I think my brain is going to explode

DaveC113 · « **Reply #40 on:** 23 Mar 2016, 11:12 pm »

I have both Crown and Odyssey amps, both are about the best you'll get for the price imo. No, the Crown isn't as refined as the Odyssey, but it is much less expensive and might be better for subwoofers or very hard to drive speakers. I'd consider a decent tube preamp + Crown and upgrade to an Odyssey when you get more $.

konut · « **Reply #41 on:** 23 Mar 2016, 11:29 pm »

Quote from: DaveC113 on 23 Mar 2016, 11:12 pm

I have both Crown and Odyssey amps, both are about the best you'll get for the price imo. No, the Crown isn't as refined as the Odyssey, but it is much less expensive and might be better for subwoofers or very hard to drive speakers. I'd consider a decent tube preamp + Crown and upgrade to an Odyssey when you get more $.

+1

Just curious, what is your bass guitar setup?

Firejedi · « **Reply #42 on:** 23 Mar 2016, 11:41 pm »

I have a Carvin 4 string active bass that I built from a kit. My amp is a Carvin MicroBass 210.

Rocket · « **Reply #43 on:** 23 Mar 2016, 11:48 pm »

Hi,

I'd keep the speakers at this stage as your budget is pretty tight. Your speakers are fairly inefficient and you need quality watts to
drive them. The Dayens Menuetto comes in at just under your budget. So you might want to give them a try. Also a decent Dac you really add value to your system.

http://www.dayens.rs/eng_menuetto.html

Cheers Rod

DaveC113 · « **Reply #44 on:** 23 Mar 2016, 11:51 pm »

Nice, I have a Carvin 18" bass cab + dual channel amp with built in crossover and an Epifany 2x10" + horn tweeter cab. I like it and got it all second hand at reasonable prices. Bass is a Heartfield 6 string...

Firejedi · « **Reply #45 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 12:15 am »

I just spoke to Klaus at Odyssey. He gave me some options, so I am going to give it some consideration and check the WAF. If I keep my SF's, I can put the money in to the amp. After that, I can save if I decide I want new speakers in the future. Now to research a suitable DAC.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #46 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 12:21 am »

Quote from: Firejedi on 24 Mar 2016, 12:15 am

I just spoke to Klaus at Odyssey. He gave me some options, so I am going to give it some consideration and check the WAF. If I keep my SF's, I can put the money in to the amp. After that, I can save if I decide I want new speakers in the future. Now to research a suitable DAC.

Nice! I'd consider waiting on the DAC as a new ESS chip is out. We might see the price/performance ratio of DACs improve a good bit by the end of the year... If you need something now I'd consider an ifi micro/nano.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #47 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 02:56 am »

You have some very nice speakers. I would not skimp on an amp and would get something better than the crown can offer.

lcrim · « **Reply #48 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 02:59 am »

I had the Sonus Faber Concertinos for a few years and thought they were pretty good. They looked cool and tasteful and they were Sonus Fabers after all.
I eventually gave them to my now former girlfriend . She was delighted and I felt like a generous dude. Then I could get a decent system.

Larry

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #49 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 03:05 am »

You may be best served right now to get a good dac and and use a program like Bug Head to play your music from a computer. A good source and program can transform a system even with an average amp, preamp or receiver.

Another option for an all in one integrated and DAC besides Peachtree is this Nuprime IDA8

http://www.nuprimeaudio.com/index.php/products/amplifiers-and-preamps/integrated-amps/ida-8.html

vonnie123 · « **Reply #50 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 04:19 am »

https://wyred4sound.com/products/integrated-amps/mint

Something like may be a thought. I have several W4S components. DAC, Integrated amp, and multichannel amp. My system has a bit more power than the above linked integrated, but 100 WPC is a fair amount of power.

Wyred4Sound has a nice trial purchase program as well.

asliarun · « **Reply #51 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 03:42 pm »

Consider getting a Marantz NR1605. Accessories4Less is selling it for $320, which is a huge bargain in itself. I have the NR1403 (bought it based on CnC circle's recommendation) and it is a really good receiver. The really nice thing about the Marantz slimline of AVRs is that it gives the best of many worlds
- it is the slimmest of all AVRs by far
- is a fairly capable AVR which means that you can hook up multiple inputs and multiple audio and video sources and switch between them and do volume control from a remote. This alone is huge from WAF point of view. The spouse can use a remote to do everything instead of switching on/switching off various components, walk up to the preamp to control volume, etc.
- most importantly, it has stereo preouts - which allows you to treat this as a stereo preamp. Feed the preouts to a $300 power amp like the ones suggested in this thread (my favorite would be Dayens but only because my Marantz is hooked up to Dayens)
- has a fairly decent DAC. It also has MDAX which does a decent job of processing low bitrate audio and makes it sound much better. Of course, you can skip all processing and just hear it pure too
- has decent Audussey room equalization. This thing really works well, especially when one is constrained in terms of speaker positioning, space, sitting position etc.
- this model also has inbuilt support for bluetooth and also has a USB port so I guess you can hook up your hard drive or pen drive or iPod into it and directly listen to music

I would also highly recommend getting a $35 Chromecast Audio. This thing is phenomenal value for money. You can hook it up to one of your AVR's inputs, and stream music directly from your phone or computer to your system (Pandora, Spotify, or most other apps that now support Chromecast, or even from a browser window). And it is a one click thing. Chromecast Audio also has analog out and digital out, supports high res audio, and audio quality is very very good (unlike the older Chromecast - I have both).

