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Amp Suggestions For A Newbie - Please

I am upgrading my system. New to components. Live in an apartment house. Listening space is relatively small. Considering either B&W 602s or Paradigm V20s. Very much into jazz and classical (acoustic). Wish to achieve good clarity, distinction and presence with my new system. A depth to the music. Looking for the strongest amp candidates for the abovementioned speakers. Obviously lots of power is not a requirement just quality and character of sound. Either New or Used Amp suggestions are fine. Budget: $500/$600. (If you feel I would get equivalent results from an integrated Amp, let me know that, too. Appreciate both your time, input and thoughts.
fullrun
geddie
27 posts
 
I can't help much with your speaker selection, but can personally recommend the AudioSource Amp 1/A (80 watts/channel and an excellent performer) as well as the AudioSource Pre 1A preamp highly. Both the amp and preamp can be purchased new for around $500 - $550 total. They are solid entry level pieces, and the amp is stable into even 2 ohm loads.

If you feel you want even more power, the AudioSource Amp 3 (150 watts/channel at about $550 - $575) might be a good choice. See the following link for pricing, additional info, and a dealer who sells these units:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fs_srch.pl

Happy Listening!
buckingham
333 posts
 
Had the 602's with a Musical Fidelity A3 and the combo was quite good! The 602's are quite good for the price and the tweeter is very resolving. Audition as many speakers as you can and go from there.
meby
46 posts
 
Fullrun,
In your price range a used Audio Refinement Complete is very nice. The price maybe to high but a used Audio Analogue Puccini is also sweet. NAD is also decent but tends to be a little forward to my ears. If you do not want used you may also want to audition a Jolida tubed or hybrid integrated.
audiophile35
23 posts
 
Cambridge Audio from England makes a great integrated amp A500 which carries a Stereophile Class C rating. It retails for $450. You can pick up a dempo from Audio Advisor for $339
cbinkleye862
4 posts
 
I prefer the Paradigms over the B&Ws, but I'm buying the 602 S3s because I can get them new in Europe while on vacation next month for get this, $452! The slight difference between the Paradigms and the B&Ws simply isn't worth $200 to me. Check out this link: http://www.hifissimo.com/store/search.cgi?user_id=&database=base.db&template=liste.tpml&2_option=2&2=b%20et%20w&output_number=4

And that's before you get the taxes back (should be around 10% I forget the the exact rate of the VAT.) The Paradigms have a clearer high end, pure more, really noticable on cymbals. If you listen to jazz, buy those.

As for amps, I really didn't like the Cambridge A500 - I listened to it for about one minute before moving on to NAD. Sounded no different than a good receiver to me, and I wanted more fidelity.

It really depends on the budget - if you have no budget, go for NAD. If you can go to $700, the Rotel 1060 is clearer and has lower distortion levels. If you go to $800-900, you have a pick of excellent sounding pieces like the Arcam 750 (incredible soundstage - what I'm probably going to get,) the Rega Mira...Note I am noting low-wattage amps because you really don't need the power for the 602s or the Paradigms, they're pretty sensitive.
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