I am planning a new (compact) system and would value some advice. I want to get an iPod Classic 160GB (as if the size is relevant), an amplifier running some Mission 771s. Space is at a premium so the amp has to be compact but I don't want to compromise too much on sound quality. (No MP3 = crap comments please! ;o) ). I don't need a CD etc combined, just a straight forward amp. My budget isn't huge so no niche stuff please. Any advice re the amp?

Entry level Denon or Marantz I'd say.. or even the Cambridge Audio kit from Richer Sounds (surprisingly good amps for the wonga).

It really isn't worth spending too much on an amp for mp3 use…and I'm not having a go!

Budget? I'd go SH.

On what basis have you chosen Mission speakers?

Speaker stands, positioning etc sorted?

I'd just go for a top end iPod speaker dock instead.

Cyrus amps are small and pretty good. Look on the second hand sites (hifiwigwam.com, zerogain.com, pinkfishmedia.net, hifi-adverts.co.uk)

smurf

cynical-al the Missions….. I have had them for years and like the sound quality. The room the system is going in hasn't been finished yet so I'm not sure where exactly they'll go. Stands…. sorted.

Woody2000 such as what? I haven't considered this because I thought (maybe mistakenly) that the sound would be a bit tinny.

Denon/Marantz/Cambridge good calls, I have a peep at the Richer Sounds site.

(No MP3 = crap comments please! ;o) )

Well, it IS! At least you can save yourself some money and buy budget kit to play it through i suppose…

What's your budget?

B&W Zeppelin
Bose Sounddock
Klipsch iGroove

Not tinny in any way!

entry level yamaha.

But I can't see the point anyway since the sound quality from Mp3….

I use a cambridge A1 mk3 from Richer Sounds, and just plug in using a cambridge 3.5mm jack-to-phono cable.

cambridge also make a dock and remote for remote control of the ipod.

Arcam Solo?

Meridian F80? Very good bit of kit. My dad bought a 2nd hand one (there's on on ebay now).

Compares well to my high end system in a number of ways.

Primare all in one solution (just add speakers) is also highly rated

smurf

What kind of budget are you on? S/H will be your friend when it comes to amps. The Cambridge Audio stuff seems to be highly rated at the moment. Cyrus stuff is half width so could be up your street. Musical Fidelity also did some small format stuff. I'd say a Naim Nait 2, but they've doubled in price on the S/H market recently 8O. I also rate Rega equipment.

I'll be frank and say that you need to think hard about the source. No point spending £200 plus on an amp and feeding it 128k rubbish from an ipod. If you've a computer in the room you could use that as a source into an external dac or one that streams wirelessly. Then use WAV or FLAC files as a minimum.

The issue with the ipod docks is that they have to compromise sound quality to get everything in one box. Speaker enclosures are the obvious problem, but there are many others. They are a neat solution and some are not bad at all, but it's much easier to get good sound with separate boxes.

Go to ebay look up NVA choose one of richards amps for the money you will not do better. I use one of his phono amps in a 10k system and it's a bargain.

maybe this one would be a good bet

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NVA-AP10P-Personal-Integrated-amplifier_W0QQitemZ270505082352QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers?hash=item3efb5bfdf0

You may not want the CD and other stuff, but I found the best budget way to a small, decent amp was one of the little hifi units that the likes of Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo and others sell.

Mine was about £40 off ebay as the CD player stops working after 20 mins or so – but I only wanted it for playing my ipod and the radio.

People who knock the quality of mp3s are obviously too young to remember cassette tapes!! 😉

Budget is a couple of hundred for the amp. My main system is elsewhere in the house. The idea here is to have a compact system so we can have access to all our music but have as small a footprint as possible. So…CD, tuner etc are in a different room where I can actually listen as opposed to having music which has to compete with daily living. Does that make sense?

LOL at the muffinman. No Zappa/Beefheart connection behind the name is there???

I am running a Rotel RA-01 Amp, Mission floor standing speakers (not sure of the number) with the iPod connected to the amp via phono cables connected to a Dennon iPod dock.

The dock is just that – a dock. No speakers, clock radio, etc.

TBH that particular dock is probably overkill as it has the ability to play video through it so can be hooked up to a Dennon home cinema system.

Sounds good in my opinion.

I'd still say a speaker dock fills that criteria quite nicely! 🙂

I have a Griffin Amplifi + iPod classic with everything ripped to high VBR MP3s, sounds pretty good to me, and is louder than I'd ever need!

yeah, i'm now thinking a speaker dock would be perfect!

If it's just to listen to music in another room, either buy an ok iPod all in one dock thingy, or get a 2nd hand budget amp, an iPod dock like the one beamers says he has (which has its own DAC, bypassing the internal DAC on the iPod), and save yourself a few quid!

Honestly, with mp3 as the source, in a 2nd room, you're not likely to notice any difference between an amp you bought for £40 off ebay and a brand new £200 one…

Get a Denon DM30 or whatever the equiv is off ebay or something. Great bit of kit.

No Zappa/Beefheart connection behind the name is there???

Nope – I'm just fond of muffins!