Best 2-Channel Integrated Amp/CDP for $2K?

[danrhiggins]

I am about to invest in my first 2-channel hi fi system. Well, my first in about 25 years and at that time it was very inexpensive. I have a budget of about $3500-4000. Planning around $2K for the speakers. After that I need a CD player and amplification. Seriously considering Thiel CS1.6 speakers and want to get components that would match.

I will be listening primarily to classical (baroque, renaissance) and light/smooth jazz. No rock or metallic. No movies.

I don't need a reciever or surround sound.

My room is about 14' across and 20' deep. Open on one side after about 6' from the speakers. Will have a couple of sofas and chairs. "Living Room". Wood floors with rugs.

I like the sound of the Thiel CS1.6 speakers in an audio showroom but their were being driven by high end Krell CDP and integrated amp which I cannot afford. And if I go with these Thiel's I may need something to take the base a bit lower as they could get that low with a Bach organ fugue I was listening to.

So, suggestions on an integrated amp and CD player combination that can fit withing the $2K remaining in my budget?

[musicman1999]

not familiar with the speakers sound,but i have heard good things.For amp and cd i would suggest arcam cd73t cd and a85 amp.I own the cd player and like it very much and I have heard the amp driving jm labs speakers,the same as i own,and the package had a lovely sound.
hope this helps
bill

[Mike Anderson]

I don't know whether you're married to the idea of having a high-end CDP, but if you're not, take a hard look at alternative methods of delivering CD sound to your amp.

In particular, I mean using your computer to rip the CDs and sending the signal through a DAC using any number of methods available. You will get much more bang for your buck that way, both in terms of audio quality and power to manage your music.

[Feanor]

...

So, suggestions on an integrated amp and CD player combination that can fit withing the $2K remaining in my budget?

With that budget, presumably for new equipment, I would bias my spending pretty heavily in favor of the amplfier vs. the CDP. The Thiel CS1.6 is pretty efficient so high amp power isn't essential but quality is.

A possible combination of well-reviewed units would:

• Naim NAIT 5i integrated amp: <$1500
• Cambridge Azur C640 CD player: <$500

Of course, there are pleny of other possibilities. Things would be different too if you wanted a tube amp or if you wanted SACD and/or DVD-A playback capability.

[Geoffcin]

I am about to invest in my first 2-channel hi fi system. Well, my first in about 25 years and at that time it was very inexpensive. I have a budget of about $3500-4000. Planning around $2K for the speakers. After that I need a CD player and amplification. Seriously considering Thiel CS1.6 speakers and want to get components that would match.

I will be listening primarily to classical (baroque, renaissance) and light/smooth jazz. No rock or metallic. No movies.

I don't need a reciever or surround sound.

My room is about 14' across and 20' deep. Open on one side after about 6' from the speakers. Will have a couple of sofas and chairs. "Living Room". Wood floors with rugs.

I like the sound of the Thiel CS1.6 speakers in an audio showroom but their were being driven by high end Krell CDP and integrated amp which I cannot afford. And if I go with these Thiel's I may need something to take the base a bit lower as they could get that low with a Bach organ fugue I was listening to.

So, suggestions on an integrated amp and CD player combination that can fit withing the $2K remaining in my budget?

Have you listened to many other speakers yet? There's not to many speakers that will have that kind of extension in your price range. If organ music is your thing, then your going to be looking for a sub too.

I really like Theil speakers. The 1.6 is a good choice for your size room. You should also know that there's a pretty good market for used speakers, and I've seen Theil's 3.6 up for sale. This speaker can & will get you down to pedal note bass without a sub. Here's a listing on Audiogon.com.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ull&1146675212

I like Arcam CD players. They are built well, and they sound great. You might also want to consider a player that will also play SACD/DVD-Audio. While the selection of these formats is limited, the quality is outstanding.

As to intergrateds. I think you've already heard a Krell so here's another listing;

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1146778344

If you got both these items off of Audiogon + the Arcam 73t you would have a KILLER system, and in your budget to.

