Integrated amp < $700 / amp talks.

[Kaiju]

I have bought Triangle Br03, (power handling:100 W, nominal impedance is 8 ohms and min. is 4,2 ohms). I am looking for the integrated amp that is below 700$ and input would be from DAC Schiit Modi 3. Can my fellow member suggest me integrated amps for my requirement. Thank you.

 

[steve59]

Anthem 225i can be had for around $700. 225 wpc, headphone jack. No dac

 

[Kaiju]

Anthem 225i

Thank you for suggesting steve, but it list about $1500, though it's DAC/ amp i think of Nad d3045, nad d3020 or sprout 100. What do you think?

 

[tmtomh]

To each their own of course - but generally I feel that for digital sources the preamplifier is an obsolete component these days.

 

[Kaiju]

Why not switch your DAC to one with a volume knob? Then you'd only need an amp.

I feel that for digital sources the preamplifier is an obsolete component these days.

Thank you for the input, dear fellow member's. Now I will be on quest of good amps and DAC's.

 

[Willem]

At roughly this price bracket the Yamaha AS701 or AS801 are probably your best bet. They also have a built in DAC. The Yamaha RN803 reciever is similar, but with an FM tuner (not very useful anymore), and rather, more importantly, networking capability and room equalization.

 

[Kaiju]

Yamaha AS701 or AS801 are probably your best bet.

Thank you for input, I think I will wait, about 6 months and get the Schiit Aegir and Topping D70 DAC, I won't be using preamp as suggested.

 

[majingotan]

Thank you for input, I think I will wait, about 6 months and get the Schiit Aegir and Topping D70 DAC, I won't be using preamp as suggested.

Just curious what type of speaker you’re going to run with the Aegir? Stereophile subjectively rated the sound as A class (same level as many near high end amps) and ASR also measured this thing and got better than average measurements though what’s holding me back is the paltry < 20 W of usable power. If it had enough power as much as Schiit Ragnarok 2, I would’ve had one myself

 

[direstraitsfan98]

These are probably power hungry in the bass region. 90dB sensitivity is pretty wishful thinking. It is probably closer to 89 or 88dB sensitivity, and with the type of crossover they are most likely using in this design, it's going to have a power suckout in the 100hz range. You'll want a decently beefy amplifier that can handle current moreso then power. However I would say the Aegir is not enough power for this thing due to the wild impedance dips. Aegir is only good for crazy sensitive loudspeakers, like horns, really. I wouldn't want to use Aegir with my 94dB sensitive speakers unless they were monoblocked.

I know you already have these speakers so what are you currently using with them?

 

[Kaiju]

Just curious what type of speaker you’re going to run with the Aegir?

I have bought the Triangle Br03, here's the complete specification

Spoiler: Click to view specs

• Number of drivers: 3
• Number of ways: 2
• Sensitivity- 90 dB/W/m
• Frequency range: 46 Hz – 22 KHz (+/- 3 dB)
• Power handling: 100 W
• Nominal impedance: 8 Ω
• Minimum impedance: 4,2 Ω

However I would say the Aegir is not enough power for this thing due to the wild impedance dips. Aegir is only good for crazy sensitive loudspeakers, like horns, really. I wouldn't want to use Aegir with my 94dB sensitive speakers unless they were monoblocked.

I know you already have these speakers so what are you currently using with them?

I have just bought new, so I am thinking what to get for them; any suggestion for that will match my speaker specs as mentioned above? I am new to this game.

p.s Thank you for the input.

 

[majingotan]

I have bought the Triangle Br03, here's the complete specification

Thanks. IMO a Monoblocked Aegir is just barely enough if listening at 100 dB peaks and 90+ dB at 0.5m range. Like what @direstraitsfan98 wrote, it's better to have a headroom to prevent clipping at high volumes. I'm not sure of the subjective credibility of Stereophile regarding Aegir's sound quality rating it high on their subjective list, but IMO you would need a 100+dB/W/m efficient speakers just to get a satisfying sound when driven at over 100 dB. Regarding power amps, it's best to get the Benchmark AHB2 or better yet in monoblock config for absolute best performance while delivering over 4x the power of the monoblock Aegir.

 

[Kaiju]

Thanks. IMO a Monoblocked Aegir is just barely enough if listening at 100 dB peaks and 90+ dB at 0.5m range. Like what @direstraitsfan98 wrote, it's better to have a headroom to prevent clipping at high volumes. I'm not sure of the subjective credibility of Stereophile regarding Aegir's sound quality rating it high on their subjective list, but IMO you would need a 100+dB/W/m efficient speakers just to get a satisfying sound when driven at over 100 dB. Regarding power amps, it's best to get the Benchmark AHB2 or better yet in monoblock config for absolute best performance while delivering over 4x the power of the monoblock Aegir.

$3000 that's pain in my wallet, I thought of buying Aegir because I will update Triangle to Buchardt or something like $2000 speakers. I thought Aegir will keep my current purchase happy. What do you suggest a good amps around $1000 that will sing with the Triangle and will make good pair if I upgrade my speakers to $2000.

Thank you for the input and please keep up with me.. I am noob and don't know nothing of specs.

