[Closed] Oh no hifi amp is dead - only cheapskates need read

It's gonna depend on how Hi is your Fi. An indication of what you are replacing will teh experts come up with an estimate.

http://www.richersounds.com

A good place to start!

So ... I've twiddled and tweaked and it's definitely dead.

Now I can't really complain cos it's between 25 and 30 years

oh so predictable willy,

Do you just need a new Amp? Cos I've got an old Technics SUZ11 you can have for a bottle of reasonable malt!

My 25 year old Technics SU600A recently died and I replaced it with a Marantz PM6004 for about £300 - superb upgrade although not really cheapskate territory.

my old cambridge audio a5i died last year. it cost me around £150 in the mid 90s and i didn't want/couldn't afford to spend more than that, so i replaced it with an onkyo one from an ebay outlet store type place which cost me £120. it's easily good enough for my requirements, to be fair.

If your anywhere near stoke I've got one in the garage you can have.

Thanks for the replies, both sensible and not so. 😉

I really enjoy my music, it comes second after bikes, and there's nothing quite so enjoyable as loafing on my (cheapskate) sofa listening to some rather loud rock.

I'm happy with my CD player so perhaps it would make sense to go for that make. It does seem to get a good review.

If, for example, you were spec'ing a hifi system, what is the most important component? Followed by what? Get my drift?

Ta again and apologies if I'm not making sense. 😳

when i spec'ed my hifi stuff, the order of importance for me (as a fellow loud rock music listening cheapskate) was:

turntable
amp
speakers
interconnects
CD player

the makes were (in order):

Nad
cambridge audio
tannoy
cambridge audio
ariston

but really, i'd say they were probably all of equal importance!

After our 20 year old Cambridge died I not long ago picked up a nice Rotel Amp off the 'bay for only £40, it sounds great and fits the cheap bill. 2nd hand ftw as long as you check it fully works before parting with the folding.

The loudspeakers will always be the weakest link in the reproduction system, exhibiting several orders of magnitude greater distortion than amplifier or source, thus give much bigger sonic returns from spending more on them. What was your old amp?

Thanks again! 8)

Looks as though some research is in order.

Please don't point and laugh! Speakers are B & W with some stupid expensive cable, broken amp is Duel (not sure whether they exist any more), CD player is Rega. Naim it ain't!!

My old AV reciever amp blew up last year, went to Richer Sounds and replaced it with an Onkyo TX-SR309 for under £200. A 5.1 surround amp that when run with a HDMI link to the TV is a great little system.
A lot of amp for not a great deal of money, with the 5yr warranty it came to £190 ( ithink).

Very happy with the sound, very happy with the user-interface, great little amp.

Ah! Link to the TV, how does that all work please? Would love to play music DVDs through the speakers!

Buy a used amp from Gumtree, Ebay, AVForums etc.

Nobody wants stereo gear these days. Everybody wants multichannel.

Look for Marantz, NAD, Rotel etc.

Under £50 should net you something decent.

Look for a pioneer A400 amp, these are an absolute bargain with 2nd hand prices as like others have said - no one wants buy hi-fi separates these days, have a look for reviews of the pioneer as they are like the cotic soul of the amplifier world - you will not find a poor or bad review.

I'm about to send my old NAD 3020 off to be refurbished. I could probably get a new amp for the sand money bug I like it...

Worth opening the lid on the amp and spraying some wd40 inside at connection points before you give up on it. It fixed mine. Turn it off first of course.

Rega CD players may not be Naim class but they are a cut above what you get in richer sounds, I would look at the Rega amps to go with it.
I think the Brio is the base model but it has changed over the years, I had one of the first ones and it served me well before I upgraded.

[url= http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/stereo-amplifiers-receivers/marantz-pm5004/ ]marantz pm5004[/url] amps are going cheap in a few places, for no reason it seems other than there is a new model out.

Now I can't really complain cos it's between 25 and 30 years old so pretty good value for money!

Have you tried changing the valves?

