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Sad to say I need a new amp…

My twenty year old Mesa Tigris went up in smoke last week. It’s so thoroughly overbuilt I thought she would last forever. Lots of smoke and strong pungent odor, actually has to air the house out. I’ll call Mesa but think it’s time for a change…

The Mesa was hooked up to some Totem mites and a small REL subwoofer in my bedroom/office. So far, I’ve done some reading and have come up with some possible replacement. After my smoke out, I’m thinking solid state in the bedroom… I use a little audioengine Bluetooth receiver for my source in my office..

Exposure 2510, VanAlstine SET 120, Belles Aria and Rega Brio all sound like they would work well. Appreciate any input on these or others. Hoping to keep the cost under 2500.  I listen mostly to jazz, classical music..



 

 

wb27
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes
727 posts
 

The B&K EX-442 Sonata is a stud of an amp.  Extremely tube like.  Had one years ago, sold it & then immediately plugged in a pair of Paoli M70 (heavily moded Dyna MkIII’s) expecting to hear a big difference, and couldn’t tell the amps apart.

 

BYW, I always leave my gear running 24/7 and have never had a problem.

wb27 OP
39 posts
 

Update:  I’m in deep wait mode for the Mesa, down to just the bedroom stereo which was never great so the upgrade bug is buzzing. Always used cheap WiFi or Bluetooth devices (Audioengine bifi, b1 andIFi Zen blue) to stream from my phone.

The new Exposure amp arrived and things had to change. Added an old Electrocampaniet ECD1 DAC ($700) and I’m using the audioengine’s WiFi streaming via optical connection. Huge, lovely musical improvement. With my subwoofer removed, plenty of bass. Clearly, in my system, none of the low cost devices produced the midrange and bass of the ECD1… now I don’t leave the bedroom. This isn’t healthy lol.

last: when streaming via Bluetooth (using Zen Blue or b1) it sounded a bit like pushing the loudness button on an old stereo. Sound wasn’t nearly as pure or sweet sounding (I actually like a DAC !) as when it was streamed via WiFi…

 

bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 

Update here as well. Finally decided to purchase some very nice Belles MB200 monos to replace the old 400A.

I guess life could be worse 😁

Now the B&K 3030 will be a back-up, or find a way into my bedroom system eventually.

 

fredcdobbs's avatar
fredcdobbs
128 posts
 

Unico Primo integrated for $2500. Has a 12ax7 in the preamp stage. Luscious sounding amp with great tonality. A Schiit Freya and a pair of Aegir amps is hard to beat in that price range. $2550 plus a cable. I use an Audience Ohno cable. and one Aegir in stereo in my system. I have both amps and setups love both of them. 

wb27 OP
39 posts
 

@bekeske Beautiful stuff !  Got back into reviews and such while needing an amp for a bedroom system ( and waiting for main amp to return from service). Never heard of Belles. Those amps look great, but I’m looking to downsize the big system and the Belles Aria definitely an option to have if I don’t want to run the serviced Mesa all day when it returns. Not nearly as cool looking as those 400As though..

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