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marnr1605/marantz-nr1605-7.1-slim-a/v-receiver-wi-fi/bluetooth/airplay/1.html#!specifications

Firejedi · « **Reply #52 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 03:56 pm »

ASLIARUN

I like that suggestion. Im finding it hard to commit to the Odyssey amp because of the price. If I went with the Marantz, it would solve the problem of a pre-amp and DAC that I would need.

This is all so confusing sometimes. Part of me wants to spend the money on the amp, part of me wants to pick up the used Bri nearby and save mo new in case I want new speakers.

Thanks for your input. Everyone here is extremely helpful.

asliarun · « **Reply #53 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 04:14 pm »

Firejedi, you can also just start with the Marantz and see if it has enough amplification grunt to drive your speakers. I did that too, but upgraditis took over eventually, and I felt I could do better with a separate power amp. Again, this is very speaker specific, but in my case, I also saw significant improvement in sound quality when I added a power amp.

Another interesting thing to note is that power amps can often be had for a bargain in the used market. For some reason, their price seems to drop more steeply than integrated amps, which is strange because they are often better built (power supply etc.) than integrateds.

Cheers,
Arun

Firejedi · « **Reply #54 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 04:18 pm »

I actually just had the same thought about starting with it while I find my way with amps. I've been looking at used, but I am still trying to understand what will work well with my SF Concertinos.

This Marantz unit seems to cover all my bases as for as a pre-amp should I decide to go for the amp.

I'm researching the Marantz now. Thanks.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #55 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 07:50 pm »

I think that you will be doing your speakers (and your ears) a disservice by using an AVR. Not that the Marantz AVR will sound bad. But there are better options.

Onkyo Ingtegra are good products. Your Onkyo can be used as a preamp. It would be a lateral move to go with a Marantz AVR. You should consider one of the Marantz 2 channel amps or buying a separate power amp and use the Onkyo as a preamp.

That Nuprime that I mentioned (IDA-8) is an all in one Integrated amp and DAC. It has good reviews, good power and is just a shade under $1K.

Nuprime also makes separate power amps. The STA-9 is 120wpc and is $649.

http://www.nuprimeaudio.com/index.php/products/amplifiers-and-preamps/stereo-amps/sta-9.html

srb · « **Reply #56 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 07:57 pm »

Quote from: I.Greyhound Fan on 24 Mar 2016, 07:50 pm

That Nuprime that I mentioned (IDA-8) is an all in one Integrated amp and DAC. It has good reviews, good power and is just a shade under $1K.

If you were to decide on a NuPrime IDA-8 and want to use your turntable with an external phono preamp, just be aware that its sole analog input does undergo analog > digital > analog conversion (ADC to DAC).

Steve

Firejedi · « **Reply #57 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 08:51 pm »

I have heard that I can use my Integra as a pre-amp. However, due to the fact that part of it was rendered inoperable after a power surge, and the fact that it feels gets really hot when it is being used, I decided to remove it from the equation.

Therefore, I will need to find something to take the pre-amp role should I decide to get a dedicated amp like the Odyssey. The benefit of the Marantz is that it also has a DAC which is something else I'm looking for.

I will probably seek help with the DAC in a different circle that may be more suited to that discussion. I have a lot of things waiting to be researched in that area.

Thanks for your input.

JLM · « **Reply #58 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 10:27 pm »

Important to match sound quality of associated gear to your speakers. In fact some under buy speakers (by over buying associated gear) to hide warts in the rest of the gear. It could quickly become torturous to buy crummy DAC, preamp, and/or power amp and then be stuck hearing the short comings.

System synergy is another aspect to consider. Most are electrically compatible (on paper) but a warm sounding amp coupled with warm sounding speakers may be too much. Same with thin sounding amp working against warm speakers. The examples can go on and on. Best to shop for well respected, well built gear by guys who have a track record of knowing what they're doing.

A good sound quality DAC match for your speakers would be Schiit BiFrost ($399) or BiFrost Multi-Bit ($599). Schiit is run by old timers that know their stuff, is American made, and most importantly upgradable. But note that while most of their headphone amps can also be used as a preamp, that's not their intended purpose and after a bunch of research I wouldn't recommend them primarily for that purpose.

Odyssey fits that bill quite nicely too. Compact Marantz A/V receivers - not so much.

Rogue also fits the bill. American made and solid. The Sphinx is their cheapest integrated: tube preamp section and class D power section, $1300 without remote. It should make for a very tasty mating to the Concertinos.

The NuPrime IDA-8 fits into scheme, is attractively priced compared to your speakers, high value, compact size, has a warmer sound (tube like even order harmonic distortion - "richness").

Redgum (an Aussie tree) builds really good sounding, beefy integrates. New they're pricey, but keep an eye open for used. In your case I'd shoot for the RGi60ENG. I believe there was one that recently sold here at the Audio Circle Trading circle.

Firejedi · « **Reply #59 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 10:46 pm »

Thanks for the input JLM.

I guess the reason I am here is to help me sort all of this out. I really like the idea of Odyssey as I think it will be good and future proof. I could get the cyclops which is integrated, but there would still only be one input. Therefore, I would still need a pre-amp. So the trick is to find that balance of quality and price which is a real trick.

By not replacing my speakers, I can spend the money on the amp and either a DAC or pre-amp, or combo of the 2.

I think I would like to get a Schitt just so I can say that I own a piece of Schiit.

There is a Sphinx in the trading post for $900. I will research that as well as it seems that it would satisfy my needs aside form the DAC.

Thanks again JLM. I will investigate your suggestions.