[RGA]

I would suggest you contact a poster by the name of T&T on www.audioasylum.com as a long time Thiel owner who I recently engaged in conversation with. http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/spe...es/215649.html There is a complete discussion at the bottom of the page in that link with several posters. There are people there with far more varied listening experiences there IMO.

If you really have your heart set on the Thiels he may be able to offer some advice on what he used to use for his Thiels that were the best match. Ping him on the main page -- no account required there for posting.

If you have questions send me a private message.

[Geoffcin]

If you really have your heart set on the Thiels he may be able to offer some advice on what he used to use for his Thiels that were the best match. Ping him on the main page -- no account required there for posting.

If you have questions send me a private message.

Another usless piece of advice from the #1 AN fanboy. Thiels are a far superior speaker the anthing that AN has ever produced, and that includes the solid silver crap. What a laugh.

Private message him at your own risk.

[Florian]

I concur with Geof on this one. The only thing the AN speakers are good for is as wood for a fireplace. The Thiels are very nice!

[RGA]

danrhiggins

I sent you a Private Message.

[Feanor]

I concur with Geof on this one. The only thing the AN speakers are good for is as wood for a fireplace. The Thiels are very nice!

Its cruel to mock a person's religious convictions.

[PAT.P]

I concur with Geof on this one. The only thing the AN speakers are good for is as wood for a fireplace. The Thiels are very nice!

Aint we a bit on the sour side.Its like me saying your speakers would make great "ROOM DIVIDERS" and "Display Board"

[PAT.P]

Another usless piece of advice from the #1 AN fanboy. Thiels are a far superior speaker the anthing that AN has ever produced, and that includes the solid silver crap. What a laugh.

Private message him at your own risk.

As a Moderator you shock me.Are you suppose to hold the "PEACE " or start a flame? You got Flo going,and you know that does'nt take much

[Geoffcin]

As a Moderator you shock me.Are you suppose to hold the "PEACE " or start a flame? You got Flo going,and you know that does'nt take much

Or the members.

RGA's smarmy remark about how Asylum members are people "with far more varied listening experiences" really rubs me the wrong way. AR members have a lot of experience, and are very helpful people by and large.

The facts are that this AR member chose to ask advice about his gear on THESE forums. he got some good advice too. In this thread he asked about the best 2ch intergrated to use for a specific speaker that he likes. He didn't ask about AN speakers, or how some other forum member felt about them.

[RGA]

" He didn't ask about AN speakers"

he didn;t ask about theTheil 3.6 either

[PAT.P]

Or the members.

RGA's smarmy remark about how Asylum members are people "with far more varied listening experiences" really rubs me the wrong way. AR members have a lot of experience, and are very helpful people by and large.

The facts are that this AR member chose to ask advice about his gear on THESE forums. he got some good advice too. In this thread he asked about the best 2ch intergrated to use for a specific speaker that he likes. He didn't ask about AN speakers, or how some other forum member felt about them.

I agree with you that here at AR there are great people for advice ,thats why Im here.Everything I mostly learn was from this site .I know you were protecting us kids I know the thread went of track with speaker,RGA was off with the remark.Its the speaker insult afterward remark and after Flo got going with is remark on firewood.

[RGA]

PAT.P

If you read the initial post I read some hesitation with regards to the speaker. One of danrhiggins concerns was with the speakers' abilities with regards to bass. He heard a system in a showrrom with a a relatively expensive front end that he can not duplicate as his current finances don't allow for this. And the bass isn't going to be fixed by going to much less expensive amps and cd players. Plenty of speakers sound pretty good in short duration showroom listening sessions. Yes I'm an AN fan but I recently had a conversation with T&T who has owned upper level Thiels for a very long time. T&T got a speaker for half the price of his upscale Thiel and gets far deeper bass and to him better sound -- that would then allow for more budget being spent towards the front end. And since others were recommending speakers other than the Thiel 1.6 and talking about going to the used market my converation with T&T popped into my head. He also very much liked Spender and another person on another thread preferred Spendor most of all.

