Advice.. Integrated vs Seperates - Low Budget..
IMO the savings on the IC, which may be as much as $150, would be enough for me to get an integrated, so I did in my system. I believe in high quality wire even for systems like yours which are not high dollar but can benefit from a wire upgrade. I am sure you will get wildly different responses but I stick by my guns and recommend an integrated and take the money you save on ICs and upgrade speaker wire. my 2 cents... |
I agree with Phil. Integrateds are the way to go for me. I've had numerous different integrateds, and have also had a few different separates systems. I like the simplicity of the intergrateds, the savings of not having to buy interconnets, and knowing that you are getting a pre amp and power amp that are meant to run together. In your price range I could list numerous different integrateds that are worthing listening to. It just depends on the type of sound you are looking for. For 600 dollars, the two that come to mind are audio refinement and Musical Fidelity A3. I currently own the A3. I've the audio refinement 4 times, so I know it's good, but I think the A3 is better. |
I agree with Philjolet that your interconnect, speaker wire and for that matter..power cables make a big difference. For your budget, you can stick your toe in the water of the low end of high end. Everyone here started like you are. Consider that you would be introducing 2 very inexpensive power supplies and power cords along with interconnects and you will be "missing" something that will send you into tweakers hell. In your price range, try a Unison Research UNICO or a LFD Mistral integrated. I owned a UNICO and it was a wonderful integrated with a WHOLE lot of strengths. I currently have a BAT VK300xSE and I do not plan on going to separates anytime soon. I have upgraded cables and wish I had started there with the UNICO rather than trying to solve my desire for "more" by buying "boxes". Do what you want as it is your money and your ears, although each option you have described above I believe would be far inferior to either the UNICO or the Mistral. If you are not afraid of used, you are on the perfect website to find a great deal of value. You can find SIM's, Unico's, Mistrals and Musical Fidelity gear already depreciated into your budget. There is an AMAZING difference when you step up above your budget as you will mostly find attention to the details that only a reasonable amount of additional money will make available. Good luck on your quest and do what you like. All of us who have the time to "chill" on this web site have probably overanalyzed everything to the point where the law of diminishing returns has surely kicked in. Check out Ridge Street Audio cables New or used and synergistics used. BTW, what front end are you using. Rega has a good CD player but I am unimpressed with the sonics of their amplification. |
Thanks for the input all. My system is composed of: Quad 21L Speakers NAD C350 Integrated (To be Replaced) FT Audio LW1S2 Passive Pre-Amp Speaker Wire: NearSota - OTA Wire - Bi-Wired Interconnects: Kimber 4 Strand Copper OEM (Similar to KS-1011) Source: Toshiba SD-430V First. I am of the mind that the source is incredibly important, however it was much to my surprise to discover that the NAD is a weaker link in my system than the Toshiba. The Toshiba ABSOLUTELY is the next thing to be replaced in my system. Why do I believe that the NAD is weaker than the Toshiba? http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1083534349 That is my in house roundup of a Rega Planet 2000, Cambridge Audio Azur 640c, Arcam 73t, Roksan Kandy mkIII, Cary 308, and Creek CD50mki. No the Toshiba was not better than any of the associated players and I have my eye on the Cary or the Creek for my next source. Without the Pre-Amp, bypassing the NAD's pre-amp section, it was nearly impossible to distinguish between players. Putting the pre-amp in it was not hard to tell the difference. One thing came through very clearly, my Toshiba could not image / had no soundstage etc. Also the Cary had a smaller soundstage than the Creek and even had one I would describe as small - this is something I have heard from no one else. So recently I had both the Monarchy SM-70 and the Sophia Baby Tube Amp in my system. Suddenly the Toshiba has a soundstage, and can image. I'm sure that the Cary would do a hell of a lot better (as would most of the other players in that round-up). So while the Toshiba is weak, and it is but considerably better & non-fatiguing compared to my previous Pioneer DV-353 --- the NAD is really holding back the system as a whole. Creek + Pre-Amp + NAD is about as enjoyable as Toshiba + Pre-Amp + Monarch/Other Poweramps. Which is why I'm looking at th power-amp first - to enable me to be better able to evaluate a source when I get to that stage, and provide me a more enjoyable experience in the interim. I guess I've always felt that Integrateds are ultimately a compromise at some level. |
