2. amps-preamps
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Integrated amplifier recommendations, Please

Hello everybody. I am new to your board but have browsed the site countless times and from what I have read, I will value your input greatly. I have gotten the kids through college and now it's my time to play. I am a music enthusiast and have had and still do have a bunch of equipment that I use. It's not bottom of the line stuff by my standards, but it's time to move up.
I have never owned a dedicated amp/pre-amp or an integrated amp and I would like to start out by getting a decent used integrated, middle of the road, under $500.00 if possible. I have been doing a lot of looking on the web and it seems like NAD or Adcom might be a safe bet.
Am I on the wrong track?
Music interests are Jazz, Classical, Knopfler, Ambient and Floyd.
Speakers: Infinity Ref Five, Pinnacle, DIY..Looking to upgrade here too.
I thank you all very much in advance!
mtpockets1311
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,761 posts
 
Agree with the recommendation of the Audio Refinement Complete but if you can't grab that one, the Onkyo A-9555 is a better amp than anything from NAD or Adcom, in my experience. It got a great review from Stereophile and I've been very impressed with the two I've owned and passed on to other people.
hotmailjbc
571 posts
 
peachtree audio has some origonal deccos for 499.00. tube preamp, 50 watts and a good dac. there are lots of reviews and satisfied owners out there. this would give you flexibility with your cd player and computer use in the future. it doesn,t have a phono preamp however.
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 
Mtpockets1311,

I do agree with Sfar's suggestion of the Onkyo A-9555 being a nice amp but I think there are some good economical choices from NAD.

For $195.00,you can't go wrong.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1299144677&/NAD-C325BEE-Integrated-Amplifi

If you feel you need some more power down the road, just add an outboard amp and use the NAD as a preamp.

Bill
usblues
1,217 posts
 
Anthem,possibly old Mac stuff,good luck,B
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I think you need to decide on your speaker upgrade first, as that will dictate the amp you might need. With some speakers you might be fine with a better quality, but lower powered amp, with other you may need more watts that 50. That being said, I would look at the NAD, Arcam, and Rotel brands for an integrated in our price range. A little further up the price point used, I would look into Creek and Naim - for SS integrateds. The Peachtree mentioned has received some good reviews lately, but I have never heard it. If you are going to choose the amp first, I think you should consider a 100 watt SS so you are not limited in your speaker upgrade down the road.
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