Amber Audio

Nay9 · « **on:** 5 Jul 2005, 06:27 pm »

HI,

Is anyone familiar with Amber Audio products?

I'm shopping for a line-stage Preamp and have narrowed it down to two choices.

Amber 12AU - Valve line stage

Consonance T1

While there is quite a lot of information on the Consonance.

The Amber has very little and even with emailing the Aust dealer for Amber I’m still undecided.

jeffreybehr · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Jul 2005, 12:34 am »

Hmm...hadn't heard or seen that Amber was among the living again. I had am Amber 70 poweramp in the '80s when Amber made fine-sounding entry-level high-end stuff.

I now see it's a British brand. Not much of a website.

NealH · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Jul 2005, 01:03 am »

Nice shots in your album jeffreybehr. What equipment are you using?

stvnharr · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Jul 2005, 02:16 am »

Nay,
The Amber stuff is made in Melbourne at Audiophile in North Fitzroy.
If you are able to visit the shop, Nik and Angelo will happily take care of your needs. You can visit the website www.audiophile.com.au, but an instore visit is best.
BTW, if you are able to go the diy route, the Aksa GK-1 is a top performer. Actually, come to think of it, Hugh is now selling the full boat GK-1, known as the Swift, but it's a bit more than Nik's preamp.
Hope this helps.

Steve

no capes · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Jul 2005, 10:03 am »

I can back up stvnharr about where to get Amber gear. I bought some stuff from Audiophile in the early 90s. At the time, I was saw them making the Amber 50B integrated. Amber gear seemed like good value at the time, but that was a long time ago. Since then, I decided to try diy because everything that sounded good was just too expensive. Although good diy gear is not cheap, it is much more satisfying. Good luck in your search and try not to get confused. My advice is to just try some stuff.

Cheers

DTB300 · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Jul 2005, 01:43 pm »

The Amber stuff some people are talking about here (Series 70 - I still own 4 of these amps) was made/sold out of Charlottesville, VA. I believe the Amber discussed here is completely different unless the original designers packed up and moved down under....

Dan

stvnharr · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Jul 2005, 01:55 am »

Well, there could be 2 Amber's, but the current offerings from Nik do supercede the older 70's stuff. I don't really know of Nik's connections either. However, I do know that the current lineup is constructed in "the lab" in the back of the shop in North Fitzroy on North Brunswick Street. And Nik and Angelo are most gracious audio proprietors.

Steve

Nay9 · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Jul 2005, 08:48 am »

Thanks for the reply guys.

I'm still not sure which way to go and possibly a third contender has entered.

The IRD Purist Preamp its solid state but according to many reviews it has clear smooth sound, I have the IRD Monobloc power amps so maybe the Purist is a good match.

But while I’m still saving and trying to convince the wife to letting me spend $1000+ on my hobby, I’m going down the DIY path for now and have found what I think is a decent unit. (Link below)

http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/index.php?cPath=_23&osCsid=9bc57d81f9f0b164caf852569e05cdfd

Rocket · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Jul 2005, 09:37 am »

Hi,

You may also want to check out hagtech which has a manufacturer's circle here on audiocircle.

Btw what amplifiers have you compared the ird monoblocks to? How much did it cost for shipping and taxes to australia?

I'm sure the ird preamp would be a good match for your amplifier.

Regards

Rod

Nay9 · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Jul 2005, 09:56 am »

The shipping for the IRD MB-100s were USD$85 and the taxes were AUD$127, I got the taxes a little cheaper as the price on the MB-100s was marked down on the paperwork to USD$300 instead of USD$538, so all in all it cost me just over AUD$900.

I’ve compared them to a few of my friends amps> Consonance C1, NAD C352, Rotel RB 1070 and Redgum RGi60.

For what its worth I favor the sound of the MB-100s, clear extended without any harshness, the Consonance C1 comes in second.

Oh and did I mention the MB-100s are extremely well built.

freo · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jul 2005, 02:03 am »

Bottlehead Foreplay
This is a great diy valve linestage for about $350.00 american. I have built ver 2 which I really like ver 3 is the current model and is getting great reveiws. Have a look at bottlehead site great people to deal with
Regards Roger

navi · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Jul 2005, 02:14 pm »

freo
I know someone who build a bottlehead pwr amp- it's pretty good- and cheap!

The preamp was not bad as well- but there was a lot of background noise

To everyone else.

I Don't think the guys at Audiophile build amber amps but they service them. but thats the place to get it if you want one....I don't know anywhere else you can get one.