX-2X60 is a conservatively rated 60 watt per channel narrow footprint design with excellent build quality, and shares many design aspects and the sonic signature of an Acurus power amplifier, including being built like a tank. The one caveat to mention is the CNAMPX-2X60 requires a 24VDC trigger intended for distributed audio control in order for the power amplifier to function. This means a 24VDC wall wart needs to be connected to the back of the unit at all times, or else the unit will not power-on. Furthermore, if power is interrupted to the 24VDC trigger, a small push-button on the back of the unit needs to be reset before the unit can be powered-on again. That said, if using an inexpensive wall wart, and easy access to the back of the power amplifier is not a problem, the CNAMPX-2X60 is a real bargain to consider.
http://www.crestron.com/products/model/cnampx-2x60
Here's a used Crestron CNAMPX-2X60 power amplifier listed on eBay (see link below):
Their pro amps were really good - model series I've used are: 100, 250, 750. Clean, quiet, punchy. All are basically enormous power supplies with some transistors tacked on. Also very good, but harder to find are the SAE 2200, 2300, and P250. Note that these SAE amps are completely different from the troublesome hifi gear they made. The P250 is one of the best sounding amps I've heard. All are easy to work on and re-cap.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
I use a BGW model 250D for my woofers (JBL 2231 actively crossed at 200Hz) in a bi-amp arrangement with a DIY SET 300b amp for the mids and tweeters.
I think it sounds great. "Clean, quiet, punchy."
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
Look here for that budget. There are numerous models under $300.
.....and probably a load of chip amps as well. The Airmotiv powered speakers from Emotiva start around $300.00 and you get both amp and speakers for very little dosh.I'll probably try the Akitika when the Van Alstine Mos-fet 120B in my video setup goes. Though it's already over 35 years old and soldiers on without issue or drama.
Edits: 08/20/16 08/20/16
The Dayton Audio DTA-120 "class D" amp sounds way better than it has any right to, at $99.98. Very smooth highs - good bass. Less treble "grain" "glare" or "tizz" than the NAD gear I compared it to, while still sounding extended.
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dta-120-class-t-mini-amplifier-60-wpc--300-3800
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