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#1
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Advice on modest integrated amp
Greetings all,
I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. Nev. |
#2
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Advice on modest integrated amp
"B. Smith" wrote in message
... Greetings all, I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. Nev. I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my impression from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright and "yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency "grain". However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual samplings of sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition the NAD separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for slightly mellow but excellent high-end sound. |
#3
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Advice on modest integrated amp
"B. Smith" wrote:
Greetings all, I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. It's probably not your Denon receiver that seems insufficiently "laid back" to you. It's your speakers. You'd do better to audition some new ones. Try moving up the Paradigm line, for starters--a little extra bass might make the overall sound a bit less forward. For the price of those integrateds, there's a variety of creditable speakers, including something that will be to your liking. bob __________________________________________________ _______________ Check out the new MSN 9 Dial-up — fast & reliable Internet access with prime features! http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us&...alup/home&ST=1 |
#4
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Advice on modest integrated amp
The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for the
cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono stage, but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and spend as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit that has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio. It has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything near it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this price point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and there are a couple of options with limited power there. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "Harry Lavo" wrote in message ... "B. Smith" wrote in message ... Greetings all, I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. Nev. I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my impression from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright and "yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency "grain". However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual samplings of sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition the NAD separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for slightly mellow but excellent high-end sound. |
#5
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Advice on modest integrated amp
"Uptown Audio" wrote in message
... The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for the cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono stage, but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and spend as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit that has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio. It has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything near it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this price point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and there are a couple of options with limited power there. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 Actually, NAD has an external phono preamp that they sell for $99 that has a pretty good reputation and is considered a steal at its price-point. "Harry Lavo" wrote in message ... "B. Smith" wrote in message ... Greetings all, I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. Nev. I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my impression from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright and "yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency "grain". However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual samplings of sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition the NAD separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for slightly mellow but excellent high-end sound. |
#6
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Advice on modest integrated amp
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#7
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Advice on modest integrated amp
Yes, the new version (NAD PP2 ) is $129 and now it even has a
switchable MM/MC input. They are sold by NAD dealers, of course. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "Harry Lavo" wrote in message news:1hCRb.130064$5V2.658736@attbi_s53... "Uptown Audio" wrote in message ... The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for the cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono stage, but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and spend as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit that has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio. It has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything near it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this price point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and there are a couple of options with limited power there. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 Actually, NAD has an external phono preamp that they sell for $99 that has a pretty good reputation and is considered a steal at its price-point. "Harry Lavo" wrote in message ... "B. Smith" wrote in message ... Greetings all, I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. Nev. I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my impression from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright and "yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency "grain". However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual samplings of sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition the NAD separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for slightly mellow but excellent high-end sound. |
#8
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Advice on modest integrated amp
"B. Smith" wrote
in message ... I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to "lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks in advance. I've recently replaced a Harman Kardon HK650 with a Rotel RA-1060. The Harman was a replacement for an Arcam 8 amp. The Arcam was faulty right out of the box (I assume that I was unlucky and {hope that} most Arcams will actually work as designed). The Arcam was returned to me in a non-working state TWICE after sending it in for repairs. When I returned it for the 3rd time, I walked out of the store with the Harman. The Harman had some problems of its own: within a week, a LED failed. Within a month, the switch to disable the tone controls had developed a loud 'bang' sound (in the speakers) when enabled/disabled. Within 6 months, the tone controls of the left channel failed (possibly because of that tone-defeat switch). As the Arcam never worked as designed, I can't comment on its sound quality. I can't complain about the sound of the Harman, but I hated the remote control, which only worked for a distance of about 3 meters (and it drained batteries incredibly fast). The control switches on the amp itself have a very 'plasticy', cheap feel about them. The Harman also ran very hot even when outputting at modest volumes (at which the Rotel barely gets warm). The Rotel sounds just like the Harman - I can't tell the two of them apart. The 'feel' of the Rotel is much more solid and the remote control works up to 12 meters (I can simply point it at a reflecting surface and the signal will be picked up by the sensor - something that didn't work on the Harman). The tone control on the RA-1060 is a 'contour selector' - it can only INCREASE bass, treble or both and not DECREASE them (which is what I want to do most of the time...). I don't know if that's the same on the 1062. It would amaze me if the Rotel/Arcam sounded any different than the Denon - if at all possible please try either amp in your system to see if it results in the "laid back" sound that you are after. If I had to pick one of these amps, I would pick the Rotel, but that decision wouldn't have anything to do with sound quality. Regards, Eric |
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