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British Integrated Amps

I have a great affinity for British gear.  I have owned many British speakers from ProAc, Celestion, Mission, Wharfedale, Tannoy, Mordaunt Short, KEF, Linn & Monitor Audio and they were all very musical sounding.

I had a Rega Planar 3 for over 25 years and much shorter stints with a Linn Basik/Akito arm, Thorens TD125 mkII w/Rega RB303 arm and now an Ariston RD80 SEL w/Jelco arm.

I have also owned several British integrateds:  Onix OA-21s, OA-20/2, OA-60, Creek 5050, 4330, Musical Fidelity B1, Rotel RA870 and maybe a couple others that escape me right now and I now have a Meridian 504 tuner.  

I particularly like the shoebox sized units, I just like the size and shape of them and that they don’t take up a lot of room.

Which British integrated amps have you owned, which were your favorites, which ones were overrated, overpriced and what speakers were you using with them that made them a yay or a nay?

Look forward to your comments!  Thanks!


128x128lou_setriodes
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes OP
673 posts
 
Well, I ended up picking up a shoe box sized Linn Majik I and so far so good. It’s very smooth sounding, I like it’s aesthetics and ease of operation. It doesn’t have a phono stage but I’ve read the ones that do have crosstalk with the built in phono stage.


I’m still considering other shoe box Brit int amps though from Meridian & Onix too.
mr_m
1,900 posts
 
Check out the latest LFD integrateds. Very nice sound.
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes OP
673 posts
 
Thanks mr_m, but I’m fancying these shoe box sized integrated because I’m moving overseas soon and just like the form factor of them and the fact that they are so good sounding and don’t take up lots of room either.

I had a good lead on an Onix OA21 but passed on it because it’s not dual voltage and I’d rather not have to run a SUT if I don’t have to. Someone will be a very happy customer if they pick this unit up that’s on USAM now.

To that end, I also will soon be getting a Meridian 551 to match my 504 tuner and really look forward to hearing it. 

Today, I received an after market remote from Italy for the Linn Majik I and it changes the stations on my Meridian tuner but does not work the Linn at all. Hoping it will work the Meridian 551 when it arrives next week :)
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,166 posts
 
If you want a small form “half-size box ” high-end integrated amp with all other matched half-sized components available  …..CYRUS

CYRUS 6 DAC and 82 DAC

Q. What is the difference between the 6 DAC and 82 DAC?

A. Both amps are based on the same design and feature similar inputs and outputs. The 82DAC is our higher performance integrated amp and features much higher power output than the 6 DAC. The 82 DAC can also be improved further with the addition of the PSX-R2, whereas the 6 DAC cannot.

https://www.cyrusaudio.com/support/faqs/product-range/

calvinandhobbes
272 posts
 
I've owned a Creek 4140 (version 1) for years. I was deciding between the Creek and a Naim Nait 2 at the time. I've really liked the sound but didn't really realize how good it actually sounded until this past year when I had a chance to have some other amplifiers in my system.

PS Audio Stellar Strata: Much worse than the Creek. Sound seemed a bit synthetic. Maybe that is due to its Class D design?
Creek Evo 50: Worse than the Creek. Sounded ponderous and slow. Lacked pace.
Pathos Classic One: About at the same level as the Creek
Belles Aria Integrated: Similar in character to the Creek, but better resolution and imaging of the soundstage.

I also listened to some amplifiers at dealers:

Naim Supernait 3: A disappointment given all of the good reviews that I read about it. It sounded a bit gray in tonal color and a bit two-dimensional
Sugden A21 Signature: My impression of the Supernait 3 probably suffered because it was listening to it next to the Sugden. The amount of tonal color and fullness of sound that the Sugden was able to convey was impressive.
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