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September 14, 2011 - 10:53pm
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Need Advice on Integrated Amp for Wharfedale Diamond 10.2
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Hi. I am new to Hi-Fi and I am slowly building my system. I have the 10.2 speakers hooked-up to a NAD amp and it sounds nice. Mind you, I still have a lot more to learn, tweak and set-up. My source is a digital one (44.1/16bit music ripped from CD's using XLD and playback through iTunes), though. I have an Airport Express (g) conneced to the NAD. I still need a DAC to upgrade the sound. However, it still sounds very nice and I am starting to hear details I never heard before in songs that I heard many times before. The NAD can drive the volume of the 10.2 to levels that are really too loud for my small listening room.
Do you like how your 10.2 speakers sound? Do you have them bi-wired? Does that make a noticeable difference in the sound? I hope that you find an amp that you like. Good luck.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'd like to listen to the NAD. Our local Hi-Fi doesn't carry it but I'll try and seek it out. I was able to listen to a Peachtree iNova today. Quite a bit out of my price range but I liked how it has a DAC built in, Ipod dock, and head phone stage. Sounded great.
I'm real happy with the 10.2s. Don't have them bi-wired though, as the thought of adding more cables doesn't really excite me. I too would be curious to hear from someone who's tried it.
Thanks again.
While double your price range, the Jolida JD302BRC sounds AMAZING with these speakers. I know retail is around $1200, but trust me, it is definitely worth saving up for or finding a good used one on the 'Gon. This combination was made for each other. Trust me, try to seek it out and give it a test drive. You won't be sorry.
Arrange an in-home audition or buy from a place that offers a refund. The Denon may be the problem, or it may not, and it's all guesswork otherwise.
I've never heard any AVR do two channel music justice. Of course I haven't heard everything. However what I hear from others reinforces my original point. Others say that AVR's don't do two channel music justice. Even those AVR's that have a two channel direct mode seem to be lacking.
IMO if you want good two channel sound get a two channel integrated amplifier or separate pre and power amp. I lean more towards the separates route because of the flexibility and the ease of upgrading.
is a solid choice for an entry-level integrated with a very nice phono stage that should drive the Wharfedales well. See if you can find a local dealer that has one left that you can take home to listen to in your space - that's what I did. It matched really well with my PSB T5s and was a nice step-up from my old integrated Yamaha, which is now serving bedroom duties.
You should be able to find the Brio 3 as a demo or on sale in the $500 range (MSRP 695) since Rega just released the new Brio-R.