Help GUTB Get a Consumer Amp

[GUTB]

Okay guys.

 

Help me get a consumer-grade integrated amp that can compete with high-end sound. All my preconceptions and biases are out the window. Class D. Vintage. Super cheap. All amps are welcome. There are no price limitation except that it must be in the general consumer product price range. No boutique gear. No gear that can only be heard in dealers and audio shows. Consumer brands only (NAD, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc and so on).

 

I will seriously evaluate the amp in my system, and directly compare it against my Linnenberg Allegros. 

[GUTB]

Okay. I ordered a used Onkyo A-9010 because it was inexpensive. I also ordered a Crown XLS25002 off Amazon due to a strong recommendation from a member who PM’d me.

 

Keep them coming guys.

[GUTB]

1 hour ago, Panelhead said:

  Too get the most from the Crown use balanced inputs, max the gain, and use the Neutrik output connectors. 

  I have a 1500 and 2000. The single ended inputs picked up hum. The 5 way binding posts are way cheap.

  The sonics are fine if connected correctly. I am not using them, but they sounded fine. 

 

Is there a way to connect regular speaker binding posts to a SpeakON amp connection?

[GUTB]

Another consideration is the source. I have a heavily specialized audio PC running Roon and HQPlayer running DSD512 through a Cyan DSD DAC — a chain which costs much more than the equipment I’ll be trying out.

[GUTB]

17 minutes ago, psjug said:

@GUTBNAD C355BEE on ebay, bidding is at about $160 with 1 hr left.  This is an 80WPC amplifier so a step up from the Onkyo in terms of power.

 

Thanks. I'll see if I can snipe it.

[GUTB]

7 minutes ago, Thuaveta said:

 

RasPi + HifiBerry Pro + an iFi wall-wart should essentially get you the ready-to wear version of the cheaper Bryston streamer.

 

You'd probably want to run RoPieee on it, since it's the simplest Roon endpoint to install AFAICT. If you're comfortable editing files, you can go all tweak-tastic, try Archimago's CRAAP settings. You might also want to lower the volume 3 or 4 db in Roon's headroom management to get rid of potential intersample issues.

 

If you want to stick to the spirit of the experiment, you could try one of HifiBerry's dac boards, or splurge and try the allo option that can be powered externally. Going all-out and getting both a dac board and a spdif board would, of course, allow you to figure out how much of a difference your DAC makes when fronting that gear the proles use.

 

Very interesting...these are things I had no idea existed. Maybe I should go for it? The cost is next to nothing...

[GUTB]

Well I "won" the bid on the C355BEE but unfortunately the reserve price wasn't met...why do people waste time with this? Why not just set a minimum bid?

[GUTB]

The Crown is in.

 

[GUTB]

First day with the Crown was uneventful. Plugging it into my Furutech GTX-D NCF(r) outlet using one of my Audio Sensibility Testament power cables. No serious listening was done, but first impression is that soundstage is flattened, imaging is less distinct (may be in my head), female voices are off and resolution is poor. Some of my LPs are almost unlistenable. Oh well, looks like it’ll need break-in.

 

I’ve read that class D amps can take upwards of 800 hours to settle in. When I was trying out the D-Sonic (latest Pascal module, custom input stage) I noticed it can go from garbage to decent one day to the next. Hopefully the Crown will be able to show me it’s true performance soon.

 

The Onkyo coming in is used so hopefully it’s already fully run in. Since the Onkyo is an integrated and single-ended I can run it while letting the Crown burn in at the same time.

[GUTB]

I must be going senile....early onset dementia or something. I thought I had bought a used Onkyo but I had actually ordered a used NAD 316BEE. It has a thin little built-in power cord...oh boy...can’t believe I’m plugging something like this into my system...no, that’s not right, biases gone...

[GUTB]

Okay guys. A few albums for your consideration:

 

 

Available on Tidal. Refer to the track "Nobil onda". What does her voice sound like? During her peaks would you describe it as piercing, sibilant, smooth, metallic, or other? Does it seem recessed or forward? At the end of each track you should be able to hear a metronome-like "tick-tick-tick" — how audible is that sound?

 

 

Available on Tidal. This is a Sheffield Lab LP that I own and is the better version, however the 44.1 version on Tidal is decent. Would you describe Larry McNeeley’s vocals as nasal and/or metallic?

 

One of my reference albums. Refer to Pops Hoedown. Do you get a sense of the stage during the first part? Do any of the loud dynamics during the ring-around-posey and following section have a startling force to them?