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Building a system for a friend...Please Help

A friend of mine has decided to invest in a hi-end system. He and his wife enjoy music and feel that it is worth their investment. He recently purchased a pair of ProAc 1SC monitors and has asked me to recommend and integrated amp and cd player. The catch is that he doesn't want to spend more than 2k for both pieces and doesn't want tubes...otherwise I would have recommended a ARC CA-50. Therefore, I have been considering Musical Fidelity or Classe. Obviously he plans on purchasing used. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
jla

Showing 1 response by dekay

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,354 posts
 
For performance/sound the Magnum IA-170 integrated amp would be my first pick ($750 w/o or $850 -w- phono stage).

I found this inexpensive amp to better the older (2 years ago) Plinius/Classe/Musical Fidelity/Creek integrated amps. A nice balanced sound (just the music) with good bass/mid-bass control.

For a CD player maybe a used (as they are no longer produced) CAL Icon MkII with the HDCD/Power Boss circuits ($500, or so, in good shape)? I like the basic MkII myself (in my system), but can see why many went for the upgraded model and feel that it might work better with the Proac's.

Including taxes and shipping the pair should run around $1400 which will leave money left over for cables, stands, et cetera.

I'll admit that I prefer tubes and vinyl, but I would enjoy this combo (along with the Proac's) I think.
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