Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Mather said:
I'm very curious to hear the difference, but I have to say I do think you'd be surprised by the sound this Arcam puts out. I mean I've heard all the very pricey systems at the audio shows and it's right there with a lot of them. It honestly punches above it's weight. But I think the power amp would do a lot for the speakers for sure.
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Only 75 lbs but 400w into 4 ohms

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@Mather whats the theoretical price range/budget if you were to buy a separate amp? And size and aesthetics requirements? I’ve heard the Arcam amp, they sound very much like the amps in the AVRs. I like Arcam, very open sounding with good detail (I have an AV40 in my theater), but a Parasound A21+ would provide a more solid foundation for your L100s. And match your phono’s look.
 
SnowmaNick said:
@Mather whats the theoretical price range/budget if you were to buy a separate amp? And size and aesthetics requirements? I’ve heard the Arcam amp, they sound very much like the amps in the AVRs. I like Arcam, very open sounding with good detail (I have an AV40 in my theater), but a Parasound A21+ would provide a more solid foundation for your L100s. And match your phono’s look.
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Well there's the rub, in Canada that 21+ is $5500 CAD before 13% tax. I could probably get the Arcam or NAD for $2000 or under. I eventually want to probably grab the Nu Vista 800.2 and @ $5500 that's almost two thirds of the cost of a demo Nu Vista. I'm sure it would be amazing but I think it's just too expensive to reasonably pull the trigger on. I have no experience with separates but with the AVR acting as the pre, how much does the power amp color the sound in general? I kind of assumed it would produce more punch but ultimately the sound signature would still pretty much remain from the pre?
 
Mather said:
Well there's the rub, in Canada that 21+ is $5500 CAD before 13% tax. I could probably get the Arcam or NAD for $2000 or under. I eventually want to probably grab the Nu Vista 800.2 and @ $5500 that's almost two thirds of the cost of a demo Nu Vista. I'm sure it would be amazing but I think it's just too expensive to reasonably pull the trigger on. I have no experience with separates but with the AVR acting as the pre, how much does the power amp color the sound in general? I kind of assumed it would produce more punch but ultimately the sound signature would still pretty much remain from the pre?
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How much are customs duties? I can usually find some here in the States used for around $2,500 USD. For example, this one is asking $2,400 + shipping, and you can negotiate.
 
Mather said:
Well there's the rub, in Canada that 21+ is $5500 CAD before 13% tax. I could probably get the Arcam or NAD for $2000 or under. I eventually want to probably grab the Nu Vista 800.2 and @ $5500 that's almost two thirds of the cost of a demo Nu Vista. I'm sure it would be amazing but I think it's just too expensive to reasonably pull the trigger on. I have no experience with separates but with the AVR acting as the pre, how much does the power amp color the sound in general? I kind of assumed it would produce more punch but ultimately the sound signature would still pretty much remain from the pre?
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Also, in my limited experience, I’ve had external amps that made no noticeable difference (Emotiva XPA-3 with Denon AVR-7200A, I actually ended up preferring the Denon’s internal amps over the Emotiva), to a noticeable improvement in several areas (more punch, soundstage, etc. such as an ATI AT-543NC, with the same Denon and now Arcam, adding an Adcom amp to a Yamaha AVR, and an Aragon to a Marantz).
 
SnowmaNick said:
Also, in my limited experience, I’ve had external amps that made no noticeable difference (Emotiva XPA-3 with Denon AVR-7200A, I actually ended up preferring the Denon’s internal amps over the Emotiva), to a noticeable improvement in several areas (more punch, soundstage, etc. such as an ATI AT-543NC, with the same Denon and now Arcam, adding an Adcom amp to a Yamaha AVR, and an Aragon to a Marantz).
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Yeah makes sense, I just know the L100s like power and at only 110 right now I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot of what they can do, especially at lower volumes.
 
Mather said:
Well there's the rub, in Canada that 21+ is $5500 CAD before 13% tax. I could probably get the Arcam or NAD for $2000 or under. I eventually want to probably grab the Nu Vista 800.2 and @ $5500 that's almost two thirds of the cost of a demo Nu Vista. I'm sure it would be amazing but I think it's just too expensive to reasonably pull the trigger on. I have no experience with separates but with the AVR acting as the pre, how much does the power amp color the sound in general? I kind of assumed it would produce more punch but ultimately the sound signature would still pretty much remain from the pre?
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My magnificent tubey power amp made more of difference to my sound signature than any other component has. It also sounds more massive at 45W than my previous 120W solid state integrated ever did.
 
It's interesting, as are most audio related things, that there are so many differing opinions on what affect a power amp actually has on the sound. Some people swear it alters the signature, others say all it does is increase the volume. I guess where it really matters is what that extra power does for the speakers, if they need it, then you're going to get better sound, if they don't then you're just going to get louder sound.
 
Mather said:
It's interesting, as are most audio related things, that there are so many differing opinions on what affect a power amp actually has on the sound. Some people swear it alters the signature, others say all it does is increase the volume. I guess where it really matters is what that extra power does for the speakers, if they need it, then you're going to get better sound, if they don't then you're just going to get louder sound.
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I imagine the type of amp has a bearing on all of this too. A tube power amp is definitely going to have an effect on the sound.
 
SnowmaNick said:
I want to try a tube amplifier one day. If I ever go with a set of Devore O/96s an all tube setup would probably follow.
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I want to hear the O/96 someday.

At some point I want a great sounding, great looking system in a room with a lot of wood and cool leather seating. The 0/96 seems like they would have a place in this setup. Amp would be a Yamaha as3200 or maybe some exotic tuner with a technics 1200G turntable.
 
Mather said:
Alright, question regarding a buddies kit. He has KEF R5s but is still running a Onkyo 8020 amp. Looking to upgrade to something with more juice. I suggested NAD 3050 so he can keep costs down but still get a great amp with double the power of the Onkyo.. Does anyone have anything they think would be better suited in that same price range? I also suggested the Kinki but it's more expensive by a fair bit up here. I think the 3050 checks off most of the boxes the only thing I think I'd ideally want with those speakers is maybe a bit more power. But with the situational wattage up the 135 it's probably got it covered. He wants to stay new, so no used stuff...
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I like the looks of the new Radia amps from Arcam. The middle unit A15 should pair nicely with the KEFs
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Arcam A15 review

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