Admitedly the topic was shifted to speakers but again the issue the poster brought up was not an issue regarding amplifiers but an issue regarding the sound of the bass on organ -- and that is the result of the speaker. This is a very well reviewed very well liked speaker by a lot of folks.

Sometimes it is ok to read a question from someone and determine what it is they are really asking about even without them knowing it. He is quite free to chuck the advice in the bin -- but I figure anyone posting on a forum probably wants as many views as possible. And there are an awful lot of people on AA that actually own Thiel loudspeakers. T&T is the fourth person I know on forums or in person who have made such switches and I believe that is something worthwhile providing for people -- to save in his case $4000.00 makes me feel good that I could help out. If T&T went and didn't like them he's out a few bucks in gas but gained some more listening experience. There's no down side there in my view. And my view can be ignored quite easily --- simply don't read my posts.

[Florian]

I am not sour at all, its just been a while since i took a stab at him. Its all in good fun, i mean he quotes some members from somewhere that noone knows or cares about and what he thinks they heard. So what?!?!

And by the way, my speakers make great room dividers. You will never know they are speakers or on. Lovely!

[Resident Loser]

Another usless piece of advice from the #1 AN fanboy. Thiels are a far superior speaker the anthing that AN has ever produced, and that includes the solid silver crap. What a laugh.

Private message him at your own risk.

...but I fail to see any problem with RGAs post...we all know he's the pep squad leader for AN sooo...BFD comes to mind. Does his post apply to the thread? I dunno', I didn't post it so I can't say what his ultimate intention was, but I assume he had his reasons...and we all know how threads tend to a, er...diverge.

The original poster mentioned the Thiels and RGA, relatively fresh from his experience, pointed the poster to a thread that he felt might be of some value in the decision process sooo...where exactly did he demean AR or it's members?...Where exactly is the problem...with the message or the messenger?

RGA stated, in part:

...There are people there with far more varied listening experiences there IMO...

and you see it as:

...RGA's smarmy remark about how Asylum members are people "with far more varied listening experiences" really rubs me the wrong way. AR members have a lot of experience, and are very helpful people by and large...

I,for one, don't like AA and find many of it's members elitist snobs, so I'm not defending the place...however, in RGAs opinion he felt citing the thread, given it's content, might be of assistance to the original poster...what makes his opinion any less valid than yours?...which BTW and IMHO encroaches into that gray-area between experiential opinion to statement of fact...to wit:

Another usless piece of advice from the #1 AN fanboy. Thiels are a far superior speaker the anthing that AN has ever produced, and that includes the solid silver crap. What a laugh.

In it you find RGAs advice "...useless..." and then compound things by making a rather definite statement of superiority of one over the other...perhaps to your ears, but like most debates 'round here, your anecdotal comments are neither more or less valid than RGAs or are we to assume you have charts and graphs, facts and figures?

IMO all you successfully accomplished was to prime Flo-jo's pumps and provided tacit validation for his oft-exhibited penchant to denigrate someone else's gear choice:

...The only thing the AN speakers are good for is as wood for a fireplace...

jimHJJ(...as Pat P. pointed out, not a good thing for a mod to do...)

[Florian]

IMO all you successfully accomplished was to prime Flo-jo's pumps and provided tacit validation for his oft-exhibited penchant to denigrate someone else's gear choice:

It really puzzles me how you all can think that i cut down everyone elses choice. Look at the posts with Bernd, E-Stat, Feanor, Geof, Mike etc.... My problem isnt AudioNote (good electronics), my problem is RGA who "in every single" post takes a stab at high powered SS gear, inefficent speakers and by this uses "wrong" arguments to promote Audio Note products.

Yes i love planars, but i recommend Thiels, Ayon, Avalon, Hales, Eminent Tech, VMPS (one model), Duntechs, Dunlavys, and many many more "non-box" speakers. I have not once recommended a big Apogee because of their complexity, price and difficulty to use. I never said they are perfect for everyone, some love colored box sound and thats cool with me, as long as i dont have to listen to it. And even if i were to advertise for Apogee, it wont matter since the company is dead. Period!

