advertisement


Which £1k integrated amp with DAC?

@hifinutt was using a Bel Canto C5i with Alchris to good effect, IIRC. He might be able to comment.

I’ve been using Bel Canto power amps for years with various speakers. (Partnering superbly with my Focal Kantas right now)
 
Primare i32 integrated with mm30 dac/streaming board. Around £1 200 secondhand, if you're patient. Excellent sound.

Primare seems to hold its value well. eBay prices haven't shifted for a couple of years or so.
 
eisenach said:
Primare i32 integrated with mm30 dac/streaming board. Around £1 200 secondhand, if you're patient. Excellent sound.

Primare seems to hold its value well. eBay prices haven't shifted for a couple of years or so.
Click to expand...

Yes, I looked at those and the i22. Slightly put off by reviews because I often listen at family friendly volumes. The Audiolab excels at this. Relatively speaking to my untrained ears, I do need to do a side by side but that requires me to make a decision! Also put off these because only one optical. I could live with that at a push. A cheap i32 with a fault popped up on AV Forums last month.
 
Jubal said:
I’m overwhelmed now if I’m honest. How do you lot think I should narrow this down? I don’t mind a little bit of buying and selling but I don’t want to end up stuck with something I can’t move on.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest a Denon PMA2500 2nd hand, but the link on the previous page looks a great buy, unfortunately taking you a couple of hundred over budget. If wanting to stick to your budget the Bel Canto would be the one. I think both amps would be easily re-sellable.
 
Denon are definitely on their A game with their upper end products - the CD/SACD players are great too. All good vfm because of their economies of scale and sensible pricing in general. Superbly built, in Japan too.

As for resale, you’d need to tread a little carefully since there’s still some totally unwarranted brand snobbery.
 
Jezzer said:
@hifinutt was using a Bel Canto C5i with Alchris to good effect, IIRC. He might be able to comment.

I’ve been using Bel Canto power amps for years with various speakers. (Partnering superbly with my Focal Kantas right now)
Click to expand...

Ah I only used the pre amp section into a power amp .it was very good indeed with the ar6 but a tiny bit forward at times on some recordings
 
Some days I am very attracted to the concept of an integrated amp all inclusive. The simplicity and box count is a very attractive value proposition, and the de cluttering of cables must be good fengshui.
However there is no escaping that some compromises need to be made, especially at the price point.
Bang for the Buck goes without saying, and were it me, I would also use compact size as a parameter.
The Quad Vena, in its latest iteration looks very promising, but haven’t heard it myself, I just have a soft spot fir the comoany.
It does offer a potential upgrade path down the road as it can act as a preamp…
However similar propositions are popping up from all manufacturers nowadays, so the choice can’t be to easy.
 
It is, sticking to a budget, but it’s a nice class of problem at my stage of the journey. I’m just waiting to see what else turns up secondhand now. I think I’ll get slightly burnt if I buy new and then want to flip.
 
I have to agree with the suggestion of a Yamaha RN-803D. Cracking amp, great DAC, all the streaming you'll ever need. There are 2 or 3 on the 'Bay for sale at the moment. I doubt you'd lose much if it wasn't suitable. Mine drives my Kralk BC30 IIs very well indeed.
 
DonMarks said:
Some days I am very attracted to the concept of an integrated amp all inclusive. The simplicity and box count is a very attractive value proposition, and the de cluttering of cables must be good fengshui.
However there is no escaping that some compromises need to be made, especially at the price point.
Bang for the Buck goes without saying, and were it me, I would also use compact size as a parameter.
The Quad Vena, in its latest iteration looks very promising, but haven’t heard it myself, I just have a soft spot fir the comoany.
It does offer a potential upgrade path down the road as it can act as a preamp…
However similar propositions are popping up from all manufacturers nowadays, so the choice can’t be to easy.
Click to expand...
there is a mint bel canto c5i on the wigwam at a silly price .beautifully built and not bad sounding
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Jubal said:
Yes, so I read. It’s one of my saved searches and I saw that today. Nice to have a personal recommendation.
Click to expand...

TBH I'm really tempted with it myself...

I'm stuck as to whether stick with my JBLs or go back to separates...

I'm borrowing a Cyrus 8XPd currently and I've got some KEF R300s due on Tuesday and will see how that goes...

Itll be interesting to see how they are side by side. Had the JBLs on a lot this weekend and they're bloody good...

So the other system will have to be that much better!

I've always been a huge fan of NAD. There's a D3045 on ebay too which really peaks my interest. Had the D3020 & D7050 in the past and they're superb Class D amps and kick out bags of power for what they are
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top