Recommend an integrated amp/receiver/etc.

[wuzzzer]

Piece-by-piece I'm selling most of my gear as I've mentioned in another thread. I eventually will end up with only my Forte IIs and something to power them. I'll be selling my Emotiva pre-amp and amp, subwoofer and it's amp.

I need some recommendations of an integrated amp or receiver that's going to be in the $300-500 price range. Prefer buying used for a better value for the money. Having a remote controlled volume and remote controlled audio input changing is a requirement so tubes are out.

I used to have a harman/kardon HK 3480 and loved it. I see that the 3490 replaced the 3480 and the 3490 has one digital audio input which is nice. I'm leaning towards the h/k unless someone else has recommendations...

[moray james]

The Cambridge Audio Azur 650A is a very good sounding amplifire and hard to beat at the price point, in fact I like it better than their larger more expensive models. One of these use ought to do a very good job of driving your Forte ll. They have a slightly lower power version the 550A which has a front docking station but I am not sure if it has any digital inputs (I kind of doubt it though). All in all the 650A is a very good Doug Self design which ought to impress. Good luck.Best regards Moray James.

PS if you were willing to go the used and upgrade route a Luxman L 480 modified to have a mosfet output stage by John Wright of Museatex is a superb sounding unit with a great phono stage as a bonus.

[willland]

I eventually will end up with only my Forte IIs and something to power them.

I need some recommendations of an integrated amp or receiver that's going to be in the $300-500 price range.

Wuzzer,

I am very pleased with my Denon PMA-1080R integrated from the early 90's. Warm/neutral, punchy, detailed, all through the frequency band. With all my gear, this Denon/Forte combo is the best balanced and detailed setup I have. Here is a newer(early 2000's) 52+lbs beast that I have been watching for a couple of weeks. It has all your requirements and then some.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1296266929&/Denon-pma-2000ivr-good-mm/mc-p

http://audio-database.com/DENON-COLUMBIA/amp/pma-2000iv-e.html

Look at it's guts. You can see where a good portion of it's weight is.

Bill

[willland]

A NAD C370(120w/ch) or C372(150w/ch) would also be an excellent choices. Used avg. $350.00 to $550.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-C372-2-Channel-Amplifier-New-Box-NIB-/130463467289?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e603a8719

Luxman receivers are great. I had the R-115(70w/ch)) powering my Forte's for some time and was very impressed. This here is the big brother R-117 with 160w/ch. Probably sold by now but worth a shot.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/ele/2059503641.html

User reviews are very positive.

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/luxman/receivers/r117/PRD_118644_1593crx.aspx

Bill

[StephenM]

Hi wuzzzer,

I'm actually aiming to take my system in a similar direction. Nothing wrong with a little simplicity, right? I actually asked a similar question, as the HK 3490 seems pretty hard to beat for the money. Its price point is very affordable, and its measurements by Gene DellaSalla are fairly impressive and in line with its specs. Its a proven level of (very good) performance.

On the other hand, you've got brands like NAD and Cambridge Audio which are considerably more expensive for similar specified performance.As far as I'm concerned, the only thing that would justify their extra cost is if they do a better job into more difficult loads (ie 2 ohms, reactive). However, lacking specific benchmarks to back this up, and lacking any information of the HK's performance into such a load, I don't hold much hope that a even a $1000 NAD or Cambridge would significantly outperform the HK in this regard.

In any case, from an amplifier perspective, the biggest question is "how difficult are your speakers to drive?" For me, I know my RF-5s only go down to 4 ohms, and even my "some day" speaker (Cornwalls) don't go below 3 ohms. That makes things a little easier (and cheaper) for me.

[Max2]

Hey Muzzer are you unhappy with your Emo equipment?

[andyo5]

Save up some shekels and get a Bryston, either the 60 or 100 WPC model.

I used to have a Denon integrated from the early 1990s, and used it to power my Apogee ribbon speakers. It was a 120 WPC model, I think the model # was PMA-380. I noticed that at higher volume, you could see the ribbons moving. This is a bad sign and indicates distortion. So I made sure to keep the volume lower than the distortion point.

When I bought my Bryston preamp and amp in 1997, I found that no level of volume at which I could bear to listen would produce any distortion at all. Very clean power.

And that 20 year warranty came in handy a few years ago, when a nearby lightning strike took out my amp. They fixed it for free.

I'm not dissing Denon amps, but I think you would get better long term satisfaction with Bryston.

[Dennie]

Hey Mark, I know this is $139 more than your budget, but take a look at it. Plus it comes with a warranty! [Y]

Features galore, with a remote, phono input, USB, Ipod jack, etc! CLICK HERE (opens in new window)

Dennie

[StephenM]

Hey Muzzer are you unhappy with your Emo equipment?