 

[majingotan]

$3000 that's pain in my wallet, I thought of buying Aegir because I will update Triangle to Buchardt or something like $2000 speakers. I thought Aegir will keep my current purchase happy. What do you suggest a good amps around $1000 that will sing with the Triangle and will make good pair if I upgrade my speakers to $2000.

Thank you for the input and please keep up with me.. I am noob and don't know nothing of specs.

Well, I don't know how loud your listening to speakers and how far from the speakers are you going to listen. As far as my experience goes, I can only go by specs since I haven't had listening experiences with multitude of power amps.

You can see a SINAD charts for power amps here and see which one works best for you: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurement-comparison-charts.8246/post-207207

As for power requirement, a 100W amp is the bare minimum for your speakers IMO, but always get input from others as well since it's just my preference to play music as loud as club music (90+ dB SPL)

 

[Kaiju]

Well, I don't know how loud your listening to speakers and how far from the speakers are you going to listen. As far as my experience goes, I can only go by specs since I haven't had listening experiences with multitude of power amps.

I am life long time music enthusiast I had my dad's 5.1 hometheatre system (15 years ago).. he paid around $600 (please don't laugh at me ), after it was blown out I listen to JBL headphones(don't ask me what it is), and occassionally to Macbook speakers. So my ears are new to the loud music, and I my listening session will last minimum of hour, so I don't need a 90db loudness.. I think I will be okay from 65- 85 db(max) and my listening room is medium sized no more than 8 meter's width and length. And planning to listen in 3-4m distance.


Any thoughts, thank you once again

 

[NTomokawa]

Macbook speakers

No shame in that. I sometimes listen to music through my phone's speaker!

This hobby is about love for music, after all.

 

[Kaiju]

No shame in that. I sometimes listen to music through my phone's speaker!

This hobby is about love for music, after all.

Cool.

 

[majingotan]

I am life long time music enthusiast I had my dad's 5.1 hometheatre system (15 years ago).. he paid around $600 (please don't laugh at me ), after it was blown out I listen to JBL headphones(don't ask me what it is), and occassionally to Macbook speakers. So my ears are new to the loud music, and I my listening session will last minimum of hour, so I don't need a 90db loudness.. I think I will be okay from 65- 85 db(max) and my listening room is medium sized no more than 8 meter's width and length. And planning to listen in 3-4m distance.


Any thoughts, thank you once again

I'm a sucker too for unconventional way of reproducing music BTW as long as they sound "subjectively transparent to my ears (i.e. no audible difference to my ears compared to well engineered DACs with 30x better SINAD measurements than my Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC) . Just look at my sig lol. My DAC uses a DAC chip not engineered for audio applications (horrible measurements as expected) as well as a tube preamp with a mediocre 90 dB SINAD in tube mode. Aegir is a custom designed hybrid Class A/AB amp where almost all the other designs are Class D in its price range (Not that Class D is inferior BS, just mentioning that Schiit likes to engineer exotic implementations but surprisingly Aegir measures decently for being exotic)

Anyways, I digress. If you're going to listen around that level and that distance, Aegir would be sufficient IMO without driving it to clipping (I repeat IMO) and from what I see from its measurements it should sound transparent enough unless you're a very trained listener per amir's post here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/can-we-trust-our-ears.3884/page-13

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I hate to break it to you but those speakers are too small to sufficiently fill a room of what I believe is your size. Sitting 4 meters away? That’s pretty far. How close are you sitting from the wall behind you and where are the speakers located in the room?

Before you can figure out what amp you need you need to figure out your power requirements. There’s a formula which I can’t recall but I’ve used this website before to figure out if an amp I want to use is powerful enough. I did you the courtesy and punched in your listening position, your speakers rated sensitivity, and the power handling of the Aegir in stereo mode. I’m giving the triangles the benefit of the doubt with the 90dB sensitivity rating. Not every manufacture is Eric Alexander (of Tekton Designs)

On paper the aegir seems more then capable. It’s really hard to say if the aegirs will be enough without knowing more detailed specifications of your speakers. If they have a wonky impedance curve, combined with a nasty phase, the current demand needed will be much, much higher. And during peaks you could be looking at needing much more current then what I think the Aegirs are capable of.

Given my experience with bookshelf speakers and their power requirements, and the amps I’ve used with them, I know that they can actually require tons and tons more power then what it says on the tin. I would often times need over 100W to feed my KEF LS50, and well over 100W with my Harbeth 30.2. This is, again, typically caused by the passive crossovers in the speaker design which suck up and waste power. I think the given power handling of the speakers on the manufactured website is a clue. 90W is probably the RMS which indicates during peaks the speaker might want even more powerr.

Try to find a vintage amplifier like a Mitsubishi DA-A10AC. This is an amplifier which is extremely underrated and has tons of power. I haven’t actually used one but I know they have very low distortion and it’s just a simple and well done topology.

Ps. If you really listen at 65-85dB at 12 feet away then you’re probably fine with Aegirs. But I kind of ignored that part of what you said because it’s most likely you’re underestimating how loud you will listen. Having the headroom is important... maybe it’s just me.

 

[Kaiju]

Thank you all for the input, through your suggestion I will keep my patience and buy good amp, because my speakers are entry label. I think I will keep few feet apart, I may need valuable suggestion later, thank you, Happy holidays