jdegann
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Amplifier to pair with Dynaudio Excite X12
commsysman
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Your speakers have low sensitivity (86 db/watt). They need a lot of power to do well in your situation. I suspect that you old amp may have been a bit weak in that department.

You should have an amplifier that puts out at least 100 watts at 4 ohms for the large orchestral music (they really should be considered 4 ohm speakers).

The Cambridge 851A would be my first choice, I think.

The NAD 375BEE would also be good (read Stereophile review from 2010).

Be sure to use 12 gauge wire for your speaker cables.

Monoprice #12 pure copper speaker cable is a good choice; the price is reasonable and the quality is good (monoprice #2789).

bierfeldt
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I have Revel Performa3 M105s which are a very direct competitor to your Excite X12s and have listened to the Dynaudios several times. The one thing I can say with confidence is that 50w is not enough power to drive those speakers well so avoid 50w integrated amps. I was using a Rega Brio R and at 50w, even at modest volumes the sound would get thin.

If you have an older NAD unit the sound profile would likely be rather warm. If you are happy with that, I would consider the Rogue Audio Sphinx or the Rega Elex R. The Rogue is a hybrid tube unit and will fall just slightly to the warm side of neutral. I personally have demo'd this unit several times and love it. That being said, I am a hair biased in Rogue's favor as I have their Hydra power amp driving my Revels.

The Rega will be much warmer despite being solid state. The Rega has not been reviewed by Stereophile but WhatHiFi has reviewed it and it was the segment award winner. If you like a warmer sound, it is a great unit. I own its cousin, the Brio R and personally love what it did with classical music. The only thing that I disliked about it was that it lacked a little crispness in bass detail which is less pronounced on the Elex but is pretty consistent within Rega's overall sound profile as a company.

The Peachtree Nova 125 was recently discontinued and is also a wonderful sounding unit. Peachtree IMO is in the middle between the Rogue and the Rega in sound profile. It has a built in DAC unlike the Rega and the Rogue and if you can benefit from it, the Peachtree DAC is phenomenal. Last I looked, Music Direct still had some in stock.

If you want something that is less warm and more neutral to slightly forward, the Musical Fidelity M3si is a real nice unit. I feel like Musical Fidelity is a hair forward giving you the perception of enhanced detail but without being bright. It's dual mono design makes it technically superb and it translates into a wonderful sounding, highly detailed unit.

I know nothing about the Naim or the Croft. I would explicitly avoid the Creek not because it sounds bad. It sounds great but at 50w it just lacks the power to drive those Excite 12s well.

I like the Kandy K2 and the Cambridge 851a in limited times I have heard them but if I recall, they are both rather expensive and I am not sure they are worth the added expense.

jdegann
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Thank you commsysman and bierfeldt. The need to have a powerful amp for these speakers is exactly the sort of point that I would not know myself and came to this forum for. I'll take a closer look at the equipment you've recommended. I certainly encourage other readers to add their opinions too.

Regarding wire: I have Transparent speaker cables, maybe 6', sold to me by the dealer when I got the speakers. It is nice having quality cables - in theory! - but it has unfortunately limited speaker placement. Optimally for comfort the speakers would be 20 feet away and require at least 24 feet of cable.

Regarding the expense of the Cambridge - I'm looking at a factory reconditioned model for about $1300.

Looking a bit I see that the Rega, well regarded indeed, delivers 75 amps into 8 watts while the Cambridge and Peachtree each deliver a muscular 120. Is that a decisive advantage, or does the Rega do what it needs to do?

bierfeldt
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More power is better if you have a big room. It might be better to not get the Rega. The Elicit R would have the power you want but at a much higher price tag. The Cambridge 851a, Peachtree Nova125, and the Rogue Audio Sphinx are all 100w or more into 8ohms, you will be very good and all are rated for 4 ohms.

jdegann
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The Peachtree looked interesting, especially since its DAC is so well regarded and I can make use of it with my CD player. Then I looked at the back - YIKES - a single analog RCA input? Admittedly, this is really for the CD player which has an optical digital output - but there's legacy stuff in my system that I'd hesitate to shut out - a tuner, a phono, and a (rarely used) cassette player. Am I living in the 20th century?

bierfeldt
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That has always been my issue with the Peachtree for equipment in my own house. I have an FM Tuner and a turntable as well in my primary audio system and have a Tape deck in my home theatre. Given the length conversations people here have had about the benefits of analog, especially cassettes vs digital, I think you are in just the right place.

For equipment, That leaves you with the Cambridge or the Rogue Audio Sphinx. One small upside to the Rogue is that it is a hybrid tube design. A perk is that you can roll in different tubes to alter the sound of your system. If you want a little more warmth or a little more clarity. I am just starting this with my Rogue Power Amp and have asked my wife for some tubes for Christmas. There is a guy out in CA that can tell you how different tubes will sound relative to your current set and a small child could swap tubes in and out safely. It is really easy.

