Hello: Intro + Looking for integrated.... (long)

[J.D.]

Hello all, new to these boards...


I can feel this is going to be a long post so please bear with me.

It was right around the turn of the century (whoa, sounds deep!) when the audio bug first bit me. That first go-round had me looking at mid-fi stuff like NAD, Rotel, Adcom, etc. I thought I had it nailed and had picked up a NAD C340 from a local dealer; got it home and it was great (aside from the remote). With this integrated, I was hearing things in the music that I never knew were there (I've read a bit of descriptive audio jargon but I don't know if I'm quite good enough to explain with yet; words like "boomy" "bloom" and "sweet"). Anyway, long story short, even though I loved the amp, I bailed immediately because I was on a limited budget, and I was worried about the home theater capabilities of my new integrated. Made a mistake and returned the NAD. I ended up with a Yamaha HTR-5240 receiver, which I don't regret buying, just wish I'd kept the NAD as well.

I knew I'd always get back to the hobby, and honestly, in some ways I feel like I never left. After all, even if I wasn't obsessing over gear all of those years, I was still doing the most important thing; listening to music.

I suppose a lot has changed since then, or has it stayed the same? Sure I've got an iPod and enough mp3s to start my own record store, but I still have all my CDs, as well as all of my vinyl. They've been sitting there waiting. And lately I've been wondering where to start.

My first question was what equipment I would need. Right now I'm in a small condo with my wife, but we will be looking at a house in <1 year. At that time I'll set up a home theater with my Yamaha at the heart of it. But I envision a second two-channel system that I can pore over my collection with, somewhere in another room.

I'm not a crank-it-loud guy, especially in the condo. Although my collection is probably 80% rock/pop, 10% jazz/blues, 5% hip-hop, 5% other. I'm more about tonal quality. My taste in rock is all over the place: Classic, Indie, Goth, Post-Punk, Emo, Pop, Shoegaze, Hardcore, etc. Even like the Dead. Almost all my jazz/blues stuff is on vinyl. I'd say I have maybe fifty or so jazz records and about 20 blues records, plus those 2 combined in rock records. It's a modest collection, but it counts artists like Coltrane, Parker, Davis, Armstrong, Holliday, Fitzgerald, Basie, Hawkins, Rollins, Leadbelly, and Johnson among them.

Just for the record, I have a Technics turntable that I've had for years (not the ubiquitous 1200, just one from some 80s rack system). Also use a run-of-the-mill Sony 5-Disc for cd playback (for now). I run everything through a pair of Polk monitor series (M-1?) bookshelf speakers that I've had since 1993. Also listen quite often through my AKG K-140s. The disc player will be upgraded eventually, but just want to focus on the amp right now.

Note: Hopefully you're not rolling your eyes at this point as I tell my audio life story. I just think it's better to give details so I'm not just asking the typical newb question of: Hi, new to the boards, what kind of stereo should I get?

Anyway, now I'm in kind of a quandary. And I'm obsessive. Bad combo, but sure some of you can relate.

My first instinct was to pick up a used NAD integrated for around $150 or so (been looking at the 3225pe and the 3240pe to give an idea). I think I'm okay with that, except that I've never listened to any of these amps. I know NAD's reputation, and I know I liked my C340 which I had briefly, but that's all I know. The 3240 is an amp from the 80's, I believe. Some concerns I have here are about the quality of an amp that old, even one that's been well taken care of. Also, was it the technological advances since then that made the C340 sound so sweet to me, or was it just the solid NAD engineering that would exist in any amp made by them? And what about the lack of a tone-defeat button; isn't that a good thing to have?

The other option is to just pick up the C340 again. That way I know I will like it. I think I would have done this already except for lack of a phono stage. (I know you're sitting there thinking "so he can listen to his huge collection of vinyl with". But it's important to me, and I think I'd keep buying records if I had a decent amp to listen through.) So I could pick up a PP2 as well, I suppose, although then the set-up starts getting pricier. And then I saw that the 325BEE has a 3.5mm jack for Mp3 players, which made me wonder if that would be nice to have. Can my mp3s sound as good as my cds? Or even if they don't now, won't they, eventually? Why even buy an integrated at all if everything is moving towards mp3 anyway? And what about separates?

You can see how this is driving me a little ...

SO, hope I haven't turned you off to my posts forever, but there it is. Sure I'm not the first, won't be the last in this predicament. Then again, if I wasn't so concerned I'd just go to Best Buy, and where's the fun in that?

Thanks for your help,

Jason

[O'Shag]

Jason, Hi there. What is your budget overall?

[J.D.]

Jason, Hi there. What is your budget overall?

I would say around $300 US.

[Feanor]

Hello all, new to these boards...
...
It was right around the turn of the century (whoa, sounds deep!) when the audio bug first bit me. That first go-round had me looking at mid-fi stuff like NAD, Rotel, Adcom, etc. I thought I had it nailed and had picked up a NAD C340 from a local dealer; got it home and it was great (aside from the remote). With this integrated, I was hearing things in the music that I never knew were there (I've read a bit of descriptive audio jargon but I don't know if I'm quite good enough to explain with yet; words like "boomy" "bloom" and "sweet"). Anyway, long story short, even though I loved the amp, I bailed immediately because I was on a limited budget, and I was worried about the home theater capabilities of my new integrated.
...
Thanks for your help,

Jason

That is, nobody knows better than me about being on the a budget, nevertheless you mention of NAD, Rotel, Adcom, etc., as "mid-fi" is valid as far as I'm concerned -- based on the NAD and the Adcom I owned. The biggest deficiency is lack of really good resolution; in the case of the NAD C270 I owned, the bass was also overly warm and mushy.

You will kick up the performance by going to a mid-level product. There are a number of possibilities: one that comes to mind is the PS Audio Trio C-100 integrated ...
http://www.psaudio.com/products/trio_c100.asp

Perhaps you can find a used one on Audiogon if your budget doesn't stretch to a new one. A lower cost, (a bit lower power), model that has had good reviews is the Onkyo A9555.

[JohnMichael]

I replaced my aging Rotel RA 970BX int. amp with the Cambridge Audio Azur 640A and have been very pleased with the performance. You might want to look into the 340A which is in your price range.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo...mber=CA340ABLK

[Feanor]

I would say around $300 US.

J.D., like I said, I'm budget constrained myself. But the fact is you don't get a lot for $300. I suggest you save up 'till you can afford at least twice that much.

But if you're in a hurry, a couple of options that are at least as good as a low-end NAD or Cambridge:

• Panasonic SA-XR57, an AV receiver but works well for stereo too ... http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...00000000005702
• Vintage, ('70s or '80s) integrated -- these have the advantage of built-in phono preamps: look for a 60-100 wpc model. These can be had for $100-150.

[basite]

yeah, when you're low on budget vintage is a really good way to go too

there are a few marantz 2245's on the bay now, with a bit of work (if there's any work at all), you'll have a receiver that outclasses alot of today's budget gear

[anamorphic96]

The NAD C325BEE would be a nice unit. Especially if you can swing 100 more. But who knows you might be able to get a dealer to come down to 360 or 375. Also look out for the NAD C320BEE and the 325BEE on audiogon.com. They appear on a regular basis.