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Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:08 pm
by Terry
tipdrinker wrote:Man choosing the amp is hard lol. Just FYI I contacted elac directly to see what they would say. They forwarded my inquiry to hi fi Hut (now they know I didn't buy the speakers from them, damn!) here's what they said...
"We have been contacted by Elac as we are the distributor for their products in Ireland. The e-mail we received explained that you were enquiring as to what sort of amplification they might recommend for use with your 403's. As a general rule Elac do not give recommendations for special amps, as there are too many on the market and they have to remain neutral. However, as a retailer for Elac products we are in a position where don't have to remain neutral and we have a couple of options that would work well with the 403's. The first would be the Rega Elex-R at €1278.00. This would be my personal choice, particularly if you're planning on adding a turntable to your system. The second choice would be the Hegel H80 at €1595.00. This would be a better choice if you're looking to connect components digitally as it has a built-in DAC which offers a significant boost in performance for digital devices.
With either of these amplifiers I would recommend using Atlas Loudspeaker Cables. The Equator 2.0 at €8.00 per meter is superb. If you're looking for something better then I'd suggest the Hyper 2.0 at €25.00. Again, this is a personal favourite and is the cable I use in my own system at home. The Elac's can be quite bright and we tend to find that silver loudspeaker cables can make things sound a bit fatiguing. Because of this we'd always recommend using a high quality copper cable, like the Atlas."
That sounds like a reasonable response from HiFi Hut. I heard the Elacs a couple of years ago and to my ears they sounded distinctly 'bright' (ribbon tweeters?). I have transistor and tube based systems and if it suited, you could bring along your speakers and try both amps. Based in Dublin.
T
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:29 pm
by nige2000
tipdrinker wrote:Man choosing the amp is hard lol. Just FYI I contacted elac directly to see what they would say. They forwarded my inquiry to hi fi Hut (now they know I didn't buy the speakers from them, damn!) here's what they said...
"We have been contacted by Elac as we are the distributor for their products in Ireland. The e-mail we received explained that you were enquiring as to what sort of amplification they might recommend for use with your 403's. As a general rule Elac do not give recommendations for special amps, as there are too many on the market and they have to remain neutral. However, as a retailer for Elac products we are in a position where don't have to remain neutral and we have a couple of options that would work well with the 403's. The first would be the Rega Elex-R at €1278.00. This would be my personal choice, particularly if you're planning on adding a turntable to your system. The second choice would be the Hegel H80 at €1595.00. This would be a better choice if you're looking to connect components digitally as it has a built-in DAC which offers a significant boost in performance for digital devices.
With either of these amplifiers I would recommend using Atlas Loudspeaker Cables. The Equator 2.0 at €8.00 per meter is superb. If you're looking for something better then I'd suggest the Hyper 2.0 at €25.00. Again, this is a personal favourite and is the cable I use in my own system at home. The Elac's can be quite bright and we tend to find that silver loudspeaker cables can make things sound a bit fatiguing. Because of this we'd always recommend using a high quality copper cable, like the Atlas."
oh shit
caught cheating!!
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:23 am
by james
tony wrote:james wrote:
Be aware that valves are basically like old style lightbulbs that wear out after a year or two. They have to be replaced and the cost varies a lot depending on the amp.
James
ends==
Seem this suggested elsewhere. I have valves in my amp since purchase about 3-4yrs ago no issues. I don't think it is like that James. If you get a bad valve yes but they generally last for quiet a long time.
I dont have direct experience of a valve amp [never having had one] but am just quoting what I read. I know that valves wear out but I don't really know the expected life. But if they do fail its a simple matter to replace them.
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:58 pm
by cybot
Are you reading this tercesire?
A classic example of why NOT to open a Hi Fi store in Dublin.....
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:36 pm
by Claus
http://www.nuprimeaudio.com/index.php/p ... ida-8.html
This little integrated would be top of my list if my main source was going to be PC.
Otherwise the Rega got very good reviews and is known for its ability to drive difficult loads...
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:07 pm
by panda2rom
Whenever i hear "i have the same at home" from a sales guy i feel like puking :)
"A classic example of why NOT to open a Hi Fi store in Dublin.....".
True Cybot.
On the other hand, if the level of advice, is picking the two most expensive amps you have in demo (but just below the price of the speakers)... well, not much work done anyway.
Of course, maybe the hifi hut guy is honest and i'm just being french :)
I guess Tipdrinker, now you should take your DAC and your speakers, and go visit Tony and Terry.
They said they will let you try your speakers on their gear...
Anything else is cuting corner :)
-And you can add me to the list if you want to try a Marantz PM6010 OSE KI signature.
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:34 pm
by Claus
The listenings suite has a few interesting options as well. Analoguea audio and micromega.
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:30 pm
by Ivor
Claus wrote:The listenings suite has a few interesting options as well. Analoguea audio and micromega.
I was just coming on to mention that. Worth a visit.
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:28 pm
by tipdrinker
id just like to thank everyone for all the sound advice and help. i went to Cloneys yesterday and got an ex demo arcam fmj a29. I listened to a number of amps, some more expensive but this one won out for me, it seemed to present an extra octave on the lower end, it's warmth wasn't as overbearing as in a higher end arcam i demoed and it still preserved the high end reasonably well. A good compliment to the very precise and treble focused elacs, who ever said the Brits and Germans couldn't get along eh? Thanks for all the offers of listening to your own particular amps. I was torn, but the thoughts of weeks going by without being able to fire up the elacs at home would have driven me demented ha ha. I'm still unable to get the dac sending a signal so I've a simple line out from the sound card going at the moment. It's still very good. I'm sure sligolad will be able to help me out in this regard. Anyway it seems a shame that you guys cant hear what I'm hearing right now, seeing as you all helped me build it so if anyone's interested pm me and you're more than welcome over to ours to have a listen.
Thanks all once again!
Re: How do I begin?
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 4:01 pm
by markof
Congratulations on you choices.
I hope it brings you much pleasure.
Mark.