In my opinion, you guys should read more between RGA's lines and think how this would influence a first time poster when beeing offered to e-mail him. Read my replys to first time posters and then read RGA's and you will clearly see the difference.

-Flo

[Resident Loser]

It really puzzles me how you all can think that i cut down everyone elses choice. Look at the posts with Bernd, E-Stat, Feanor, Geof, Mike etc.... My problem isnt AudioNote (good electronics), my problem is RGA who "in every single" post takes a stab at high powered SS gear, inefficent speakers and by this uses "wrong" arguments to promote Audio Note products

Yes i love planars, but i recommend Thiels, Ayon, Avalon, Hales, Eminent Tech, VMPS (one model), Duntechs, Dunlavys, and many many more "non-box" speakers. I have not once recommended a big Apogee because of their complexity, price and difficulty to use. I never said they are perfect for everyone, some love colored box sound and thats cool with me, as long as i dont have to listen to it. And even if i were to advertise for Apogee, it wont matter since the company is dead. Period!

In my opinion, you guys should read more between RGA's lines and think how this would influence a first time poster when beeing offered to e-mail him. Read my replys to first time posters and then read RGA's and you will clearly see the difference.

-Flo

This is what you posted to this thread:

...The only thing the AN speakers are good for is as wood for a fireplace...

And it is what I addressed in my post to Geoffcin...Whatever you, RGA, Geoffcin or the man-in-the-moon may have posted outside of this thread is completely irrelevant to it...How did RGA do what you say he does (see color highlight above) "...in every single post..." in this thread? Answer: He didn't. However...you did. Despite your belabored and self-serving protestations to the contrary, your "...oft-exhibited penchant..." is self-evident and simply a matter of public record. This thread is no exception.

I rarely participate in the threads that RGA seems to be interested in, because I have little interest in, nor am I familiar with, the gear he espouses. My complicity in this particular thread was limited to the concerns addressed in my response to Geoff.

jimHJJ(...should you wish to continue this debate, kindly limit your comments to those issues...)

[Florian]

I will STRONGLY suggest you go and read the Audio Asylum where you will find the Audio Note banner once again.

I know you cant stand me, and your one of the few trust me! I couldnt care less, but you need get a grip guy and get with the programm.

Enjoy you new AN Es. :-) Glad you also got a chance to hear the Spendors as well.

This is what he will find on the AA and to quote RGA....

There are people there with far more varied listening experiences there IMO.

Do i need to draw you a picture?

Whatever you, RGA, Geoffcin or the man-in-the-moon may have posted outside of this thread is completely irrelevant to it.

Right now thousands die because of hunger and firearms...oh wait this is irrelevant to the current situation. If it is irrelevant why are you bringing up my other threads? No logic!

The poster asked about Thiels....and no Audio Note. Read ALL of RGA's threads you will not find a SINLGE one without the Audio Note banner.

Despite your belabored and self-serving protestations to the contrary, your "...oft-exhibited penchant..." is self-evident and simply a matter of public record.

Oh yea, this is beneficial aint it. How is the Firewood comment self serving?

[Florian]

Despite your belabored and self-serving protestations to the contrary

You are self serving by getting your EGO pumped up by calling me a piece of **** and attacking me by the above responce. I swear, it is these days i wish i could get rid of all the idiots in this world and your in the Top 10.

[Resident Loser]

...you're getting loud again, can only mean one of two things...

(a) You've got nothing...

-or-

(b) Musta' hit a nerve...

jimHJJ(...or maybe both...)

[Florian]

...you're getting loud again, can only mean one of two things...

(a) You've got nothing...

-or-

(b) Musta' hit a nerve...

jimHJJ(...or maybe both...)

Nope none at all, i am as calm as can be. But juding by this reply you got nothing......like usual.

PS: And you still cant write the names of the people you quote.

[Geoffcin]

But this thread has gone far enough.