C_g, your speakers and CD player are excellent, no issues there, so a Rotel would work perfectly, or a NAD, both are absolute classics in budget hifi. I used to sell Rotel back when it first came out, in the early 80's, I've actually got a Rotel pre-amp, running a pair of Crimson monobloc power amps, and it's good stuff. If you can find an RA-820 amp then snap it up. I've just done a very quick search and found this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ROTEL-STEREO-INTEGRATED-AMPLIFIER-RA-820-A-180-WATTS-/261122863865?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item3ccc22b2f9
It has apparently been relisted if you want to track it down.
It's possible yours has suffered a main power transistor malf, which could be fixable; my Sony Sub went on the fritz earlier this year with that problem, and Moss hifi in Bath checked it over and fixed it for £70.

Jon, if it had valves, it would have cost c_g a hell of a lot more than the one she's got did, valves are real high-end hifi!
I was looking at a beautiful Chinese-built valve amp in Audio T in Bristol, and it was an Art Deco work of art, and I shudder to think what it cost, hooked up as it was to an £850 pair of B&W speakers...
Can't find the one I was looking at, but this one has valves; £5795 to you, sir!
http://www.audiot.co.uk/products/unison-research-s8-2473.aspx

I was making a joke about it being a really old hi-fi, but I know what you mean. I remember the first TV we had when I was a child had valves. It never used to be special.

I've seen a few valve amps in some high end stores. Does it really make a difference to the sound? They look beautiful, but I imagine a valve, which would have cost you about 3 pence, 30 years ago would probably cost you about £50 now.

edit....£6k nearly !! bloody hell.

it does look nice though...maybe not 6k nice, but nice.
[img] http://tinyurl.com/c336mc3 [/img]

Jon, see my edit! 😀
Oh, you just did! 😆

C_g, even Rotel are a bit more expensive these days, and proper hifi:
http://www.audiot.co.uk/hifi/#cats=85&brands=84

Kondo Ongaku. Anything else is a complete waste of money.

If you can't quite stretch that far, this one's only £2199.95...
http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/Icon-Audio-Stereo-300B-MkII-Valve-Amplifier/product_1405?ref=gmc

Edit double post

JCL, I'm sure you're right, but some of us inhabit a universe where paying more than the price of a high-end Audi for a hifi amp is considered a trifle extravagant:

JA caught up with me at the Blue Light Audio room and suggested we saunter down to hear the 25Wpc Audio Note Ongaku integrated amplifier ($95,000) featured in his photograph above. Yes that's a jaw-dropping price, even after four days of CES. The Ongaku has five line level inputs. It employs two NOS VT4-C (211) tubes, an original NOS Telefunken 6463, and two NOS 5R4WGB rectifiers. Audio Note builds it own silver-wired driver transformer on a double AN-Perma nickel C-core. AN tantalum resistors, Black Gate electrolytics, and another silver wired transformer (output this time) complete the innards.
The system's source was the Audio Note CDT-Three transport ($9550) and DAC 4.1x Balanced DAC ($15,500). The speakers were Audio Note's AN-E SEC loudspeakers ($51,000/pair), which have a claimed sensitivity of 95dB. Cables were Audio Note Pallas digital cable ($4275), Sooto interconnect ($7050/m), and SogoN96 speaker cables ($9635). The power cable was the only non-Audio Note product: a Nordost Odin power cable.

I have to confess the system's price tag worried me—those are numbers that make even a high-end reviewer's head spin. And no, I didn't automatically assume I would like it because it was expensive. Those prices are scary. Here's the thnig, though: They system didn't sound expensive, it sounded right. No single element predominated, unless you count the complete sense of ease and the fabulous dynamic range.

S/H Rega to match the CD player. Last generation Brio if you can live without a remote. There is supposed to be great synergy between Rega components (but then again they all say that).

A s/h Arcam 7 or 8 would be a good amp but may be too warm sounding especially with B&W speakers. These go for peanuts - look out for a well cared for one (e.g, a buyer who has the original box would be a good sign)

But there is loads of choice in the s/h market for between £100-200.

Rega CD players may not be Naim class

yep, they're probably a higher class...

Top end Rega stuff is pretty well engineered.

I would try for a matching rega amp, although NAD have always been a safe bet as they tend to make everything sound 'pleasing'

GJP - Member

S/H Rega to match the CD player. Last generation Brio if you can live without a remote.

And a headphone socket.

