Striving for best integrated or pre power combo stereo amplifier

skdas

Active Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
201
Points
28
Location
karnataka
Helo,

Deal all HFV member i am in process to get a best one

Integrated or pre power combo stereo amplifier .

Model without DAC.

Budget is 1.5 L to Max 1.8 L.

Power handling capacity 70 W or higher[/B] will do justice So i think .

condition new or used one in excellent condition will be OK for me.

I have limited audition option or facility due to my residing location.So kindly suggest and share your experience. Presently (for short time) i will drive my B&W 684 with sub, later on i like to move to higher end book self speaker.

i would love to have or join in GROUP BUY if member with similar requirement come together.
 
I had pathos logos.
Pathos signature did not suit to my ear with my set up of
Meridian Explorer/Chord 2 cute > () > B&W 684.
Image was not that detailed and opened as expected ...dont know ..what was the problem.

Yesterday i had audition my system ,in stereo mode of Yamaha RX-V677 ) (thanks to my neighbor, who shared his AVR ) , it was more open , and with sufficient details, although it was lacking some sweetness.

Waiting to get some good stereo amplifier.
 
I think you need a UK based amplifier like NAIM,Rocksan like they will shine with your B&W speakers
 
Try quad once with your 684s. Listened to 686 s2 with quad 306 power and 34 pre. It was awesome.
Btw, this is primary setup of fm Koushik. :)
 
Trying to short list..

1. Trigon Energy Approx. 1.5 lacs
2. Roksan K3 (?)
3. Naim Xs2 - Approx. 2.3 lacs
3. Bryston 4BST Power Amplifier with pre amp. (?)
4. Parasound a21 (?)

Please throw some light on it, i am sure all above products are auditioned by our HFV members may be in different setup ..
 
skdas

frankly i was surprised the Pathos Logos did not do the job.

It is supposed to be a highly rated amp.

I would have looked at the room first.

Sound stage is also dependent on the speaker positioning and room acoustics and simply putting in money for a new amp is no guarantee to get the results you want.

Please try positioning your speakers first - try the cardas method - available on the internet and optimize for your room ( depending on the decor and convenience of your folks ) and then look at hardware..

The positioning of the speakers also depend on the amp driving them - for example the yamaha you tried might call for a different positioning than the earlier Pathos Logos.

There was a Rotel 1570 on sale on hifiads - you may want to look at that.

If you want to switch to a standmount - the better option would have been to sell your present speakers and go for a match with the pathos Logos.

The point is you have to keep something fixed ( the amp ) and work on the speakers.

regards
 
" mpw " has correctly identified one valid point. Person who picked up pathos logos fro my room told the same point.

Earlier i had Rotel RA-12 and experienced the first gimps of good stereo sound, and was crazy to move further.

if a AVR can provide a good sound in my set up, my standalone DAC and matching stereo amplifier should blow me .
 
Unless you are going to transition this setup to a HT, don't throw an AVR into it.
You will be paying for video terminals + switching, an ADC, an audio/video processor, a DAC and all the royalties associated with Dolby/DTS and any other formats. None of which you will use in a stereo setup.

Keep it simple. Analog IA or analog pre-amp + power amp should be the way to go. Your shortlist looks good. I would add Rotel, Marantz Ref, NAD and CA to it as you can easily audition in India.

How about some of the local companies (AP, Rethm)? I have not listened to these, but many FMs have very good things to say about them.

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Hi raghupb, I don't think Rethm amp Gaanam will work with the OPs existing speakers. If he is going for a little higher efficient speakers then it's a different story. The amp is very very good
 
Hi raghupb, I don't think Rethm amp Gaanam will work with the OPs existing speakers. If he is going for a little higher efficient speakers then it's a different story. The amp is very very good

Thanks for the insight prem. I did not know Rethm amps need higher effiiciency speakers.

@skdas
If the BWs need a bit more muscle, add Outlaw Audio RR2150 to your shortlist.
The only issue is they are internet direct. There have been some very positive reviews (at the price point $700).
There may be a review on HFV too. I have monoblocks from Outlaw and they are no nonsense workhorses.

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Last edited:
For better matching with B&W speakers Class Audio amplifier will be the best one to use.In most of the demo rooms B&W speakers are paired with Class Audio amplifiers.The interesting part in this story is that "Class became part of the B&W Group".Please check the below link this will explain the story this will include Rotel also.But Rotel is only a mid hi fi amps.

http://www.classeaudio.com/about_classe.php
 
Last edited:
if a AVR can provide a good sound in my set up, my standalone DAC and matching stereo amplifier should blow me .

If you like sound that the Yamaha AVR delivered, why don't you look at a higher end Yamaha itself? Just remember, modern AVRs have DACs that are would be worth 100s of $ if sold as a DAC alone. Pioneer uses ESS Sabre, one of the best DAC's chips in the world. Some of the Yamaha Aventage AVRs also use ESS SABRE32.

I have auditioned systems worth lakhs of Rupees, but, at the end, what worked for me was a 20K Tube amp. The tightness of sound, and the beautiful way it blended with my source and speakers was perfect.

Cheers
 
I know one person who is extremely happy with Parasound pre-power with B&Ws.

I dont know his Handle here but he is in touch with me thru phone. If possible PM me ,I will get you touch with him and you can discuss him at length , why he chose parasound. Second B&Ws shine with more power...
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
Back
Top