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Best S/H Integrated Amp for under £200

I very much doubt that there's much in it between any secondhand Audiolab or Arcam for around £200.
 
hifinutt said:
Without a doubt arcam a85 is excellent, great remote and pretty good sound . Arcam a75 also good . Got both here
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Got my eye on both of those models at present, what about the A70/80/90, are they better ?

I will pretty much go for anything that falls into the price range
 
No stick with a85 or a75 . I was selling mine but it's staying at the moment. Just gave my spare a85 to a friend in Devon.
 
If you are around Brum I will bring it over to try !! You should pay no more than 260 for one . Mine was up for 250 collected
 
Jamie said:
Never see much love for Cyrus around here, but I have a Cyrus 8VS2, and it's a great amp. The one I have will likely be well over budget looking at sold eBay prices, but there are older versions available well under budget (if you don't mind a shoebox!). And they are UK made (at least older ones in budget will be).
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They’re unfairly maligned to be honest. I’ve had a few Cyrus amps including the 8VS2, I reckon the 8VS2 will be well over budget, but a 3 should be easily achievable. I find them on the cooler side of neutral, but definitely not harsh like some people report. Forward, lively and detailed.

For something a little warmer and sweeter, and all round nice to use, I’m a big fan of the LK era Linn Majik, should be achievable for £200 at a push although £250 is the going rate.
 
Bob Edwards said:
@MJSM -

From what you wrote, I think I’d just get the best Arcam FMJ that you can within budget.
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Must admit I saw a decent review on the A28 by Andy Dutton (Arcam ?) in Avforums where he described the improvements over the A70/80 range etc and it's tempting, if I can get one in or slightly over budget I would be tempted.
 
MJSM said:
Is there more than one mark (1, II, III etc) of these ?, they seem to have a wide range of prices and I think I have seen more than one configuration of inputs on the back. The front is a bit bland looking but is could be behind a cupboard door so not a big deal, it's the sound that counts.
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The early ( grey finish ) ones had DIN sockets on the rear.
I’m not sure when they went over to using Phono sockets.
As for the different Marks, I’m unsure about the dates.
The later black finish ones are considered the best models.
Mine is one of those.
 
MJSM said:
I don't mind Denon but I'm not sure it would be any better than the Marantz (and it's not British).
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Sorry, skim read and missed the British made requirement - for a decent British assembled amp you may need to increase your budget in my opinion (or go for an Arcam, a friend had an Audiolab many years ago and I could not see/hear what all the fuss was about).
 
I'm up in Crewe so not a million miles away, bit of a hike though realistically but thanks for your kind offer. Lets leave it a week or so, I should have something by then hopefully. It doesn't need to be permanent either, I may try a few before I get to what I want to keep and will keep the previous one for an overlap period to make sure I don't move on the wrong amp ;)
 
guydarryl said:
Sorry, skim read and missed the British made requirement - for a decent British assembled amp you may need to increase your budget in my opinion (or go for an Arcam, a friend had an Audiolab many years ago and I could not see/hear what all the fuss was about).
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No worries, and if I'm honest although I said I'm not fixated on Arcam I probably would prefer to try an Arcam first as I have been researching those the most.
 
may disagree, but if you like a Naim sound, before picking up my Nait 5i, then Nait XS, I had a Rotel RA 05 SE, superb amp, slips under the radar the SE stuff is very well made and good quality components. Not saying its better than the naim stuff, but in isolation yiu really struggle to see what you are missing only side by side. I found the Rotel worked with any speaker I threw at it.
 
say it as it is said:
may disagree, but if you like a Naim sound, before picking up my Nait 5i, then Nait XS, I had a Rotel RA 05 SE, superb amp, slips under the radar the SE stuff is very well made and good quality components. Not saying its better than the naim stuff, but in isolation yiu really struggle to see what you are missing only side by side. I found the Rotel worked with any speaker I threw at it.
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Thanks, I'll look at that - looks like the RA 04 got better reviews, and there are a couple of RA 06s on Ebay right now within budget
 
I did use an Arcam alpha 5 in my class room (science lab, used to put on a bit of music while the pupils were carrying on with their experiments), brilliant amp, quite "old school" styling, built like a tank and excellent sound.

Rotel are Japanese as far as I know.
 
MJSM said:
Thanks, I'll look at that - are they Japanese ?
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Yes very much Japanese, but nay would say more British voiced if that makes any sense? well put together and not flashy, appreciate Rotel may not have the prestige or be British, but have made some cracking sensible priced kit over the years. I have tried a few amps and found the Rotel sound to my taste
 
say it as it is said:
Yes very much Japanese, but nay would say more British voiced if that makes any sense? well put together and not flashy, appreciate Rotel may not have the prestige or be British, but have made some cracking sensible priced kit over the years. I have tried a few amps and found the Rotel sound to my taste
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Thanks, I had just edited my previous to make it sound less snobby ;) definitely under consideration, the 06 was over £600 new ... I guess I am just trying to get away from Japanese for this amp as I already have the Marantz (not that that means anything necessarily)
 
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