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Spec Me - Stereo Integrated/Preamp & Mono/Stereo Poweramp (£1500 Budget)

S

strocky

pfm Member
As/thread title, must have digital inputs & HT Bypass

USB DAC section would be a bonus but not a deal killer

Can be second hand

No tubes though, not ready for a pipe and slippers yet :p

So far looking at the Parasound P5 & Emotiva XSP-1 but open to all ideas
 
Musical Fidelity M6i perhaps - over budget new but a fine amp if you could find a nice one s/h.
 
Looks a beast, however only digital in seems to be USB and the resolution rate that it can handle isn't stated
 
They seem pretty easy to drive.

I would try a Benchmark DAC1 as a pre/dac to give you lots of digital flexibility. The basic one can be had from £500, more for the pre and upto £1000 for a HDR.

WRT power amps to match, there is so many you can go for between the £500 - £1000 you would have left depending on the DAC you go for its hard to say.

At 91db the speakers wouldn't need much more than 40 watts in most rooms, a dealer in Ireland has a nice LFD amp which could be nice - http://cloneyaudio.com/explore/ex-demosecondhand-deals/
 
Thanks for the advice, home demoed a Benchmark 2 last year, but found it a tad clinical (wether that was the poweramp's sonic signature coming through - Lyngdorf SDA2175, I'm not unconvinced)
 
Could be, as I find class D kit clinical in general, I think the Benchmark is pretty neutral. You could try a Sugden power amp. They come up quite often for about £500.
 
You only need digital inputs ?
Then try a dac pre or dac passive pre into separate power amps as mentioned.

I,m using an Anthem and modified MDAC into power amps and I,m very happy with the results. Trying to find the power amp solution at the moment, as audiolabs were on the bright side.

Whether you use a passive pre or not is dependant on system, eliminating rf to dac and matching sensitivity to power amps.

There's details on the MDAC thread in regards these http://www.khozmo.com

The modified MDAC is sublime .. The mdac2 could well be worth the wait. An idea perhaps would be to buy a second hand MDAC for now and sign up for the new pcb replacement.
 
MF M6i - I don’t know why they don’t make any mention of the internal DAC via the USB input in the manual or in their literature? Seems like an odd omission.

Anyway, its 24/192 asynchronous. I can play such files via my SBT / USB cable. Although I should say it doesn’t sound quite as silky as my Northstar Essensio DAC.
 
PhilCTTE said:
You only need digital inputs ?
Then try a dac pre or dac passive pre into separate power amps as mentioned.

I,m using an Anthem and modified MDAC into power amps and I,m very happy with the results. Trying to find the power amp solution at the moment, as audiolabs were on the bright side.

Whether you use a passive pre or not is dependant on system, eliminating rf to dac and matching sensitivity to power amps.

There's details on the MDAC thread in regards these http://www.khozmo.com

The modified MDAC is sublime .. The mdac2 could well be worth the wait. An idea perhaps would be to buy a second hand MDAC for now and sign up for the new pcb replacement.
Click to expand...

Had a MDAC a few years ago, wasn't that impressed tbh (and it doesn't have a HT Bypass)
 
Mike42 said:
MF M6i - I don’t know why they don’t make any mention of the internal DAC via the USB input in the manual or in their literature? Seems like an odd omission.

Anyway, its 24/192 asynchronous. I can play such files via my SBT / USB cable. Although I should say it doesn’t sound quite as silky as my Northstar Essensio DAC.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification
 
Perreaux Audiant 80i (second hand)

Ticks all the boxes. Very good amplifier indeed. (I used to own one)

Lefty
 
strocky said:
Had a MDAC a few years ago, wasn't that impressed tbh (and it doesn't have a HT Bypass)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there were a few oddities about (varying production qualities)
Normally the black ones.

I was lucky to get mine modded with HT bypass . Problem is the wait may be a while yet..It's difficult to imagine the quality getting better than this fusioned version.
 
Perreaux 150i, get one with the phono and dac boards and it'll take whatever you throw at it ... and it's miles ahead of the 80i.
 
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