Best bang for buck integrated amp for $500


Looking for best bang for buck amp for under $ 500.  I have triangle Bro 2 speakers already and cables and a dac.  So just looking at a amp.  Something in the 50-100 watt range, slightly on warm side of neutral, good low end, all the good stuff.

Right now i own the Emotiva basx A-100 its not bad i paid $199 but i want to step up my game.  Im kinda looking at Cambridge audio AXR100, a couple of yamahas, but wide open to suggestions ?

Michael
128x128audiomike33

Thanks for sharing. I would say you are fortunate regarding your noise floor with the Brio. When I contacted Rega, the higher noise floor was a known issue due to the compact size of unit and the only fix was to send the unit to an authorized dealer to perform an adjustment. The adjustment was said to reduce the noise floor but also reduce sound quality as I believe they said they would be reducing the bias. 

I want to hear the NAD D3045 in my system. I have the NAD D3020 V2 in my family room. It was chosen for its size, looks, and features, but it is very meaty sounding and avoids the typical pitfalls of Class D amps under $1000.   

Follow up on my earlier post about the Brio R and Wharfedale Diamond 12.0.  The speakers were fairly new when I wrote my previous post.  It took them a very long time to fully break in. The treble is no longer “forward” and the presentation is plenty “airy”.  The performance envelope for this combination is large, and can really rock.  I tried with high resolution material from a Chord QuteHD DAC and it has remarkable PRAT.