I'm a little curious as to what precipitated this as well.

Don't get me wrong, I do fully believe that good quality stereo is more than adequate for enjoying music and movies in the home. However, given your system, I'd figured you for someone that duly appreciated what surround offers.

[markgod]

Tubes are not entirely out , although finding one in the price range you want would make it pretty difficult . I just recently bought an Antique Sound Labs MG-SI 15 for just under $500 . It was used and it has a remote with volume cotrol and source switching . It switches between 5watts and 15 watts & uses KT88 tubes.

[RockOn4Klipsch]

To those inclined to ask why, does it matter.. Stick around and youll get to know people and not worry about their bussiness. Mark, I woild second the outlaw rr2150, its that or the 3490 for the la scalas.

[StephenM]

To those inclined to ask why, does it matter.. Stick around and youll get to know people and not worry about their bussiness

FWIW, I wasn't trying to pry into his personal life; as I said, I'm personally in the boat of just wanting a nice simple system and wonder if he feels the same way. No offense intended.

[Paddler]

i'm looking for a new amp myself and have been recommended that same Outlaw amp as above from another forum

anyone have experience with the Jolida hybrid tube/ss amps? they seem to get good recs and sound interesting and are around $500-700. no phono input though so that means a phone pre would be needed for me.

[wuzzzer]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. I have some thinking to do and will make a decision after the holidays. Working retail 60-70 hours per week right now!

To answer the question that was asked, I'm extremely pleased with my Emotiva equipment. A couple months ago I went through some issues that made me step back and re-prioritize things in my life and I realized that I had a lot of money invested in my home theater and I decided to simplify things. My wife and I are planning on putting our house up for sale in the spring and I'm downsizing things in anticipation of our move. I'd keep the Emotiva and UMC-1 but it doesn't make sense to me to have an awesome home theater processor and awesome 7 channel amp when I'm only going to be using two speakers.

I think I'll probably end up getting the h/k 3490 but will look at others, especially the Cambridge Audio option. I've had a couple of their CD players over the years and they were very nice.

[Max2]

To those inclined to ask why, does it matter.. Stick around and youll get to know people and not worry about their bussiness

FWIW, I wasn't trying to pry into his personal life; as I said, I'm personally in the boat of just wanting a nice simple system and wonder if he feels the same way. No offense intended.

Geez. I was just curious if he didnt enjoy the Emotiva amp as I have been considering one.

[jhoak]

Hey Wuzzer... Take a look at this ad on audiogon: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1297227062&/Denon-dra-625---dvd-900-2-Room

For $100+shipping this will get you listening to some pretty nice sound while you decide what direction to go. If I didn't already have WAY more hardware than places to set it up I'd be on this one.

B.T.W... I think Justinweber is a member here.

[crd97086]

How about a Bryston 14bsst. Most would think I am crazy to have 400 watts per channel for LaScalas, but this amp handles transients incredibly well, and throws a very palpable soundstage.

[wuzzzer]

How about a Bryston 14bsst. Most would think I am crazy to have 400 watts per channel for LaScalas, but this amp handles transients incredibly well, and throws a very palpable soundstage.

Yeah, thanks for recommending a two channel amp that sells for thousands of dollars when I was asking for advice for an integrated amp or receiver in the $300-500 range.

[Hifi jim]

I was asking for advice for an integrated amp or receiver in the $300-500 range.

How about a Pioneer Elite A6 Stereo Receiver. I bought one this past summer and I've really fallen in love with it. I can't say enough good things about it, it mates beautifully with Klipsch and I prefer it to any other solid state I've heard. Twin power supplies and a true dual mono design, coupled with a very quiet preamp and a decent phono too. It runs a bit warm, but not hot as the first several watts are Class A.

[StephenM]

How about a Pioneer Elite A6 Stereo Receiver. I bought one this past summer and I've really fallen in love with it. I can't say enough good things about it, it mates beautifully with Klipsch and I prefer it to any other solid state I've heard. Twin power supplies and a true dual mono design, coupled with a very quiet preamp and a decent phono too. It runs a bit warm, but not hot as the first several watts are Class A.

I don't want to hijack wuzzzer's thread here, but I do have a question.

What difference do those features make, real world? Not to beat it into the ground, but the HK 3490 measures extremely well. SNR and crosstalk are non-issues with it. It delivers gobs of power and is tested to be stable into a 4 ohm load. It conveniently has digital inputs. To be fair, the Pioneer is very affordable, but the HK isn't exactly considerably more expensive either. Seems to me that they could affix the Mark Levinson name to the thing, sell it for ten times the cost, and some of its "audiophile" naysayers would claim it to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Just makes me wonder, that's all.