There is a Creek Evolution 50a with the Ruby 2 DAC board included for sale on usaudiomart.com(yes it's mine)priced well under your max budget..You will NOT find a more musical all in one solution..Under $1000.00 I also like the Quad Vena 2... |
At this price point you probably won’t find a big difference in sound quality. You’ll be paying for features. |
I’d add the NuPrime IDA-8 to your list. Best of luck.
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You should add the Yamaha 801 to your list. I have used one to drive B&W 685s andCM5s.
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this is the easy answer to your question that you might not enjoy hearing.
you get what you pay for.
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On the other hand, you could find a used Nuforce STA200 amp which Audio Advisor just seems to have discontinued selling (for $499 new) and use the rest to buy a nice Schitt, or other DAC of your choice. Both units combined take up about as much real estate as a single Amp.
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If it were me I'd get a separate DAC- perhaps the Topping E30 which is quite musical outside of its price range ($130.00 with shipping; I've heard it take down DACs costing $4000.00 so this is for real) and just get a decent amp. The E-30 has remote volume and recognizes most codecies, usb, toslink and SPDIF inputs. Its the size of a paperback book.
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Since you loved your old NAD, maybe the C368? My son has one and it seems solid and well thought-out. I haven't looked at the NAD stuff in a while but I just got rid of an old receiver that finally kicked the bucket ... bought in 1985. |
Northman thanks... I did think of the NAD...but the C368 has gotten some bad mixed reviews since they went to D amps. I have seen some mixed reviews. Now complete story... I had NAD c740 receiver... it only had analog inputs, sounded very good... but after 10 years the IR on the unit died so the remote no longer worked. So.. mixed reviews of the new Damps...plus failure after 10 years has shyed me away from NAD.
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YES I know... some people say "10 years is pretty good" but believe it or not... I have had amps that were 15+ years old and were still near the same. Except my decware tube amp... but that was a tube. |
I was hoping somebody on this forum would have experience with Vincent Audio products. That honestly is my 2nd choice since the
Vincent Audio SV500 has a tube pre-amp stage, and solid state power stage. Yet it still has 2 digital inputs and a remote in one nice looking box.
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Thanks Mensh, I thought about the Yammys gotta love that they build amps so robust that they can support 2 Ohm speakers. But that particular one has NO streaming services and they want you to buy an extra dongle for bluetooth... WTF Yamaha ! |
I own and can recommend the marantz pm7000n. I like it a lot. Much better (other than bigger footprint and uglier) than the Bluesound Powernode 2 it replaced.
I also use mine at work.
I haven’t heard the others on your list so couldn’t comment without speculating |
I once owned a Vincent SV 226MK integrated. It is line level, lacking phonostage and DAC and delivered 100wpc. Very smooth sounding and dynamic. I think the Vincent SV500 would be a good choice. I believe you would still need a streamer. |
I think you'd be very happy with the Cambridge and if you wanted to save real money you can get the model it replaced (CXA60) and quite possibly be just as happy, plus a little bit richer.
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i have the audiolab 6000A and I like it.
It’s a very heavy component with nicely machined metal knobs and a very basic display. The matte black finish is a nice change from the overused glossy piano black. There is zero flash here, but a lot of value. Very good specs and class AB amplification. 3 analog inputs, 2 optical, 2 coax plus a phono stage, remote trigger inputs/outputs and wireless bluetooth streaming. It has a very good ESS Sabre DAC and a mode selection switch allows it to function as just a power amp, just a preamp, or as a full integrated. amp. The remote is good with solid button feel. It can be had for around $950.
If you add the 6000cdt, you get a great sounding cd transport that makes a very nice short stack and can be operated from a single remote.
Sadly, there isn’t as much experience with it on this side of the pond, which worried me before purchase...but it sounds very good and I wasn’t disappointed.
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I own a Vincent SV500. It is my main amp in a vacation home. I run it through modified Klipsch Quartets. These are highly efficient but can be edgy. Between the mods and the Vincent the edginess disappears. I don’t recall the DAC specs but running a vintage Sony ES CD player through the integrated sounds amazing. I also stream aN RPI using Tidal. For the money you have mentioned, I would suggest the Vincent would be quite pleasing. I realize Audiogon members have a wide range of disposable income so one mans amazing is another mans Goodwill donation. For reference, most of my equipment is a decade or two old, TOL Thiel, Vandersteen, and LSA, Klipsch, Enlightened Audio, and some really Vintage TOL Mitsubishi gear. I also have two NAD Receivers T765 and possibly T743. To reiterate, I would buy my Vincent again with zero reservations. When at this home, it plays for 14 plus hours a day and does not fatigue or disappoint. |
I am in the same boat. Covid has me working from home in my office lots. Also wanted to see what I cloud do for $1000.
I have an older set of M&K S150 speakers and MX200 sub. The speakers where powered by an old Denon AVR and connected by a basic bluetooth dongle. System always had noise in it and sounded a bit muted.
I tried a few different amps and Bluetooth dongles. Ended up with:
Apple AirPort Express $60
Topping E30 DAC $110
Class D Audio CDA-250C Amp $300
DSPSpeaker Anti-Mode 8033S-II $250
Benchmark Toslink to Mini Optical Cable $50
Furman PST-8 Dig $90
iFi Audio power $50 (for the DAC)
The AirPort Express, Amp, Furman and Anti-Mode I bought used.
Tried several class AB amps and did not like them with the speakers as much as the Class D Audio amp. I listen at very low volumes during conference calls and there is no hiss at all from the Class D Audio amp.
I bought the Furman chasing down noise in a Rotel amp I was trying out. The Furman did nothing for the hiss (sound floor I guess), but swapping out the amp made a difference.
The AirPort Express is much better than Bluetooth for wireless and is an ok DAC. The Topping is a better DAC though. I use the Topping as the pre-amp and there are three digital inputs (USB, Coax, and Optical)
I have a smaller room and sub placement is not great. With the Anti-Mode in the system I was able to cross over the speaker amp at 100hz using Harrison Lab FMods for the high pass cross over.
I had fun shopping and piecing things together. Next up is the garage system :) |
I recently purchased an Audiolab 6000a for a secondary system. Hooked it up to a pair of hales transcendence 1 speakers I had around, and wow!
I was stunned about how good they sound with the Audiolab. Highly involving sound. Well worth the money, much less I like the bluetooth functionality too.
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