Integrated Amp Purchasing Strategy

[feelingtheplot]

Integrated Amp Purchasing Strategy

I've got ~$500 to spend on an integrated amp and am just getting into audio as a hobby. Would it be better to spend ~$500 now on the best vintage/used integrated amp I can find, with the knowledge that I would basically use it just as a pre-amp (buying a crossover to add a sub, a nicer power amp, etc down the line) or starting with a separate $250 preamp (looking at used Kenwood C2) and $250 power amp?


If I should start with an integrated amp, which vintage or used brands/models are known for their phono stage? Also very open to buying new, it just seems like the value is in used.

 

[BeeKay]

Vintage stuff - I maybe would be careful I wasn’t able to service such gear myself (I am not). There is certainly good and refurbished gear available. But this comes at a price. So if you are not into the looks or the sound signature of such older devices, the money could be better spent on modern gear.

 

[Doodski]

Integrated Amp Purchasing Strategy

I've got ~$500 to spend on an integrated amp and am just getting into audio as a hobby. Would it be better to spend ~$500 now on the best vintage/used integrated amp I can find, with the knowledge that I would basically use it just as a pre-amp (buying a crossover to add a sub, a nicer power amp, etc down the line) or starting with a separate $250 preamp (looking at used Kenwood C2) and $250 power amp?


If I should start with an integrated amp, which vintage or used brands/models are known for their phono stage? Also very open to buying new, it just seems like the value is in used.

Buy new gear. Get a miniDSP and build from there.

 

[DMill]

Vintage gear is always a risk unless you know how to repair it. I’d buy new and enjoy a return policy. Plenty of nice integrated offerings at $500.

 

[JSmith]

integrated amp

This may be of interest;

NAD D3045 Review (Integrated Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD D 3045 integrated amplifier with DAC and HDMI ARC. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $799. As you see, the design follows the rest of the "D" series. As with them, the power button is an almost hidden touch area on top which I...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Open box, $200 off; https://www.ebay.com/itm/285091403098


JSmith

 

[antcollinet]

Good vintage amps are also ridiculously expensive at the moment. You will almost certainly get better value buying new.

Yamaha is allways a good bet in that price range.

 

[mhardy6647]

Yamaha would be well worth a look. Consider one of the lower-end Yamaha integrated amplifiers (A-S301 or A-S501) if it meets your requirements, @feelingtheplot
Despite a certain... affinity... for vintage hifi hardware I cannot recommend it as a starting point at this late date. To buy a rehabilitated piece won't be cost effective, and buying as-is is always a crapshoot -- and as @tonycollinet mentions, we're not in what one would consider a buyers' market for vintage anything.

Finally, I apologize prospectively for subjecting y'all to this (yet again), but when the words Yamaha and vintage pop up, I simply can't resist...

 

[TonyJZX]

is it a hard ask these days for a usd $500 integrated that has a good phono stage AND has decent power and comes up to asr standards?

does digital matter to you in both regards... are you amenable to Class D and do you require a dac inside?

i quite like integrateds even though I quite like separates.... if i'm after a 19" rack sized unit there's a few non negotiables for me at this price

pre-outs

i'm ok with line stage... if you're a vinyl guy you probably invest in phono preamps

i'm ok with no dac... dacs being so cheap I'd rather not be tied down to whatever is in the unit

i'm ok with no loops... i dont have a recording deck

i'm sort of ok with no HT preamp bypass

ok being single ended

I am definitely ok with no streaming no bluetooth no ethernet

remote and real tactile volume knob please

i'm ok with sacrificing some of this if the form factor halves etc. if you lose preouts but its a tiny half width unit with sufficent power then thats ok

eg. any of the new breed china digital units

 

[antcollinet]

Yamaha would be well worth a look. Consider one of the lower-end Yamaha integrated amplifiers (A-S301 or A-S501) if it meets your requirements, @feelingtheplot
Despite a certain... affinity... for vintage hifi hardware I cannot recommend it as a starting point at this late date. To buy a rehabilitated piece won't be cost effective, and buying as-is is always a crapshoot -- and as @tonycollinet mentions, we're not in what one would consider a buyers' market for vintage anything.

Finally, I apologize prospectively for subjecting y'all to this (yet again), but when the words Yamaha and vintage pop up, I simply can't resist...

And it makes me envious every time. Really sad that the Sony Amp, Tuner, and tape deck dissappeared when my parents moved to USA in 1980.

 

[feelingtheplot]

@mhardy6647 I, perhaps unwisely, just picked a beautiful CA-800 unit that had a complete restoration. Talking full recap, board disassembly and cleaning, resoldering, new circuit switches, etc. Was too good to pass up, decided to treat myself and stretch the budget

 

[mhardy6647]

Good luck!

The CA-800 is probably my favorite, FWIW.
Not to say it's the sine qua non -- but of my somewhat motley lot, it's the one that I like to listen to the most.

 

[restorer-john]

@mhardy6647 I, perhaps unwisely, just picked a beautiful CA-800 unit that had a complete restoration. Talking full recap, board disassembly and cleaning, resoldering, new circuit switches, etc. Was too good to pass up, decided to treat myself and stretch the budget

The class A/AB switching should have been restored. Ask the seller what was done in that respect. Two sets of switches hang off that lever, one for the biasing, the other for the rail switching.

 

[ahofer]

Good luck!

The CA-800 is probably my favorite, FWIW.
Not to say it's the sine qua non -- but of my somewhat motley lot, it's the one that I like to listen to the most.

Adjustable loudness FTW!