What are the best CDP and Amp for me?

I was thinking of getting something like a Sugden A21aI and an Arcam 82t. I have Wharfedale 9.3's, and I am looking to spend about 1500 dollars on the two components. This takes into account used prices. About the Sugden, how much better is the A21 then the A28? How much does the a21 go for used generally? What other amps or cd players should I look into? I saw some Sophia amps going for under 700 on audiogon, are they worth getting over a Sugden? Thanks guys.

 

my god....

please get your five fave albums and 2 or 3 that you would like to enjoy but they may sound rough on some stuff and go and listen to some gear.
hi fi gear is not gonna run out by the end of the week and your ears are better than anyone else's when it comes to your money being spent be confident and buy gear that
1' you would like to listen too allnight and

2' you like owning .
it aint rocket science.
be confident in your own choices.

 

yes that would be ideal wouldnt it but there is only so much i can try when im looking to buy used online what im looking for here is stuff that i should look into in my price range i just dont have acess to sugdens and sophia amps :-/ so i need to rely more on others interpretations of their sounds.

 

Well, Not having heard the Sugden amp. I shant comment other than to say it is generally well regarded. As for the CDP - I prefer the sound of Rega's CDPs to that of Arcam. The Planet is good but, if possible, try for the Jupiter. Have a read of the NOS DAC threads and also threads such as 'Lets get Digital', which is about ditching the CDP for a server, Squeezebox and DAC, as this is also a viable option in leiu of a flash CDP - certainly worked for me.

Regards,

Stuart.

 

I got a mint A21a 2nd hand recently for ~£500.

It replaced all my Cyrus amps/poweramps/powersupplies.


Very nice amp.
Gives a nice warm (vinyl-like??) sound.

Makes my LP12 sound even better.
Made my Arcam DV89 sound as good as my Cyrus CD7Q... so I sold the Cyrus.


When I bought it I emailed Sugden for some info about it... they were very nice.

 

Hiya


Are you looking for some good recommendations on 'ready made' systems from audiogon?

This is the sort of stuff I'd be looking for for that budget, given your speakers are 88db.

The amp shown is 50w p/ch and uses 6550's. That will really power the wharfedales well.

You could look for an integrated if you wanted, this is a pre and a power amp.

The CD player is silly-cheap because the company isn't around anymore. These things can be fixed by any decent technician when they're faulty IMO. I have the same brand myself and it hasn't put me off. A smooth sound if you traditionally find CD players a bit ''in your face'' (I do)

Ive come in about $1900, a little over.

I presume that you live in America?

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1117491492

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1117327870

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1119202606


The best thing about all of the above (apart from looking and sounding great) is that you could sell any part of it for what you will pay for it on audiogon if you ever upgrade. Its all priced well.

 

hey, I just noticed that cd player has a built in digital volume control.

If you went for something like that (and only have one source) you could spend twice as much on the amp, and just get a power amp - something like this...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1119269072

a real high quality high end amp that.