Newbie amp question

[dos]

My amp has pre-outs (for bi-amplification) - it's a rotel.

Q- What is bi- amping and is it worth it? I think I have an idea but am not too sure.

I'm sure there is somebody out there than can spare a couple of minutes and give me a good explanation

 

[A.N.]

bi-amping is when you use two amps to drive your speakers, ie, use 1 amp for the treble, the other for the bass.
you need speakers with 2 sets of binding posts.
altrnatively, you can buy mono amps, 1 amp to do the left channel, t'other to do the right.
can be worthwhile to biamp, can not!

 

[dos]

Thanks...that's cleared that one up then!

 

[dos]

Whilst i'm on the subject: What can you expect from a better amp (I guess power and pre is better but by how much)?

My current amp a Rotel ra-o4 is fine (has a good phono stage for my planar 3) but how much am I going to need to spend to improve considerbly on this.

Are there any relatively inexpensive recommendations second hand?

 

[A.N.]

going pre and power is not always better than integrated.
also, more expensive or newer is not always better imo.

trust your ears, not anyones reccomendations, if it sounds right to you, it is right!

 

[DavidF]

Whilst i'm on the subject: What can you expect from a better amp (I guess power and pre is better but by how much)?

My current amp a Rotel ra-o4 is fine (has a good phono stage for my planar 3) but how much am I going to need to spend to improve considerbly on this.

Are there any relatively inexpensive recommendations second hand?

An intersting question

From personal experince, as you improve the sonics you;


1) improve the sound stage........mine is now starting to give a 3 D effect.....with instruments beginning to fucus seemingly in mid air.

2) dynamics.....as you improve the frequency range, different instruments are teased apart, and (for eg) a double bass will sound quite distinct from other instruments goign on around.

3) as above but the same with the treble.....percussion can be focused and defined.


When I bust my valve amp recently I went back temporarilly to my old Mission cyrus 1. Pleasant enough but you quickly notice the difference.

How much doi you need to spend?

My dynavox cost me £200....+a few mods (cheers Pete).

 

[dos]

going pre and power is not always better than integrated.
also, more expensive or newer is not always better imo.

trust your ears, not anyones reccomendations, if it sounds right to you, it is right!

That is if course very good advice and I am increasingly doing just that - I am that there is a lot of hype and subjective opinions, expecially on hi-fi forums, but I have yet to make an expensive mistake - yet (!!).

However, since I got sucked into this great way of wasting time and spending money (to quote my wife) I formulated enough of an opinion to get hold of the amp (good) and a planar 3 (ace!) to which I added a dynavector 10x5 - this blew me away until the wow got to me so i added the motor upgrade (even better!) I also picked up a pair of Mk1 Rega ela's (sound wicked) - good so far.

But, and this is the but - I have never really been happy with the cd player (rotel) which to my mind is a poor relation to the turntable (some would say I've been spoilt buy the tt - indeed I was happy with my 'revealing' cd player until I started listening to vinyl to which 'revealing' turned into 'harsh and bright' and ultimately tiring). A recent dac purchase has improved things slightly but I am now after a way of improving cd playback so that it's more listenable without re-mortgaging the house. I've been and listened to some cd players, i.e. naim, cyrus, rega - but none really grabbed me and I left feeling that I would have to spend over £1000 on a cdp to even approach what I wanted (not possible until the kids leave home in 16 yrs time).

This prompted the amp question! With a decent transport will a better amp improve things a lot or a little and how?

p.s. we have no t.v. so sitting in front of the hifi staring at the wall makes up a high (and important) proportion of our leisure time - call us old fashioned I guess

 

[A.N.]

dos, a more revealing amp will improve everything on your front end, be it either the tt or cd. imo, a component that can do everything 100% right doesnt exist, you can buy something that has a superb midrange, excellent highs, great midbass but the lowend might be soft and slightly mushy, or buy something with superb deep, fast and controlled bass, excellent mid and mid bass, but the top a bit laid back, lacking air and a slight bit of detail. doesnt mean that the components are crap, far from it, but you cant have everything 100%, thats where system synergy comes in, you need components to work with each other.

if you want something to match your rega in sound stakes, then demo some players, the older meridian gear has that certain analogue quality (imo) that some cd players lack. looking at your systems speakers and front end, then i'd be inclined to go for these:-

icon audio stereo 40i integrated
meridian 206b cd player

the meridian will give that sound your looking for to easily match if not better your rega deck, and the amp will work wonders with your speakers, put as a whole as a system it will sound far superior than the sum of its parts will cost and you will have all the detail, mid range clarity and a nice, tuneful bass one could ever want.
flog you amp, dac and cd player and take a punt, i guarantee you will love it!

edited to add, just thought if you do change your amp, you'll need a phonostage, the cambidge audio 640p spannered along side will complete your set up, or alternatively, at around £160 s/h, a trichord dino will be superb!

 

[dos]

icon audio stereo 40i integrated
meridian 206b cd player

Thanks A.N.
I've been thinking about a meridian 206 for a while so I may well take your advice and flog the cdp and dac.
As for the icon amp a decent valve amp is well worth investigating when funds allow! You reckon this is a good place to start?

 

[Jimbo]

An intersting question

From personal experince, as you improve the sonics you;


1) improve the sound stage........mine is now starting to give a 3 D effect.....with instruments beginning to fucus seemingly in mid air.

2) dynamics.....as you improve the frequency range, different instruments are teased apart, and (for eg) a double bass will sound quite distinct from other instruments goign on around.

3) as above but the same with the treble.....percussion can be focused and defined.


When I bust my valve amp recently I went back temporarilly to my old Mission cyrus 1. Pleasant enough but you quickly notice the difference.

How much doi you need to spend?

My dynavox cost me £200....+a few mods (cheers Pete).

You know David thats exactly my assumption. Spot on, as the music becomes clearer so the soundstage grows and depth is added to the music, bass instruments and drums begin to hang in the air as other things also. Partly due to Pete as you say turning my system from a mushy mess to a very listenable experience. (seconded cheers Pete).

 

[A.N.]

Thanks A.N.
I've been thinking about a meridian 206 for a while so I may well take your advice and flog the cdp and dac.
As for the icon amp a decent valve amp is well worth investigating when funds allow! You reckon this is a good place to start?

the icon is a superb amp, has all the sweetness of valves, great build and back up service, great drive from the el34's, has a toob cage to protect little ones from burning their little digits, soundstage depth and detail is spot on. you can get a s/h one for as little as £350-£400. one caveat of (most) toob amps is the bass isnt as deep as solid state (transistor) amps, but with a nice clean open and detailed mid, who really cares? it'll drive your regas superbly! (i know, i had an icon and tried it with royd apex(v similar to ela's) with a meridian 206b and for the money it cost s/h (all in at £590) there was nothing, and i mean nothing to touch it at anywher near treble the price!
beautiful sounding (and looking) system.

i'll dig out a pic of the icon with the meridian and add it!
hang on a tik...............

 

[A.N.]

it was a 200transport (still have it) and a 203 dac, but imo, your best going for the 206b, cheaper than a 2 box transport/dac, but sounds (imo) identical! the icon was an mc34a, earlier version to the stereo 40i, but without the triode/ultralinear switching, sounded the same to me as the 40i.

 

[dos]

Thanks for the help. Anybody want a rotel rcd-02 and a beresford mk6 dac?