Bit of a Conundrum

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories Speaker Amps
1

Been thinking about this lately and realize there is a problem. With everything possibly having extended shipping delays due to the virus, ordering from an international site like Schiit or China Hifi Audio, doesn’t necessarily guarantee a timely delivery versus amazon. So, comparitively I am looking to Local Retailers as a solution. Which means some Hifi and some pro audio. My ultimate goal is to buy an interstitial amp on the way to more expensive stuff and have to make a choice as to what I want.

This is a pro amp I’ve been looking at. Cleaner than other amps in the same range and affordable. Has anyone listened to this model before?

2

Hmmm, so the Hafler and Avantone on the site is out of budget then?

3

I might be able to swing the Avantone. If I wanted an expensive amp I could order without having to be in store (seriously why do I need to do this for the bryston 2B^3) They actually sell the Benchmark Amp that is ridiculously clean, but that would mean no more amp purchases for the rest of the year.

I can also get a PSAudio stereo amp from another source.

4

Hmmm that is a clean ass amp if you are going for that sound

The ps audio will be more colored than the other amps mentioned, it’s good, but it is going to be a bit more smoothed out and relaxed sounding

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5

Yes but the Benchmark uses THX feed forward tech right? Does that mean it has the same problem as the THX headamps where all the depth and imaging go right out window?

6

It’s better implemented than the lower end thx amps, but personally I am still not a fan of it compared to other designs. But I don’t think it’s that bad compared to the thx headphone amps. My preference would lean towards the bryston at that price for sure but that’s not an option at the moment

7

I’ll try and email the shop I got my chord dac from about their brystons but this whole situation is frustrating.

8

I looked at canadian crutchfield but their selection is not great and is more geared towards home theatre stuff.

9

Are you looking at the Bryston 2.5B 3?

10

yes
(10 char)

11

http://www.economik.com/bryston/2-5b3-pro/
This store seems to sell bryston online if that’s what you are looking for

(they also have a 4b3 pro used for 5k cad if that’s a good price)

12

That’s interesting. Though it would have to ship in from another province to get here (Quebec) so I’ll have to do a bit of research on the store first.

I also found this at a local store which might serve well in the interim, though I am aware that Pro-Ject doesnt have a whole lot of consensus as to their quality

13

I like the project phono stuff, but imo their headphone amps, dacs, and speaker amps are meh to me, solid but not stand out

Also assuming you have checked these already:


14

Yeah those are both in Montreal as well. I know some folks respect Acoustic Technologies

I was interested in the RS because it has Tube input stage. I’m actually considering it because its small enought to work in a compact space which means I can move it around the house

15

Ah gotcha. So you got the preamp with the ability to use a tube in there correct? I would suggest getting a full solid state power amp, so you don’t have multiple tubes in the input stage

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16

I was gonna get a tortuga audio passive preamp and later a balanced tube buffer from them

17

I was actually prepping to order the schiit freya plus but then all this happened lol

1 Like
18

You ever hear of a brand called NuPrime?

19

Yes, they have pretty good and powerful solid state designs for the price, nothing exceptional but solid performers for what you can find them for. I always get them mixed up with NuForce lol

20

Cool. I found this site, which has some decent reviews for it and they sell NuPrime amps for a decent price.