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need new seperates on a budget

My Marantz receiver just died so I am now looking for a set of seperates to replace it. I want a 5 channel amp and a processor or more likely a new receiver to act as processor. The problem is the budget is limited to about $1600 for both. Any suggestions, am looking at arcam p1000, sherbourn, theta intrepid, parasound, b&k etc but have no idea which would be better. I listen to music in 2 channel about 75% of the time. Really concerned about the pre/pro. I have Focal 806V, Elan surr and Energy center but just care about the Focals.
goulsonc
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
I enjoy a used Outlaw Audio Model 990 Pre/Pro along with an Emotiva UPA-7 amp for a multi-channel HT set-up. I don't mind a lot of analog cables and don't need HDMI switching so this works well for me. This combo allowed me to get separates on a budget. Maybe an Emotiva UMC-1 along with an XPA-5 amp could yield good results for you.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
Used Anthem 5 x 100 amps are a great bargain. Matching that with a 5 year old pre/pro such as Sherbourn, Anthem, Sunfire, B&K or many more will work in this budget. As long as you don't need HDMI there are a lot of nice choices.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
You should look at the Emotiva offerings. An XPA-5 power amp ($899, 200 watts/ch.) mated to a UMC-1 Preprocessor would gige ypu a whale of a good and powerful system for $1600. Or, you could substitue one of their UPA-5 amps (125 watts/ch.)and save yourself about $300.

I have a UMC-1 and really like it. It had some bugs when first released, but the latest firmware is really quite good. And the sound quality is quite good. Definitely one of the better-sounding prepros available today.

These items come up for sale on A'gon and usually sell very quickly. So be ready to pull the trigger when you find what you are looking for...

-RW-
raytheprinter's avatar
raytheprinter
1,234 posts
 
RW would gige ypu a whale?
goulsonc OP
10 posts
 
Thanks all for the responses.
I am thinking of seperates because I don't like having to replace an expensive receiver and would be able to cut the cost in half by having seperates. I would also like to be able to upgrade the pre/pro portion seperatly in the future.
Which of the amplifiers I have listed would be better than the others or something else in the $1000 used range.
I am intrigued by the Emotiva brand but afraid of the class D amps.
I can't use an older pre/pro because I have only HDMI inputs.
I am thinking of a inexpensive receiver as a pre/pro as a stop gap measure used as a pre only.
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