Amp help required - £1,000 max

Hi - due to a change in circumstances, I've had to sell my amps and downsize . I need an amp to sit between a spacedeck and audio physic virgos in a 15' x 15' room . I have a dino+ phono stage so line only is fine . As dealers in South Wales are rare and indifferent , I'm trying to narrow it down and may have to go mail order . Dealer suggestions to date are Audio Analogue Puccine SE settante , cyrus 8 & psx-r . Did wonder about a sugden a21.
Can anyone help or advise?
Many thanks
Tony

 

Check out ebay or try www.tomtomaudio.com for used Naim - chrome bumper NAC42/NAP140 for £500?

FR

 

Soneteer Campion or Alabaster are great though I'm not sure where your nearest dealer would be.
I tried the A21 against my Alabaster and prefered the Soneteer, you may of course prefer the Sugden.

Andrew

 

my last amp was the Puccini SE,and I am now using the A21a.............................the Sugden wins it,midband is way out of the AA's league,not that the Puccini is a bad amp,far from it,its wonderful in fact,and you can get them for £250 now second hand,a real steal.The Virgos need power though so I highly recommend auditioning first (I ran some Audio Physic Sparks with both amps)

if you like loud,i think you might need more power for a big room

 

Thanks folks ...I have a confession that I'm an ex naimee who went to a sugden masterclass pre-power combo and regretted it for .... oohhh .....at least two seconds but I appreciate the advice . Would the a21 have enough grunt for the virgos? Or , if there's a dcent dealer in bristol/ gloucester , can someone point me in their direction?
Thanks
Tony

 

NAD S300 if you can find one.

 

The A21 can drive most speakers,its a matter of how loud you want it to go and the type of music you like.Why don't you go back to the Masterclass?

 

Most of my music is quiet / acoustic - currently playing Gorkys Zygotic Mynci - Barafundle ( perhaps the greatest album ever?). For the mo , I can't go back to the masterclass as I've had to sell it to pay the mortgage for the next 2 months as I've quit my job .
Will have a chat to those nice sugden boys on Monday though.
Thanks
Tony

 

I've heard the sugden a21 with the Virgos and its not a bad combo at all. I ran Audiophysic tempos with an A21 for quite a long time and that worked out well too. Well worth an audition. I've also heard Cyrus Smartpowers with the Audiophysic Tempos and they were no comparison at all with the Sugden, quite lifeless in fact.

 

After my general crazyness of spending way more than I should, I just picked up a Croft Vitale SC pre-amp and a Vista pre-amp, if you like valves and a softer presentation these may be well worth a listen. Great imaging and a supprising amount of drive for 30 watt power amp (almost drive my huge speakers, don't quiet to the bass of my ARC monoblocks though). My only fault is the dual volume controls (left and right are seperate) which drive me a bit nuts but croft wanted full mono including these!

You can tune valve amps by buying lots of different valves which for me is a huge bonus!

Cheers, Tim

 

You might get a used AVI Lab series for less than £1k, as I did, but they don't come on the market very often, and are usually snapped up quickly. It is very detailed, open and natural sounding, and has plenty of power to drive your Virgos. It has received rave reviews from several mags, and AVI had to delay introducing the matching CD to keep up with demand. Gloucester HiFi are dealers. I'm just a happy owner BTW, no vested interest.

 

hmmm masterclass pre power not as good as naim, please tell all, they look lovely.

Try the alesis ra500, 150 watts of studio power amp for only £180 from dig village or turnkey in london.
Its got a huge psu and grunts, not the airiest in the top, but tight, deep bass, I quite like, certainly betters some hifi amps I have had.
I have the spks on trial for only £120 and they really are a monster steal, the magnets on the bass are big, and that costs the most cash. sound fab.

 

i'd agree. i've heard sugden masterclass through big proacs a few times now and wasn't impressed. very smooth and nice but boring and a bit drab.
they look very bling though.
cheers


julian

 

check out: The Right Note.... Bristol

He may be able to help