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Hey everyone,

First time poster although I've been lurking a while. I thought I'd step out of the shadows and ask the forum this.

Pretend you just picked up a pair of Heresys for $200, which I have1.gif

Now pretend you have $500-$600 for an amp, which I don't8.gif

Thats what VISA is for right?

What amp would you be looking for at that price level.

I listen to classic rock (Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, ect.)

My room is small 13x13

Thanks a lot everyone,

keep Rockin' and God Bless

Ron

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No, Visa is for buying something you can afford and pay off on the next statement, if you are wise.

FWIW even if you had the cash, all you need is a decent solid state receiver capable of at least 50 watts per channel into an 8 ohm load. That are lots of those available for less than $500.

Doesn't sound like tubes is the way to go in your case, unless you have a particular interest in tubes.

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I'm a salesman and one of my vendors just offered me his NAD amp, 150/ch, can you say overkill, so I guess now I'm in need of a good pre-amp.

My other equipment is cheesy, but not for long. Technics low budget TT and a Phillips cd player, now I'm embaressed14.gif

Thanks for the input so far and yes, as a fellow Texan you are required to help me and hand over all high-end equipment.

Paragraph 3 subsection AA of the fellow Texas handbook, if you don't have one I can email it over to you2.gif

God Bless

Ron

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Damn we have not had a good NEWBIE thread in a long time.

It is sometime since I was a NEWBIE. It was fun while it lasted.

Start small.

A few of the Texas contingent like Sea Dog may have an old HK receiver they may part with for less than $ 150, or maybe much less.

Solid state Harmon Kardon goes well with Klipsch as an entry level amp.

Vintage SS keeps you out of credit card bills and generally acheives reasonably pleasing realism.

I got my daughter an NAD ss integrated amp for her room; they last a long time.

Arcam or Creek integrateds can be had used and have a pretty nice reputation; although I have never heard them.

If you get the NAD power amp cheap preamps are a coin flip in performance.

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I am not a big fan of Adcom. IMHO way over rated. I would suggest you do as the others have mentioned and look for an older HK 430 ( You will be happy ). Many times newer SS has a harsh sound when matched with older klipsch speakers.

If you want something newer look to Marantz, Rotel, NAD and still HK. Stay away from Sony and Yamaha unless you get one of the better receivers.

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As an old Dallas boy and current resident of north Texas (Arkansas),....."As a fellow Texan I'm required to hep you."...

First, we must go to the "tank" and cool off. To dry, we will use the swing-set, and be sure not to "tump over".

For Heresy entry level stuff, I also like the HK, & 70's integrated Luxman. Both are good bang for the buck. Scott for tubes.

Welcome,

Terry

Go Hogs!

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----------------

On 8/15/2005 6:05:46 PM TEXASRONANDTRISH wrote:

I'm a salesman and one of my vendors just offered me his NAD amp, 150/ch, can you say overkill, so I guess now I'm in need of a good pre-amp.

Ron, I have an older Sony top of the line pre-amp if you are interested for 100.00.

PM me if you want pictures.

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----------------

On 8/15/2005 6:45:25 PM Dylanl wrote:

I am not a big fan of Adcom. IMHO way over rated. I would suggest you do as the others have mentioned and look for an older HK 430 ( You will be happy ). Many times newer SS has a harsh sound when matched with older klipsch speakers.

If you want something newer look to Marantz, Rotel, NAD and still HK. Stay away from Sony and Yamaha unless you get one of the better receivers.

----------------

....."I am not a big fan of Adcom"... ME EITHER!!!!7.gif

I agree, there are some nice used Marantz SS in that price range...

Terry

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Congrats on your Heresy find. The NAD sounds like a great amp. We'll help you get the rest. Don't worry about the source material for now. As you grow, they will naturally be updated as well. I like the HK 430 idea, I have one and they are wonderful with Heresy. Maybe you could use one as the front end and do a pre-out into your NAD if you get it.

I'm a DP LZ hard rock fan myself. Klipsch heritage speakers work well for this genre of music.

Michael

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The NAD sounds like a great choice. And a safe choice. I know NAD and Heresy go very well together. There are others on this Forum that have this combination. Later you could consider upgrading to a good tube amplifier. If you wanted to buy new, consider the NAD 320BEE integrated. In the U.S. it's only a couple of hundred bucks or so, I think. But if you went for the power amp, there are heaps of second hand pre amps out there, or even run a CD player with a built in volume control directly into the power amp. Not ideal, but it'll work while you look around.

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Greetings,

I second the Harman/Kardon "twin powered" suggestion ... but recommend the higher powered siblings: either the 730 or 930. These receivers feeding a pair of Heresys should be a whole lot o' fun for very little $$$. And they should let you have enough money left over in your budget to nicely expand your music collection.

Hope this helps...

Take care,

Scott

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Last week a HK 730 went for $112.50 on eBay. At the moment there are only 430's on eBay. Either the 730 or 930 would be a great deal for you, not too expensive and a receiver to boot. You have amp/preamp and receiver all in one for not a lot of money.

For a tube approach, a Scott 299B or C would be a good bet. They will need to be serviced, Craig does a great job (NOSValves) and they will make your heresys sound very good. It will cost you all of you alloted money by the time you get it running, but it will keep you going until the next upgrade bug hits you (separate amp and preamp).

If you go with the Nad you will need a preamp. It sounds like you want to keep your turntable, so a Merlin is out. It is a linestage only, but an excellent value for the money. I guess it depends on how many albums you really play.

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my first choice is the wonderful analog class D chip amplifiers, such as the $35 Sonic Impact 5066 integrated class-T digital amplifier. Only 2-channel with one input, I know, but if you have a universal player, this is quite an amazing little device for the money. Running a sub off the speaker binding posts will be tricky, because the amplifier is so little and light, and the posts are small and fragile. So cheap it is worth a try.

2. Second choice, wonderful and smooth enduring vintage harmon kardon twin-powered 430, 630, 730 and 930 receivers, going from $25 to $150 on eBay. These give any modern $500 receiver Ive heard on big ole horns a run for the money. They handle 2 sets of loudspeakers and have pre-amplifier outputs too.

3. Id also have give a hell, yes shout to tubes and now lately to the three channel $100, if you can find them, Teac AL 700P class T digital amplifier so infamously lauded on this forum would be my first inexpensive choice to couple with a wonderful sounding tube pre-amplifier, like the Blueberry Merlin.

4. Ultimate long-term listening pleasure though is found with tubes on horns, even medium size ones. For that, check out the refurbished vintage integrated tube amplifiers at poster NOSvalves web site. Excellent values and resale units sometimes for $500 to $1K.

5. Above those, consider new integrated tube amplifiers like the Cayin TA30 I heard at peacherman Daddydees Arkansas gathering in May 2004 or the excellent values from Antique Sound Labs (ASL).

10.gif

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