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Integrated amp for Quad 22L?

I am looking for an integrated amp, preferably used, to drive the Quad 22L speakers. I listen primarily to rock(70%) - classic, alternative, modern & some classical - instrumental, indian fusion(20%) & vocal(10%). I prefer a warm sound, with a good, tight bass, nice mids and smooth highs. The speakers will be in a small room(15'x12') placed along the width.

Budget is 1K & I am fine with either SS or tube but have never owned a tube product, so I am unsure about maintenance. Since I have a limited budget for now, I plan to use a Roku soundbridge playing my cd's ripped to FLAC/WAV from htpc.

- The 22L is rated 89dB at 6 ohms. What is the minimum power requirements for the amp? I don't play music at rock-the-house levels but need something which delivers impact on music like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd etc.
- I would like to use the optical out on the Roku. Are there any integrated amps which have digital input(coax or optical)?
- If I wanted to add a subwoofer in the future, can an integrated amp provide the necessary pre-out?

I should add that the dealer was driving them with a Quad cd player & pre-pro. He suggested that Arcam would also be a good match. How about NAD, Rotel & the Outlaw receiver(RR2150)?
srinivos
srinivos OP
5 posts
 
sonicbeauty,

I am trying to find something used to stay below 1K. I see a few Arcam A80s on audiogon but not A85. Are they similar? I assume tube rolling is swapping out replacement tubes to find the best match & sound you like. Right now its a starter system so I'll keep it simple. For tube amps, I have been suggested Primaluna Prologue One/Two because it is self-biasing. Is it comparable to the TAD-30?

Thanks
draganm
5 posts
 
wow, this is too much coincidence, same speakers, same size room, same dilemma. I tried running the 22L's with an Onix SP3 integrated tubeamp and it was a horribly failed experiment. The SP3 gave me super detailed high frequency extension but it was way too bright and fatigueing.
Now if you read the reviews on this unit this generally isn't a quality attributed to this amp. I think that the power provided by tubes is simply insufficient to drive these speakers. They're 89db 6ohm rating is misleading. Look at the recoemended power rating from Quad on this speaker, it's 30 to 300watts : O .
Now I'm not claiming to be an expert on the subject but it seems to me that a tube amp is a poor choice for the 22L's. The dual 6" Kevlar woofers in these speakers are power hogs, and if you really want to energize them fully to reproduce Led Zeppelin Bass then stay away from tubes.
Just to calrify, I'm not knocking tubes, I run a CRT projector in my theatre and feel there is a certain majic to tube based equipment. It just seems that in the last few years they've become so popular that it becomes easy to forget tubes don't fit every application. I would hate to see you go through the same problems I'm having and lose money on an amplifier that doesn't work for yuo.
I don't have enough experience with different kinds of amps to make a recomendation. However I can tell you the direction I'm looking to go is at least 150 watts per channel, dual mono class A/B. Something like a Mcormack DN-A1?
metman
233 posts
 
The Cayin TAD-30 has been discontinued and is no longer being sold by Paul. You may be able to source the Cayin elsewhere but it won't have paul's mods. I would strongly suggest you reconsider the TAD-60 Paul does say it exceeds the Cayin sonically, and again as of yesterday there were some good used ones for sale here in the $800.00 range
srinivos OP
5 posts
 
Draganm,

That is really a coincidence. Thanks for the warning on the Onix amp. I had considered it as one of the sub-1K tube amps for the Quad 22L.

I have received an equal number of recommendations for tube & ss amps. Some of them like the Cayin, Pathos Classic etc. are more than $1000 used on Audiogon. I want something which I can use for at least an year before I feel the need to upgrade. Something like the NAD C352 is a safe bet as a cheap but good quality integrated. At the same time, it seems to me that for around $800, I have a few more choices which are sonically in a different class.
facten
2,889 posts
 
If you are going ss might want to try a Portal Panche used ones have come up at $1K, and from time to time Joe Abrams at Portal Audio sells loaned out to reviewer models (bought mine that way still get full 3year warranty and Joe checks them out before resending them out) for slightly more than what you want to spend - it is a really nice amp - good across the range , but exceptional mids PS I have no relationship to Joe nor selling an amp - just think the panache is a fine amp
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