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.
Unfortunately I am stuck with certain options available to me. None of those amps are currently available for purchase in Toronto (rega is only available via brick and mortar purchase.) its unlikely I’ll be able to get them in any form of short order due to the lock down.
It seems that unless you go bryston, which I’ll still probably end up going with further down the line, your most common choices for hifi amps are Cambridge audio, Nad and NAIM.
If its any consolation, I can get the PS AUDIO preamp and it and the stereo power amp would fit within the 4000 USD bracket (4800 CAD). They sell an integrated but It’s unlikely that it is available in Canada yet. I can still get the tube sound I want with a buffer
The reason I wanted to go with the Schiit Freya + is that along with the Tube section and JFet section, there is a purely passive preamp section available.
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Naim SUPERNAIT 3 ?
Don’t let the low wattage fool you, it’s a solid amp with great bass control. Very high quality and perfect tonality.
I don’t recommend Cambridge.
Why rush this purchase?
But you would probably be able to sell the SUPERNAIT without making a hugh loss.
You can’t even get an Elex-R as an intermediate amp? Would be a great budget-isch amp and you could go with bryson late.
More Options make each one less quality… and the resell value isn’t great either. I never understood the fuzz about passive preamps.
Wich Speakers are we talking about?
On rushing: I’m not sure these businesses will be here if the lockdown lasts up to 6 months to a year as projected. I can order a pro version of the Bryston from a quebec audio store, but inter-province shipping is iffy currently.
Toronto Dealers are weirdly insistent on making sure their purchases are “in store only” for a lot of items. It makes purchasing a hassle and screwed them over with this situation.
The Naim Dealers in Toronto insist on brick and mortar purchases it seems. Just checked their website.
Same with Regas.
I can get a nuprime amp for about 1200.
The speakers I want are Triangle Thetas
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The whole postage system seems to still work fine. How crazy do taxes get if you just order from analogueseduction in the UK and import into CA? But this could be quite risky.
Try calling those Dealers and ask for personal delivery or something… My local Hifi Dealers Just drives around in his Van and delivers display items to known customer to try out and have fun. Very smart guy. I bet he’s still selling a lot of stuff without having an online shop.
SUPERNAIT would be more than enough to push them
Oh import fees are insane from the UK, I’ve looked into importing region B blurays. Not fun.
I’ll have to wait til tuesday to check with the dealers.
Just want to clarify that if I get the PS AUDIO package, when I upgrade to the bryston at my desk set up, it wont just be sold. But moved to another planned project in another room (Projector screen and Klipsch Heritage speakers of some kind, or perhaps a different kind of horn speaker)
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I wouldn’t risk pairing Horn speakers with Class D.
But I’m not a Horn Speakers fan anyway maybe ask some Horn Guys.
The Naim would be pretty sweet with Horns and give the needed smoothness to make them not fatiguing. The Naim Amp is perfect for the high impedance and efficiency of the Klipsch Heritage in my opinion. Wouldn’t go Rega with them.
But some Class A Accuphase would be cool too.
Maybe Mon knows some nice tube stuff that is available to you? Tubes and Klipsch are very nice.