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What Power Amp

I have enjoyed the odd Rotel amp

Last one was RA 05SE it was rather nice worth looking for se variants as they do have some nicer grade parts inside and doesn't cost that much more.
Other end of the scale I have an original Denon PMA 250 really short depth case. It nearly as old as me but sounds way better haha.
Old adage they don't make them like that anymore
 
say it as it is said:
I have enjoyed the odd Rotel amp

Last one was RA 05SE it was rather nice worth looking for se variants as they do have some nicer grade parts inside and doesn't cost that much more.
Other end of the scale I have an original Denon PMA 250 really short depth case. It nearly as old as me but sounds way better haha.
Old adage they don't make them like that anymore
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I bought a bulk load of hifi last night - mostly Denon, but also an Ion Obelisk 1(which I'm keeping!) - the other amp that came with this was a Denon PMA 250 II. It's not in the "glittering elite" class of audio, but I have to say how surprised I am by this box - it's the little amp that could - I know the PMA 255 amps are better, but I'd still rate this as being as good as (or - gasp of outrage - slightly better than) the Nad 3020 series amps. I'm determined to put my parents on the path of audio righteousness, and I think this little box, together with some nice robust speakers, could be the way to do it :)
 
Yes the original PM250 reminds me a lot of my old Rotel ra820a not hugely powerful but very musical in what I heard once described as a very British sound if that makes sense
 
mickhick1 said:
Lots of suggestions, mostly Class D, which I'm not averse to.
Might consider a Linn, I know Jez doesn't rate them, also, in a similar vein to the A21, but crucially a bit smaller, there are a couple of Rotel amps which look to be good value, Roksan too.
If anyone was considering selling a nice Avondale amp, I would be interested.
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A few of the early ones are truly dreadful. Later ones can perform OK but WAY over priced when new and can be a PITA to repair. Everything you are considering seems rather a downgrade really... Avondale, if built well etc, probably about the best named so far.

With 91dB/W Turnberry's you really don't need much power unless you're a total headbanger with a large room!
 
say it as it is said:
Yes the original PM250 reminds me a lot of my old Rotel ra820a not hugely powerful but very musical in what I heard once described as a very British sound if that makes sense
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Denon were one of the one of the few manufacturers at the time who were using British engineers to develop their kit, iirc - a lot of the "common consumer" grade equipment was home market tuned, sounding a bit "squeaky twatbag" as a result. Sorry for the description, but I'm a rabid "two pints" fan. Sony items in particular seemed to have suffered from this, to the extent that they had to start putting "UK tuned" stickers on equipment that was specifically for the UK market and tuned accordingly.

It was also a (largely ineffective) measure to try and curb the flood of grey imports coming in.
 
hifinutt said:
My word , what a name!! Bob, come and hear my kinky system !! :D
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Apparently the owner/chief designer named the brand Kinki after his wife.

Anyway jokes aside the build, fit, finishing and quality of components used is first rate. You have to see the EX-M7 in the flesh to fully appreciate this as pictures don't fully do the EX-M7 justice.

EX-M7's power delivery is brutal resulting in particular with a sustained assault on bass drivers without flinching an inch :)
 
Arkless Electronics said:
With 91dB/W Turnberry's you really don't need much power unless you're a total headbanger with a large room!
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Although the Turnberrys are fairly efficient, they definitely respond in a positive way to higher power amps, which is why I mentioned damping factor, which seems to go hand in hand with bigger amps. And I do like to be able to crank the system up when I want to, so not a total headbanger, but I do like to be able to get "realistic" levels when I feel the need.
TBH Jez, it is a bit of a dilemma, as I said I am happy with what I have sonically, but I need something physically smaller, to better fit in with our planned changes and unfortunately cost has to be a major consideration. The A21, at the cost, is a hard act to follow, which is why I ended up buying it in the first place. I'll probably end up sticking with it! But I will probably try out some of the options and sell them on if they don't do it for me.
 
mickhick1 said:
Although the Turnberrys are fairly efficient, they definitely respond in a positive way to higher power amps, which is why I mentioned damping factor, which seems to go hand in hand with bigger amps. And I do like to be able to crank the system up when I want to, so not a total headbanger, but I do like to be able to get "realistic" levels when I feel the need.
TBH Jez, it is a bit of a dilemma, as I said I am happy with what I have sonically, but I need something physically smaller, to better fit in with our planned changes and unfortunately cost has to be a major consideration. The A21, at the cost, is a hard act to follow, which is why I ended up buying it in the first place. I'll probably end up sticking with it! But I will probably try out some of the options and sell them on if they don't do it for me.
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As I've explained before power does not work like that and damping factor is pretty irrelevant beyond about 50. It also does not increase with power.
 
It's a great question. Tannoys really are fairly "easy to please", they get along with a lot of amps, but some amps work way better with them than others. I don't know the parasound A21, but when we had Kensington SE's on the floor I remember comparing several SS amps and being shocked at the differences--not because I hadn't heard differences in amps before, but just that the kensingtons REALLY showed off the differences and came alive on some, sounded hard and thin on others.

I think testing out the Class D/purifi examples is a good idea. I've no idea how DC's work with those but it might be a great match.
I would definitely keep a Linn Akurate on the table. They are heavily underrated, and they work EXTREMELY well with Tannoys, regardless if there is any other linn component in the system or not.
I'd definitely look into an SPL S-800 if they are in your budget.
The kinki being recommended by Musiccraft is really highly regarded by many serious audiophiles and reviewers. I inquired about them to a guy whose ears I trust and he ranked them VERY highly, so I would not take that recommendation likely. They certainly present WAY more value relative to their construction than other brands available at a similar price.
Sugden? they work very well with Tannoys.

That's all I got off the top of me head.
 
If you're really serious about small and cool, there are always half-size amps, such as Naim NAP100 or Teddy Pardo ST60. They may be a bit under-budget and under-powered for you, but in my experience, they can produce excellent results.

Matt
 
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