2. amps-preamps
  3. 1143038158

Suggestions for lower priced pre/amp

I am looking to replace our 17 year old Nikko receiver as it is slowly starting to give up. Right now it is in our family room and has a small TV connected to it. We have a dedicated HT in the basement that handles all the multi-channel stuff. So, I was thinking of upgrading this to a better 2-channel setup to listen mostly to our music which I am currently converting to lossless FLAC files that will be played over a Squeezebox. The room is about 12wx15long and has 8 ft ceilings. The current setup has the receiver/speakers in the corner of the room angling out toward the seating area. We sit about 10 feet from the speakers and I have bookshelf speakers that are spaced about 5-6 ft apart. Our music is a little bit of everything, Classic Rock/Blues to Classical and instrumental jazz with just about all genres represented. Listening is mostly low to moderate volume but I do "crank" it sometimes.

My budget is most likely $500 or under for the amp. I will want to connect the TV audio to it but other than that all I need is an input for the Squeezebox. My current speakers are fairly sensitive (90, I think) but I may be replacing them within the next year or so so that could change.

Since I haven't been in the market for an amp or speakers in quite a while I'd like to get some ideas to narrow the field down. I know the amp and speakers work together so if you could suggest possible bookshelf sized speakers that might be a match with the amp that would be very helpful.
ruleof72
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
Are you looking for a pre amp and a power amp? Or an integrated amplifier?

If you are willing to spend 500 on the amp and another 500 on the preamp, Parasound P3 and P23 are the only way to go in my opinion. Look sweet, sound very good with tons of features, and balanced inputs.

If you are referring to an integrated (pre amp and power amp in one box) I would choose the audio refinement for 500 dollars. You might have to search.
ruleof72 OP
26 posts
 
I am looking for an integrated amp, not seperates. I really want to concentrate on the "sound" of the amp, not features. One thing I would like is 2 sets of speaker outputs so I could run smaller speakers for TV while having a better set for music.
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
You might be hard pressed to find an integrated with two sets of outputs.

As far as I know, there are only receivers that offer this. The audio refinement isn't loaded with features but sounds incredible for the price. I've owned one on four different occassions.
More to discover