Alternatively, if you are good with refurbed gear the deal on that Cambridge is fantastic. I am looking at getting the 851n network streamer in the spring and have been doing a huge amount of research on Cambridge and have listened to a few of their units recently. I am impressed.

What I might do if I were you is call the guys at a Needledoctor. They sell Cambridge, Rogue, Peachtree, Roksan and Rega. I have bought a lot of stuff from them through the years. They have been very knowledgable and have never steered me wrong.

One thought, if you are interested in an improved DAC, the Peachtree DAC iTx is awesome for $299 and could be attached to the Rogue or the Cambridge.

jdegann
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I will admit that I'd gotten a little attached to the Peachtree because of the DAC and the fact that 90% of my listening is CD. My "radio" listening is mostly news (some classical) done via an internet connection and Roku, so I'd have been able to use the HDMI connection. That leaves me with one RCA input - but does the Peachtree input even accept a phono input that has not gone through a preamp? Looking at the specs left me confused.

I have seen the refurbed Cambridge and it is definitely in my consideration set. My concern with Cambridge is reliability. I have their CD player and the build is terrible. The button to open the tray does not work - I MUST use the remote. Sometimes it closes and starts; sometimes not. Then I see that many users have complained about CA reliability AND even the Stereophile reviewer had to return his first machine. My hope is that if I were getting a refurbished unit, the QA would be better than usual.

bierfeldt
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You will need an external phono stage with the Peachtree. You can get a great one for $200-$300. The Cambridge 651P for $229 orVincent Audio PHO-8 for $299 would be good choices. I personally own the Vincent and can't say enough good things about it. The Vincent is a reccomended component from The Absolute Sound.

I can't speak about Cambridge's QC. If I get the 851N, it will be the first Cambridge product I will own. I will tell you that when I asked them a question, they were extremely responsive.

jdegann
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Yes, I see this now, and understand better that many new integrated amps don't include a phono stage. From what I can tell, the CA Azur also requires one. A bit of a shock for me, but in addition to your recommendations I also see the Schiit Mani for maybe $160.

The Rogue Sphinx has its own phono stage - so it's the most economical. At the moment I think I'll exclude the Peachtree - just too austere - and lean to the CA and Rogue.

All this talk has encouraged me to look at the equipment in more detail! Previously it was mostly: "got a good rating, in a good price range, let's do it."

The Rogue is also a little stripped down. Few inputs; it accomodates only one pair of speakers... I see that on the one hand it is a "Class D" for which writers identify drawbacks, but on the other hand, supposedly the Sphinx has been engineered to overcome them. Your suggestion of playing with the tube in the Sphinx to tweak my sound is interesting, although realistically I don't know that I'd end up doing that.

gasolin
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Mabye a Marantz PM8005 i have the PM6005 and it has a clear and open sound where the PM8005 should sound alot better(not saying the PM6005 sounds bad the big brother just sounds better), theres no dac but a price of about 1000-1100$ that shouldn't be a problem, it's not a power amp, it's a amp that sounds good
http://www.wifihifi.ca/LatestNewsHeadlines/HANDS-ONREVIEW:MARANTZPM8005ANDSA8005.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ud-GwCUXUE

commsysman
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I would also recommend the Music Hall A70.2 Integrated Amplifier. It has a phono stage and a lot of power and sounds very good.

I see that Amazon has at least one new one available for $1499.

Upscale Audio also has them.

I see that the Peachtree has only one analog input. That would be a big turnoff for many people, including me.

bierfeldt
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Many companies are producing first rate class D amps. I believe the Peachtree Nova is a Class D as well. Class D amps aren't the muddy, weird sounding units from even a few years ago. If you look at the Stereophile and Absolute Sound recommended components you will find Class Ds from Marantz, Rogue, Peachtree, NAD and I think Classe.

The one thing I would suggest strongly is to buy from a place that has a liberal return policy. Do your research, find something you think you are gonna like and ensure there is a safety net in place in case you don't.

The Rogue is available from Needledoctor with a 30 day return policy. NAD has a nice integrated in this price range(drawing a blank on the model - 375BEE maybe) along with the Marantz that was suggested and both are available from Crutchfield with a 60 days return policy I actually paid a higher tax rate and bought my Revel Speakers in NY to have a return policy just in case. I didn't take advantage of it but you just never know how a unit will sound till it is in your room driving your speakers. If you are gonna spend ~$1500, it would be nice to know you can return it if you don't like the way it sounds.

The phone stage in the Rogue is decent. It will be perform well but I would say that the Vincent is probably better. I think you said that you mostly listen to CDs, the phono stage in the Rogue might be perfect and then adding an external DAC might be worth it. There are reasonably priced, excellent DACs from Peactree, Cambridge, Musical Fidelity, Schlitt and many others. Assume about $300 to get a real nice unit.

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