I am moving my office to a different room in my home and I will also be looking to build my first two channel system there.
This will be completely for music with a Music Hall MMF-5 (Ortofon 2M Red) and a streamer for Amazon HD or Tidal.
This will be a slow burn project (I am patient), so my budget is flexible if warranted for the right equipment.
Phono is not mandatory as I am not opposed to purchasing a separate phono stage (I would welcome suggestions)
Sub out would be ideal, but also not a deal breaker
I have been reading and watching a lot of reviews on integrated amps for the past few weeks and have come up with the following tiers:
Lower End of Budget
Cambridge AXA15
NAD C316BEE V2 (Refurb)
Yamaha A-S301
Bang for Buck?
PS Audio Sprout 100
Cambridge CXA60
Stretch if Warranted
NAD C368 BlueOS (Refurb)
Peachtree Decco 125 Sky (Refurb)
Outlaw RR2160
Rega Brio
As of now, I am leaning towards the Sprout (well regarded) or the C368/Decco 125 (Both have streamer solutions built in)
Hopefully this is a good jumping off point, but I would appreciate critiques and additions to the list
I appreciate your thoughts on owning the NAD. I have read nothing but good comments about it, and the price is extremely reasonable....very tempting especially given my small room.
I agree, the NAD 316BEE is a great little IA. I had the v1 for a while and it was quite capable with any of the speakers I owned at the time. Obviously the v2 has the built-in phone preamp but I'm not sure of the quality.
I also owned the LS50s for a while and very much regret selling them. They're not perfect but they do a lot of things well especially for someone like me who mostly listens to music (bump in the upper midrange/low treble).
I would also consider the Music Fidelity M2si although it is a no frills analog only IA. You would need a phono stage as well as a streamer. It's on close-out right now.
That M2si is a clean looking piece of gear and nice specs to boot....more reading to do!
Part of me wants to get a well regarded budget amp like the 316BEE and a Node 2i (both refurb) and still be at or under everything in my upper tier.
My wife and I really liked the LS50s even though it was a less than ideal room and low listening levels.
It just left me wanting to spend more time with them.
It was my first visit at this dealer and the KEFs were a bonus as I was there to hear the new silver series Monitor Audios.
He stated that he will have the MA Golds back in closer to the holidays, so I will add them to the listening session on my next visit.
I can only speak to what I have experience with. I own the Rega Brio, connected to PC as a source wit h a Dragonfly Cobalt. It's an excellent choice, sounds/built superb. Before this, I used a Sony UDA-1 amp/DAC combo and before that, a Teac AI-501DA. The Rega/AQ combo sounds the best by far.
NAD C368 BlueOS (Refurb) or Peachtree Decco 125 Sky (Refurb)
Ascend Sierra 2 or KEF LS50
Even the NAD gives more for the money Peachtree wins in aesthetics, especially in the office.
Considering this I will prefer to see Peachtree Decco 125 Sky with Ascend Sierra 2 in Piano Black and a sub added later. Classy system... you may add later phono stage if the one in Decco doesn't do for you.
I like these combinations and from what I have read, I would get some serious performance for my coin.
I agree that the Peachtree is very nice looking and has plenty of power to drive anything I throw at it.
The only pause I have with the Peachtree is there were limited reviews that I could find, so not a lot of discussion about the streaming solution.
BlueOS seems to be a more mature/polished product and I know Bluesound has developed a decent fanbase for their streamers.
I appreciate all of the great discussion and suggestions.
I have a lot to think about, but much better direction now
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