Integrated amplifier for my Klipsch RF-35

[GioRF35]

Hello,

I'm currently selecting an integrated amplifier to replace my 25-year old Yamaha A-520, which is the only piece left out of my very first hi-fi system.

As it is connected to a pair of Klipsch RF-35, I hope you can give me some advice considering that my allocated budget is about 800 Euro (i.e. about 1000 $) but I could spend a little more if I find a really good amp. Most music I listen to is played through a NAD C342 CD player, and while I use the hi-fi also while watching movies on DVD through a Panasonic DMR-ES30V, 90% of the time I listen to music.

Soon I will also receive an Apple AirPort Express to stream my iTunes collection to the hi-fi, and if all goes according to my plans it will become the most used audio source.

Most music I listen to is rock, my favourite artist being Les Claypool, but I listen also to ethnic music (mainly african, celtic and persian), jazz (mainly Jaco Pastorius) and a little classical music.

I would probably like a warmer sound compared to my current setup and my favourite instrument is the bass.

I will arrange a listening session in some local shops but I'd like first to narrow down the list of amplifiers to be tested with a pair of RF-35.

At the moment I've collected a list of amps from 40 to 80 w/ch but I'm more interested in good quality than power, as long as the power is enough to properly drive the speakers. I do like listening to loud music every now and then but in most cases I keep the volume quite low and I'd like to avoid any loss of detail at low volumes.

Here's my current list (order is random):

• 
  
• NAD C355BEE
  
• ARCAM A18
  
• Marantz PM7003
  
• Naim Nait-5i (way above budget but it might be worth its price)
  
• ROTEL RA-06
  
• CYRUS 6VS2
  
• Denon PMA-1500AE
  
• Cambridge Audio Azur 640A
  
• Advance Acoustic MAP 105
  

If you are using any integrated amplifier mentioned above with a pair of RF-35, please give me your feedback, as well as in case you have a different amplifier in that price range and you're happy about the combined sound.

I'm also interested in negative experiences, in case any of the above integrated amplifiers should be avoided in combination with RF-35s

I'm hoping that, through your feedback, I can complete a list of three, maximum four integrated amplifiers to be tested in a listening room with a pair of Klipsch RF-35.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help and best regards,

Giovanni

[Bill H.]

Of the selections posted, I would go with Arcam, or Cambridge Audio.

[Tarheel]

Welcome to the forum Gio. Which ones on your list have you listened to? Is there a place near you to audition some of the ones listed with RF-35s?

If there is a dealer near you see if they will let you take one home to listen to with your speakers in your music room. Take along some music you are familiar with.

[MitsuMan]

So are you totally against the idea of a vintage amp/preamp? [^o)]

[GioRF35]

Thanks Bill and Tarheel for your replies.

I haven't listened to any amp so far, and I'm confident I can arrange to listen to some of them at the shop where I bought the RF-35, while for some brands I'll have to look elsewhere. I know listening to them with familiar music is a required step before the final choice, but the aim of this thread is just to narrow down my list to avoid wandering in too many places for too long

When I'll take home my new amplifier I'll certainly follow up on this forum posting my first impressions on the new sound of my RF-35s.

Thanks again and best regards,

Giovanni

[GioRF35]

So are you totally against the idea of a vintage amp/preamp?

Absolutely MitsuMan, I don't want to consider used components, and a good amp/preamp combo would fall beyond my current budget.

Space is also an issue, albeit a minor one, so I intend to stick to an integrated amp for the time being.

I'll probably get there some day, but currently I'm not rich enough...[]

Thanks and best regards,

Giovanni

[MitsuMan]

I understand your dilemma, it's just that mine sing so nicely with a vintage power amp and preamp. Good luck with the new gear.

[GioRF35]

Hello,

here's a small update after a first listening session.

The Denon PMA-1500 has been deleted from the list as it sounds worse than my old Yamaha with my speakers.

I could listen to an Arcam A75 which is acceptable, but I'm still looking around.

The best surprise has been the small Fatman iTube, a vacuum tube integrated amplifier which is still in my budget range and which sounds better than the Arcam A75 while having exactly the same price. Its power is a mere 18W, but certainly it didn't show any weakness during my test.

The main tracks I used to check the sound were:

• "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" by Primus
  
• "Amor Porteño" by Gotan Project
  
• "(Used To Be A) Cha-Cha" by Jaco Pastorius

So far the Fatman is my choice but I want to check a couple more shops, unfortunately now I'll have to take my speakers there as they do not have my Klipsch, while the first shop I checked was the one who sold me the RF-35 and they still have a pair of them.

The only limit of my test was that they didn't have my CD player, which BTW is not a 342 as I wrote before but it's actually a 542, so they used a NAD DVD player as it was, according to them, pretty similar to my CD player

Thanks and best regards,

Giovanni

[Tarheel]

Thanks for the update Giovanni. Let us know what equipment you choose and send pictures if you can. A tubed integrated sounds like a good choice[Y]

[SWL]

The Cambridge Audio Azur budget integrated amps sound very good with Klipsch Reference speakers. [Y]

My 2 cents. []

Good Luck.

