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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I was gonna get a tortuga audio passive preamp and later a balanced tube buffer from them
I was actually prepping to order the schiit freya plus but then all this happened lol
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You ever hear of a brand called NuPrime?
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
Cool. I found this site, which has some decent reviews for it and they sell NuPrime amps for a decent price.
It’s looking like isolation/lockdown up here might last a while so this might be the best I can get for that price right now unfortunately.
(I’ve been wary of ordering from Quebec because that province has the virus really bad right now)
I personally don’t think you would go wrong with the nuprime, they do have a pretty enjoyable voicing to them, and are pretty reliable
Also to answer the original question, I haven’t heard the art amp, but if I had to estimate it would be a good value based on my other experiences with art pro gear
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Cool.
This is a side question. But what is your opinion on Accuphase and what is their general pricing. I see them listed in a few stored but with no price.
I really like accuphase, I have an e800 and it’s pretty nice, it’s a sweeter sounding class a. They are fairly expensive but looking used can yield deals. They have a similar price to high tier bryston
Cool. Going back to the brystons. Will I ever need something as powerful as the 4B3? My room is maybe 10x12, 10x14 max
Realistically no, you really don’t need that power, but with the higher you go with the brystons the sound quality also typically increases as well
okay. Are there any sonic differences between basic and pro models beyond the trim controls
It’s mainly a different look and the different gain controls
lol I looked up the freya + just now and its completely backordered.
As a side note I still kinda do want a Ragnarok 2. Though I am not sure how it sounds, most of the reviews for it have not been clear to me as to that regard
Hey Mon, what is your opinion of NAD amps?
Not a fan of new nad, I did like vintage nad tho. I think the new nad is a bit to bright and lifeless, kinda lacking something that pulls you in
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Hmm. Out of all of this, I seem to be coming back to that PSAUDIO stereo amp. It’s more colored yes but I feel like it will be nice to listen to while also being a good stand in amp til I can afford the bryston. The only question I got is does it work well with a tube preamp, or more specifically the schiit freya+?
You know, I can’t really tell you as I haven’t tried them with a tube preamp
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Please formulate your requirements and ideas exactly. This way we can help you better.
It is also important what kind of loudspeakers are actually involved. I would connect completely different amplifiers to efficient, low-impedance speakers than to high-impedance inefficient ones.
It seems to me that a neutral amplifier is very important to you. And the tube preamp is supposed to make the sound a bit softer and more holographic?
If I were you, I would go for an integrated amplifier in the price range up to 4000 USD. It is always difficult to mix products from different companies and it is always difficult to predict how it will sound. There are many sophisticated integrated amplifiers for every taste.
Here are a few suggestions, but I must point out that my experience is limited to Class A/B and A. I have never been a fan of tube power amps and Class D. But they can sound great too when properly combined.
Warm and relaxed with still good tonality / very close to good tube sound:
Rega Elex-R, Leema Elements Integrated
Very neutral, clean but never aggressive:
Exposure 3010S2D
aggressively neutral and difficult to combine:
Musical Fidelity M5SI
Alternatively I can imagine the Exposure power amplifier 3010S2 or XM9 mono quite decent with the shiit preamp.
I owned 3 NADs and everyone broke and sounded terrible. Only Vintage stuff like Mon said.
Lovely Sound but I’m heavily invested into britisch amplifiers and stuff. Who would have thought after recommending 4 different britisch companies lol… I should start shilling some local companies instead. Well Audionet and Trigon are great neutral Amps too.
Edit: Don’t know if it’s over budget and your speakers are efficient enough but I recently tried the new Luxmann SQ-N150. Clean and dynamic with tube sweetness, crazy transparent for the price. Just wanted to mention it because you seem to like neutral and transparent tube stuff.