best budget integrated amp?

[ECMJazz]

Yes I have experienced reliability issues with Jolida - .

I'm curious! What model Jolida and what kinds of issues? Thanks!

[bacchanal]

The studio 20's are quite efficient. You won't have a problem driving them with any of the amps you're looking at.

[RGA]

I'm curious! What model Jolida and what kinds of issues? Thanks!

the 202a -- this was a second hand unit that I wanted to audition and then buy. This was a B&W Reps unit and I booked time to audition it. It didn;t work and all that came out was static. I booked a second audition but got a phone call saying it failed and had to be repaired. Then 3 weeks later I went down to audition it and it didn't even turn on. The dealer was so mad at it that he refuesed to sell it.

You ask why I was willing to give ti so many chances? The price - they were asking $300.00Cad for it. The reason they had it that cheap to start with was because it had physically caught on fire.

Now this may just be a lemon but Jolida has had some issues mentioned on a lot of forums and that is why I lean a little stronger to Antique Sound Labs which has not been free of problems either. Generally though ASL has been sightedmore for fit and finish issues which are less important. My headphone amp has been perfect for 6 years (still on the stock tubes).

One big reason I prefer AN or SET amps is that you never have to bias the tubes -- incorrect biasing can lead the inexperienced user into some problems. But Audio Note's entry level integrated is the OTO SE at $2,600.00 with phono another $500.00.

The ASL AQ 1003DT would be my first choice in the $1k US range -- the SS Audio Refinement Complete is also quite excellent for the money as is the Jolida 302B which has a more classic valvey sound than the ASL.

[funnyhat]

Is a sale on the cambridge 540 for 275 a good deal? Not sure what they go for right now. It seems the overall opinion is that this and the NAD 320 BEE are comparable? I would be interested to know if one of the other has major flaws, or at this price range is it just nit picking. Thanks for all help.

[JohnMichael]

Is a sale on the cambridge 540 for 275 a good deal? Not sure what they go for right now. It seems the overall opinion is that this and the NAD 320 BEE are comparable? I would be interested to know if one of the other has major flaws, or at this price range is it just nit picking. Thanks for all help.

www.audioadvisor.com has the 540 on sale for $269.22 and depending where you live they will ship it for free.

[zincalloy77]

low budget amps are mainly the realm of NAD,rotel and cambridge, just go for the sound you prefer,trust your ears

[RGA]

Actually you know you could very well be better of buying used. I bought a used Sugden A48b for $400.00Cad. With something like the Sugden you are getting a significant step up from IMO any amplifier that I have ever heard from any of these companies.

You may not get the features like a remote control but there is a certain amount of added pleasure knwoing you are getting something that is a considerable step-up than the entry level units and this is on top of better sound.

I'd be looking at used amps from Sugden A28, A48B and if you really luck out the A21a, Audio Refinement "Complete" or YBA Integre DT,Arcam Delta 290 integrated. You could look for amps from Roksan, Creek Audio etc.

Amplifiers are about as safe a second hand buy as you can get.

[zincalloy77]

I totally agree, if you are prepared to buy second hand, (with a good audition) then some far nice equipment is on offer

[nightflier]

Is a sale on the cambridge 540 for 275 a good deal? Not sure what they go for right now. It seems the overall opinion is that this and the NAD 320 BEE are comparable? I would be interested to know if one of the other has major flaws, or at this price range is it just nit picking. Thanks for all help.

My vote goes to the NAD. I've auditioned both in my home and I have to say that the NAD has deeper bass and more authority. Also doesn't have a problem driving 4 ohm speakers. The two things that bothered me most about the NAD are cosmetic:

- ridiculoously laid out remote: can never tell which way is up & it has more buttons than are needed (to control other NAD components).
- It looks like somebody smeared poop all over it instead of using paint. It won't match black or silver components, but if you have all NAD gear, I suppose it matches.

On the other hand, I was willing to overlook these issues because of the sound and several features that were important to me: 12v trigger (to power external devices), spartan front layout (great WAF), better sounding headphone amp, plenty of inputs (including video & Tape2), smoother volume control, and preamp outputs (it can do double duty as a very decent preamp).

Other components you should definitely consider: HK3480 (also ugly but so good that I bought one) and the Outlaw RR2150 (which I intend to audition as soon as it comes out). Both of these are receivers, but they have a ton of useful features.

[topspeed]

- It looks like somebody smeared poop all over it instead of using paint.

LOL!!! Now there's a visual for ya!

Oh man, you just made my day...

[funnyhat]

Thanks for all the tips, one more question, once I am set up with the integrated amp and cd player, what are my best options for cables (types and/or brands)? I don't know much about this, any ideas are great!

[emorphien]

hey, my NADs resemble the fact that they look like poo was smeared on them

[topspeed]

Thanks for all the tips, one more question, once I am set up with the integrated amp and cd player, what are my best options for cables (types and/or brands)? I don't know much about this, any ideas are great!

Anything better than the supplied cables will be fine. You're likely to have an extremely short run for the IC's so I'd think a .5m pair will be fine. As for brands, start with the cheapest brand you can find, such as AR from RatShack and then compare them to a pair of boutique brands IC's (AQ, Monster, Valhalla, HarmonicTech, etc.) and see if you can hear the difference. Go with what you think sounds best.