[luckylou]

Go with tube forget solid state you be blown away

[GioRF35]

Hello,

I've finally made my choice and, yes, I've listened to all those suggesting tube amps and I've even stretched my budget far beyond my original plans but, after all, if my old Yamaha played fine for over 25 years I hope my new tube amp will last enough to make its price worth the choice.

At first I thought the FatMan iTube 182 could be enough, but then I tested the iTube 252 which sounded far better and then... my heart and ears were conquered by the Unison Research Preludio, a mere 14W/pc that sounds awesome with my Klipsch RF-35, probably also thanks to their high sensitivity. If I really try and set the volume to its maximum, the neighbours would call the police in a matter of minutes! Currently keeping the volume knob halfway through is really the reasonable maximum for most music I listen to.

You can find all details and pics at http://www.unisonresearch.com/valve/prodotto.aspx?idp=14.

I'm truly ecstatic and all kinds of music are highly improved by this amp, probably with the exception of the "dirtiest" tracks (like, say, Dead Kennedys....). Some CDs reveal some background noise that couldn't be perceived with my previous amp (like the first album by Santana, which probably hasn't been mastered to CD in the best way by Sony), but still the actual music sounds anyway richer and more detailed.

I'd have only one last question now: since the amp has a special output dedicated to a subwoofer, do you think it would make sense to add it on top of my RF-35s? The shop technician believes it's pointless, but I wonder if anyone has a different opinion.

IMHO the current setup has already plenty of low frequencies, except at minimal volume (like when I'm going to bed and leave the music at the lowest volume; my previous amp had a "loudness" knob that was handy in this case), but I'm not sure if there is any subwoofer that can properly match the RF-35s.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will further help me and thanks to all those who replied. I hope my experience can be useful for future readers of this forum.

Best regards and happy 2009!

Giovanni

[Tarheel]

Very attractive amp Gio[Y] I have never heard RF-35s so I can't speak to the need for a sub. What brand name KT-88 tubes were in it?

Best of 2009 to you and enjoy your amp[]

[GioRF35]

Hi Tarheel,

What brand name KT-88 tubes were in it? 

I've just checked and the two KT-88s are "Made in Russia" by "Sovtek ®" (even though they also have "Unison Research" printed on the glass but that text, in red, seems to be added by the amp manufacturer just to display their own brand). Also the two small 12AU7/ECC82H are "Made in Russia", but those are branded "electro-harmonix".

Do you know any of those brands/companies?

I know Russians were (and maybe still are) famous for camera lenses, but I have no clue about their fame with tubes.

By the way, the shopkeeper told me that when the original tubes will need to be replaced I will also be able to choose "better" tubes, but I have no idea about what to look for, does it really make sense to choose tubes that are not the ones originally chosen by the manufacturer? And, in that case, where can I check out reliable reviews or evaluations of tubes? Or, is there an undisputed "best brand" for tubes?

Thanks and happy 2009,

Giovanni

[Bill H.]

The Cambridge Audio Azur budget integrated amps sound very good with Klipsch Reference speakers.

My 2 cents.

Good Luck.

I second this selection. Also check out Creek.com they used to supply parts for Cambridge audio..............either one goes well with klipsch.

[GioRF35]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your followup to my original request, but as you can see from my more recent posts in this thread I have finally chosen an amp far beyond my originally planned budget, as tube amps seemed so much better than solid state ones (well, I haven't tested the McIntoshes anyway.... for those I should probably shell out much more than what I consider reasonable for any music).

I couldn't try the Cambridge Audio ones because at the end I've only tried the shop where I had previously bought the Klipsch speakers as for all other shops in my town I should have brought there my speakers and since the Klipsch shop also had some great tube amps that shifted completely my original target I preferred to avoid the effort of carrying around my speakers in several shops.

Cambridge Audio was not one of the brands sold in that shop, but now I'm really happy with my Unison Research Preludio.

I'm not sure how easily Unison Research products can be found abroad, as it is a small Italian company, but I would really suggest checking out tube amps for those who are still using solid state amps with the Klipsch RF-35 speakers. I've read in several places that Klipsch speakers can be a bit lacking in warmth (I can't speak about that because I moved to Klipsch from a pair of old Bose 301 which are utter crap compared to Kilpsch, no matter which side you look at), and tube amps seemed to me much warmer than any solid state amp I've tried. Even the "cheap" Fatman (UK company that builds everything, or nearly everything, in China) tube amps were better, IMHO, than solid state amps at the same price point.

Thanks again and happy 2009,

Giovanni

[russ69]

Giovanni of Genoa,

The Unison Research will be a perfect match for the RF-35's, stay with the stock tubes for now you can change them later if you want. You might want to consider a small sub for the very bottom end of the music but it's not a must have. Enjoy!

Thanx, Russ

[Tarheel]

The Sovtek tubes should be fine. The amp may need some break in time to sound its best as will the tubes. Enjoy!

[Groomlakearea51]

Sovtek quality is getting much better. I have a quad of matched 6L6GC's and they sound very good. The Sovteks seem to take about 50 hours to "break in". I would just play them for at least a month to get a feel for what they sound like before choosing a different brand. You can also look into JJ's (Tesla) which should be readily available in Europe. Genelex (The Russian resurrection) has also come a long way also in quality.