I own a Rega Planar 3 myself, but wouldn't contemplate a Brio:
Missing out a headphone socket saves pennies, has no effect on sound quality and is a cynical act of penny penching accepted by credulous hi-fi buffs the world over.

CG, pop down to Richer Sounds and have a listen to a Marantz or a Yamaha for £150 - £200. Some nice secondhand bargains about but as you've found out, they don't last forever.

Kondo Ongaku. Anything else is a complete waste of money.

What about Lavardin? 😉

If my arcam alpha 7 ever packed in i would be straight on ebay looking for a nad 3020.

porlus - Member

If my arcam alpha 7 ever packed in i would be straight on ebay looking for a nad 3020.

But it would be 30 years old!

My 3130 packed in a few years ago - currently using an old Kenwood 'till I get my arse in gear and pop down to Richer Sounds for a Marantz 5004.

Yes, my local Hi Fi place has a load of old Rotels and NADS in stock (Wilkinsons in Nelson), but they're likely to go pop in the next few months, just like mine did.

They do have an Arcam 9 for £200, which is tempting, but again, £200 is a lot to risk on something between 12 and 16 years old that might break one day past it's three month warranty.

I wouldnt buy second hand unless it was under 5 years old, capacitors start to go off after a while and potentiometers get crackly.
Bit different with quality gear as you can get it recapped back at the factory (like Naim)

I have a Rotel 820BX not being used. In perfect working order, and built using very good components back in the day so should live forever. No bells and whistles but very clean sounding. If you are near MiltonK it's yours if you can collect...

Oh - has a superb phono stage in case you ever get the vinyl bug!

[img] [/img]

Fopster, that 820 brings back a lot of memories! I love those little amps, so understated, but they sound so good into a pair of B&W speakers, with some QED cables.

My local place has a RA820-AX for £80.00.
I'd really love to give it a pop, but it's a 1989 amp. 😐

They've also got a Marantz PM66 SE KI signature.
Always wanted one, they sound amazing.
It's about 15 years old and £200.00 though - I just don't fancy the odds.....

Er. Are you really sure it is dead? Any power at all? If not don't chuck it away without checking fuse in the plug and the internal fuse (very often a spare fuse is either taped or clipped next to the one that is in use). Just saying.

Failing that, Cambridge amps are good and cheap.

Have to say I like the look of this:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1969365167/bluetube-audio-vacuum-tube-amplifier-with-built-in

[img] ?1353107523[/img]

Blimey, this thread has moved on just a tad! Thanks to all for opinions and suggestions and I did chuckle at those tarty ones. 🙂

Good news to report anyway - I tapped into my wimmins logic and checked everything one step at a time. What seems to have caused the problem was a combination of not quite being plugged in thus wires being pulled due to weight of excess wires all over the place.

So ... CD player, amp and tuner all light up and I'm well pleased. 😀

Thanks again. 8)

Blimey, this thread has moved on just a tad! Thanks to all for opinions and suggestions and I did chuckle at those tarty ones.

Good news to report anyway - I tapped into my wimmins logic and checked everything one step at a time. What seems to have caused the problem was a combination of not quite being plugged in thus wires being pulled due to weight of excess wires all over the place.

So ... CD player, amp and tuner all light up and I'm well pleased.

Thanks again.

LOL. At least you got the audiophiles drooling for a while. I was going to say that if you were going to play Crazy Horse at least make sure you stick a knife in the speaker cone first for that "hi fi" effect.

That the same women's "logic" that caused you not check it was plugged in? Glad all is well tho!

Another vote for Richer Sounds. In my seperates days I used to have the cambridge audio. The best one was about £120ish if a I remember rightly. Really good bit of kit

Well, managed to keep Mr Woppit out of the thread! Ah Crazy Horse, haven't listened to them for a while!

Yes yes wimmins logic. 😆 Everything was plugged in but eight plugs that plugged into more sockets plus weight of stupid speaker cable led to dislodgement. 😳

Excellent result anyway. 😀 Anything that means stuff works without spending cash is a very positive thing, glad you got it sorted.

What about Lavardin?

I actually had an IT a few years back. Amazingly transparent thing but overall the Karan had it slightly beat to my ears. However, they're both head and shoulders better than that Naim crap 😉