Advice needed for my next amp upgrade

[Petabarn]

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well.
Been a passive member of the forum for years now and love reading all your comments and debates

As I'm pretty much a novice enthusiast, I thought that I might as well make first thread here to ask for your advice !


I'm considering upgrading my amp as I'm growing a bit disatisfied with mine right now.

Here's my current setup :
- a pair of Wharfedale Linton 85 Heritage
- powered by an SMSL A300 (really competent amp, I'm mostly annoyed by the hiss caused by the LCD screen)
- the audio sources are an Union Audio Elara6 Mixer (XLR) and an XDUOO XQ-50 PRO2 (RCA) that I use as a Bluetooth receiver.

Budget is between 400 and 700$
An integrated amp and dual inputs would be a plus as I plug my mixer and bluetooth receiver directly into the amp.

Here are the amps that have picked my attention so far :

SMSL PA200 (420$)
No dual input - seems to be a decent deal for the price - no reviews yet

AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC XLR (480€)
No DVC - no dual input - great price to performance ratio - tested and loved

AUDIOPHONICS AP310-P250NC (700€)
200€ extra for an integrated amp and extra inputs seems a bit steep

TOPPING LA90D (700€)
Big beautiful boy - critics seem to love it too - not a big fan of the huge PSU

TOPPING PA7 PLUS (550$)
On point with the specifications but is it the best price to performance ratio ?

Also saw a pair of TOPPING B200 going for 900€ on a 2nd hand website !
I could consider it if it really makes a difference


Any advice, tip, other product recommendationis more than welcome !

And of course, thanks a lot for your help everyone

 

[alvigg]

Take a look at Buckeye.

 

[Petabarn]

Take a look at Buckeye.

Thx for the tip
But with shipping and VAT, it would exceed budget
+ the spec sheet is roughly the same as the MPA-S250NC

 

[Mikig]

If I had to choose, I would go for Yamaha AS701, or maybe AS801, If you search you should be able to find it just above your budget….or maybe I would go for some Nad, Musical Fidelity M series, you can find them at that price too…a matter of personal taste.

All the ones you mentioned are more than fine; you only have one thing to do, take the one that best matches your desires.

 

[Timcognito]

YAMAHA

 

[Petabarn]

If I had to choose, I would go for Yamaha AS701, or maybe AS801, If you search you should be able to find it just above your budget….or maybe I would go for some Nad, Musical Fidelity M series, you can find them at that price too…a matter of personal taste.

All the ones you mentioned are more than fine; you only have one thing to do, take the one that best matches your desires.

Thanks a lot, will look into it !
I really only know class D amps and like the stripped down approach to features most of them have

If you have more recommendations for AB class amps I'm down for it

 

[DVDdoug]

I really only know class D amps and like the stripped down approach to features most of them have

Traditionally a "power amp" only has a level/gain control and sometimes not even that. It's usually not intended to be an everyday volume control. Some newer pro power amps have DSP for bi-amping or tri-amping.

An "integrated amp" is a preamp and power amp. You get multiple inputs, tone controls, and more.

A "receiver" adds a tuner.

An "AVR (Audio Video Receiver) add all kinds of features, including surround sound & digital inputs with surround sound decoding, bass management, making it easy to add a subwoofer, many have room correction, Bluetooth, and I've never seen one without a remote control. They are mass-marketed and sold into a competitive market and you get a lot for your money.

Any of those can have class-D power amps.

 

[ZolaIII]

What's the DAC and ADC? How exactly are you using XLR from a mixer? Are uper I/O RCA on it? If so why don't you run XQ-50 trough it? Why premium analog one in the first place?
AS300 is bad (load dependent and a lot of noise with frequency increase also underpowered), it's not LCD but plane cheap class D typically behaviour.
What kind of amplifier would you like? Maybe you would prefer PA? DAC on XQ50 is also bad.

 

[Petabarn]

What's the DAC and ADC? How exactly are you using XLR from a mixer? Are uper I/O RCA on it? If so why don't you run XQ-50 trough it? Why premium analog one in the first place?
AS300 is bad (load dependent and a lot of noise with frequency increase also underpowered), it's not LCD but plane cheap class D typically behaviour.
What kind of amplifier would you like? Maybe you would prefer PA? DAC on XQ50 is also bad.

I dont use a DAC as i have an amplified audio source coming from the Mixer (dj mixer btw)

For PA, what would you recommend for my budget ?

 

[ZolaIII]

I dont use a DAC as i have an amplified audio source coming from the Mixer (dj mixer btw)

For PA, what would you recommend for my budget ?

Well because mixer I thought maybe you want/nead PA. I don't know I usually recommend Dynacord L1300FD for it's integrated DSP and build quality but it's a bit over your budget. Those are class A-B or G. It's 2x 240W sustainable and performance is about 80 dB SINAD.
You didn't actually answered my questions.

 

[Petabarn]

Well because mixer I thought maybe you want/nead PA. I don't know I usually recommend Dynacord L1300FD for it's integrated DSP and build quality but it's a bit over your budget. Those are class A-B or G. It's 2x 240W sustainable and performance is about 80 dB SINAD.
You didn't actually answered my questions.

This is the Mixer's IO

So you're right I could plug the XQ50 on the mixer and use it as a 'preamp' for a PA system.

My initials thoughts were directed on a nCore system such as the Audiophonics amps i listed in my post

 

[Sokel]

Another one for the Yamaha, covers your use case to the full and then some, no one ever complained about some extra features.
Now add that you can get it locally just about everywhere, after sales support is easy, etc.

 

[ZolaIII]

This is the Mixer's IO
View attachment 431898

So you're right I could plug the XQ50 on the mixer and use it as a 'preamp' for a PA system.

My initials thoughts were directed on a nCore system such as the Audiophonics amps i listed in my post

With that sorted out I will ask again what do you need? Even base AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC will do fine. If you want it to last get a good old Yamaha A-S701 ~ A-S801. A-S501 is a sweet spot regarding what you get for money. Consider streamer from WiiM range to go with it if you like instead of that BT.

 

[JeremyFife]

With that sorted out I will ask again what do you need? Even base AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC will do fine. If you want it to last get a good old Yamaha A-S701 ~ A-S801. A-S501 is a sweet spot regarding what you get for money. Consider streamer from WiiM range to go with it if you like instead of that BT.

Agree ^^

Don't overthink this, it's just an Amp. Both options that @ZolaIII (and others) suggest: Yamaha or Hypex NC250MP will be great - choose based on what looks best to you