get the best used hegel you can afford
Looking to upgrade Bryston B60. Considering Atoll among others.
Hello,
I am looking to upgrade my amp which is a Bryston B60 integrated. I have a bigger space now and want some more power / headroom. My speakers are Thiel CS 1.6s which are power hungry (so I have read). I mainly stream Tidal using a Cambridge Audio CXN V2 STREAMER. I am considering a bigger Bryston like an used 3B or 4B with say a BP17 preamp or maybe a B135. I love the clarity and punch from my B60. The Thiel's are quite detailed so a touch more warmth wouldn't hurt. I wanted to ask about Atoll. I recently went the AXPONA and I heard an Atoll SDA300 into Atohm Sirocco 2.24's. I wasn't familiar with Atohm but had heard of Atoll. Wow, really sounded impressive. Big, detailed, punchy. The SDA is 260 watts in to 4 ohms I believe and I could really feel the power and headroom. So I thought about an Atoll IN300 evo as an option. Would love to get opinions on how that might sound with my Thiel's?
I am also open to other amp brand suggestions. Some other brands I was thinking about - Accuphase, Hegel, Simm Audio, Cambridge, Arcam. My price ceiling is around $4k, possibly $5k. thanks!
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I have and had many of the makes mentioned on this thread. Currently I am using an Atoll SDA200 and love it. The sound is slightly warm, great depth and very musical. Previously I had a Cambridge CXA81 which had a similar sound but less deep and less musical. I had Van alstine DVA225 monos. They were fine. I would say they are more neutral in their sound and I feel the Atoll has better dynamics. Forget Arcam. Their previous Class AB stuff sounded good. Perhaps a bit too colored, but their current sound is the complete opposite. Lastly, I have a hegel 590. The sound is neutral and the dynamics are excellent as well. I know Atoll pairs extremely well with Atohm. I would say it comes down to your speakers and your sound preference. |
Thanks for all the comments. I do really like the neutral Bryston sound so I def want something similar. Any comments on Bryston vs Hegel and Atoll. Here are the quick specs on my Thiel 1.6s. thank you |
@greenngoldcheesehead - I agree on the Arcam. I have a friend who recently bought a 20 year old Arcam and it’s a treat to listen to. I have had new generation Arcam power amps...and, they are no longer in my stereo setup... I also agree that a Hegel integrated (any of ’em) is quite nice. Got to audition a Hegel H600 and it was stunning. Have a friend running older Bryston and I've listened to his system quite often. Those Bryston components are very smooth as well. If you are on a budget, the Atoll integrated amps will compete with the more pricey stuff for sure. |
I would also look at Benchmark. I heard a system with their AHB2 amps at FLAX and they sounded great. You're shopping in a price range where you have alot of great options. The benchmarks were driving Aretai horn speakers which are around $20k ?ish. My Atoll is driving TAD E1TX which MSRP for $30k. Amps within this price range can definitely scale up and sound even better with better sources and can drive better speakers. |
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