Decent 2nd hand integrated

I'm going to sell my Quad II's and Croft preamp in favour of an integrated amp - to make life easier for my girlfriend who can't be arsed with multiple knobs & switches etc (the dual-everything Croft is especially unpopular).

So, I'm looking at 2nd hand integrated amps that I haven't previously experienced..... I was reading around and Copland and Primare are two names that seem to attract favourable noises. I don't know what they go for 2nd hand but I'll have about £400-£450 to spend.

Any comments?

 

Why not just go for an easier-to-use preamp? Once it's in circuit it's no more difficult than an integrated and you could keep your Quads.

I'm sure that our own bottleneck would be able to advise - something from China perhaps?

 

I have just the thing a late version Audiolab 8000Q pre amp....should compliment the quads nicely ....?

 

I see your point, but part of the problem is that the Quads have to be turned off at the plug as they don't have their own on/off switch...and they're hidden away out of sight so remembering to turn them off seems to be a problem (sigh...). I think the easiest solution is a return to an integrated....

I must also admit that now that I've agreed to change the Quads & Croft, I'm kind of looking forward to buying something new! I don't mind it it's valve, solid state or hybrid, as long as it's one box.

 

something with a generous mid-band to compliment your Tannoys would fit the bill

a few ideas..

a second hand unison research unico
a new valve amp from edenlake http://www.edenlake.com/
an amp from cattylink www.cattylink.co.uk (how about the vincent integrated tube/mosfet amp?) -bear in mind Thorstens comments about making sure you get a 240v transformer.
Cloth Ears valve amp - http://zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9533&highlight=affordable+valve+company


Basically I would stick to something valve, mosfet or mosfet + valve to give you a generous midband which Tannoy DC's thrive on IMO.

Out of the above, I'd probably plump for Cloth Ears amp. I wouldnt be worried about the fact that Lim Valve wont bias it in the future, any valve tech worth his salt can do it easily.

Chris

 

Thanks for that suggestion Bottleneck.
I'm going to ask Icon Audio if they will handle it. Someone here or in another place suggested that to me but I keep forgetting to phone. I am always careful to warn a potential buyer of the hassle as it stands. I've already had a "I'll buy it " that I undid by double checking that he understood. What a lovely halo I've got.

La Toillette- If you and your girlfriend are already used to a valve amp warm up period then maybe my amp is an option. As far as power goes, its rated nominally 20 wpc but you know yourself its "more" with these valve amps and as Lim likes to point out: It have great big transformers and see, it have massive huge transformers !

Solid state alternatives: How about the Sugden A21 ? Its a bargain new at around a grand but there are always second hand ones popping up. Simple as anything and a good deal of valve attributes too.

If warm up period, servicing and ultimate power are concerns to you, I think your mention of Primare and Copland is sensible. They also look so smart. Consider too with Primare you can get a version of the preamp with top quality a/v processing on board ( switchable out ) to be combined with a 5 channel power amp. That would get you sorted for home cinema without sacrificing music sound. Just a thought.

Sources of 2nd hand hifi : Hifi World magazine seems to have lots of dealer ads for used equipment and the classifieds seem to feature a lot of these sort of amps; valves , Copland, etc. There is hififorsale.com and obviously Ebay. Google searches bring up many UK used hifi trade sellers.

 

cloth ears - its a much smaller deal than you're making it I think.

You just need any decent valve tech.. ask in a guitar shop, most valve techs do valve guitar amps more than hifi because of demand.

Biasing an amp is about as difficult as tying shoe laces to someone who knows what they are doing.

If you say what town you are in I might know someone... or someone else might.

Cheers
chris

 

This will probably make you laugh, but I've previously had an original Sugden A21, a contemporary A21a and also the KT88 triode connected 'Lim Signature' version of your amp (i.e. the next model down)! I have to admit that the AVC amp is probably the best amp I've ever had, but I fell foul of the Lim attitude to 2nd hand owners and it kind of spoilt it all for me so I moved on. The Sugden A21a I really loved and I only parted with it to but the AVC amp, which I slightly preferred!

Still, I have regrets about parting with both the above, and will give serious thought to your amp as I disposed of mine a bit hastily. I guess I may have a slight lean towards buying somethng that I haven't previously owned, but at the same time I wouldn't object to buying something that I at least know is great to listen to.

I'll check out some of the links and small-ads that have been suggested and muse on it a bit, as I'm not in a desperate rush.......

 

Yes ,laugh indeedy and here it is :

Its a small world.

At least I have your taste understood.

I'm going to phone Icon Audio and a few others. I'll PM you with the feedback.

If you are thinking of this amp, consider its only a little more than a third of new price at under two years old, plus new valves at £160 whenever you need them, a year, two years or three years from now. I'm happy to get that money just to move on, as I've already committed to Exposure for both music and av amplification.

 

Minor update in case anyone is interested......

I decided to plump for something I hadn't tried already, and bought a Copland CTA401 valve integrated off ebay. I paid £440 for it, I have no idea if that's a good price or not but the new version (CTA405) costs £2300-ish, and so it seems pretty reasonable, it's certainly built very well!

Anyway, first impressions are very good - good clarity and bass control, haven't tried the phono stage yet cos I have to rearrange all my gear as this amp is so big!

So far so good!