Your requirements might indicate a John Marks recommended Harman Kardon Hk3480 120 watts/ch at about $250 from J and R Music World NYC .

It has a built in phono stage with adecent tuner for your college stations (support fledgling broadcasters). Also has sub out.

It would make as great 2nd system later on.

Regards,

As you point out, Erik, losing the support of a dealer with whom you have an established good relationship is not a trivial matter, but frankly, I think when you've had the chance to audition the Rega and the Rotel, you'll eliminate the Rotel anyway. Clearly, your ears are the final arbitrators, but,in my opinion, where entry level offerings are concerned, NAD stuff is the real thing and it leaves you with the continued support of a dealer you trust - an increasingly rare asset these days, particularly for someone who may stay hooked on hi-fi for a long time.

If not for the dealer relationship, I might suggest you give a listen to the Arcam Diva A65 which is a good contender at the $700 price point.

In any event, keep us posted and have fun making your choice.

Regards,

Having extensively used NAD and Marantz integrated amps, as well as the top Yamaha and HK receivers, Outlaw's RR2150 was the best overall for my ears. NAD was too dull for me, Marantz and Yamaha had a harsh sound to them, and while the HK 3480 sounded good overall, the poor quality of the headphone output made it unusable. There was alot of background electrical noise , and I tried 4 of them.

It is very difficult to find an amp that you like and have a decent headphone output, and I was about to give up until I tried the 2150. It was a pleasant suprise , no background noise and it sounds great with Sennheiser 595's, which are so sensitive they pick up any background noise at all.

Of course, it all comes down to your audio preferences.... one's passion is another's poison.

AVA just introduced an integrated amp, based on the great ckts of his separates. http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/control_amplifier/index.htm

Dup,

I would love for JA to get his hands on one of these with the phono stage, test it and send it on the Sam Tellig for a review. Looks very nice. I even like the industrial look of it... a serious speaker driving "machine". LOL

Geez, did I see 2 tape loops? He must have bought up all the surplus others are omitting from their gear these days.

Except that the AVA unit is over three times what he would like to spend. We can recommend a lot of nice integrateds at this price level.

I, too, recomend the NAD and the Arcam. Either would make a wonderful addition to your system.

I'd like to see JA and Stereophile do AVA too. They seem to have an aversion to the stuff. Over years and years, are they scared of it's abiltys, and low price and NOT made in CHINA, made in the frozen north, MN. As Frank mentioned once, you get free Cryo treament with MN winters. He didn't way it mattered, just that it happens, naturally, ain't that better than lab freeze? I think the possibilty it will equal or better some extremely high priced stuff they love to do writeups on in the magazine. Which really can't be justified when it comes to performance. ie. Chord amp overpriced underperfoming stuff, why meet specs, people will buy it anyway, since what's 500 watts or so missing!!!!! Now that's some logic on the part of a reviewer,. Like a lawyer, they can twist things to cover up reality. I have the opposite, an affection, after almost 15 years of use of various models, the stuff is SUPERB, priced in reality, and super RELIABLE and the SOUND is sonic bliss. With money left over. Ever think surviving in teh audio business for about 35+ years independant operation, no buyouts, no nutin' And AVA keeps making stuff that is designed to work, and be updated as needed. I'd call that a SUPERB product. Let's see some AVA reviews StereoPhile Omegastar EX Ultra series Hybrids, have an all AVA special, bring Stereophile back to reality, latley it's getting out to being ridiculous with $45K CD only players that have as much distortion as a Marshall in high sensitiy input....that's used to MAKE the sound, not REPRODUCE it. Let's see some AVA reviews, time to not worry that it'll sound and function as good as the overpriced, works of art, more than audio electronics.

Quote:
I'd like to see JA and Stereophile do AVA too. They seem to have an aversion to the stuff.

You make a good point, DUP. In years past, when all I could afford was "store brand" devices, Stereophile was reviewing HK, Yamaha, etc., etc. Once I was able to purchase the aformentioned they were checking out the likes of Rotel and NAD. Now that I can buy the likes of Creek and AVA Stereophile talks about the next step up (which I can't afford).
Yes, they do speak of items that the average person can afford but it seems to be a limited variety. I had spent many hours researching until I discovered equipment that was not widely known but was considered "audiophile" and I was able to afford. It would be great to read more of these lesser known items.

Erik_B :

Here is an option that would fit your budget..
The Jolida JD1701 "hybrid" amp [$575.00]
You get a nice tube preamp and a 50Wpch mosfet solid state amp.
It has no remote, no balance control and no phono preamp but you could consider the MM only Cambridge Audio 540P phono preamp [$90.00].

Stereophile reviews many budget components. In fact they have reviewed a number of less expensive integrateds in the last couple of months. There is a budget component category under "equipment reviews" on the website as well.

I can't speak for their editorial staff, but I suspect that there are no recent reviews of AVA equipment as there is relatively little interest by the readers. Most of us have not been particularly impressed. However, AVA does have a loyal cult following. Perhaps for this reason alone it might be interesting to have one of Frank's units reviewed. For the same reason I would enjoy a serious review of Bose. (no, I'm not kidding. We like to criticize Bose. So shouldn't we see how it really stacks up and measures?)

Hi Erik.
If I were you, I might also add the Music Hall A25.2 to my list of contenders. I don't think your dealer carries that piece, however. In any case, you've already got a tough decision between the Rega, NAD, and, as Clay suggested, the Arcam. All three can bring you a very good amount of musical satisfaction, however, so: have fun. I have a soft spot for the Rega because of its 49Wpc (I like odd numbers).

---
Guys,
Please feel free to discuss other topics, but please do so in the more appropriate forum; create a new thread, if you like. Thanks very much.

Speaking of soft spots...I have one for the Marantz PM 7001.

Music Direct Catalog image and description.

It's in your budget range, and I've had loads of time playing with the Marantz integrateds.

I'd call it lovely.

If you can't audition one locally, I think they have one of those "no risk" deals at Music Direct, but I'm not positive.

Worth checking out.

Quote:
Hi Erik.
If I were you, I might also add the Music Hall A25.2 to my list of contenders.

Eric,

I second Stephens recommendation for the Music Hall. Last summer I purchased the 25.2 amp, CD player and tuner. The sound is marvelous.

After being critical (see previous entry), I must admit that I learned of MH via Stereophile magazine...and I'm most grateful.

Quote:

All dealer compliments aside, the Rega is a great machine that has everything it needs and nothing it doesn't. quote]

Erik,

Glad to read your opinion of Rega for I am considering the Mira 3 and Apollo, for a new system. I haven't heard them yet but plan on getting a listen this weekend.

What speakers will you be connecting to your Brio?

Quote:
Definitely don't miss the phono stage. The P2/Bias2 sounded terrific through the Brio.

Yesterday evening I went to hear the Mira 3 and Apollo...very impressive.
I have narrowed my choices down to Rega, Music Hall and Creek (see my posts on the Challenge Your Audio Might thread). All three have a great sound and what I like about the Rega and Creek is that they have a phono card in the chassis.
You mention that the Paradigms have a high sensitivity and I've noticed that all the Rega speakers have levels of 89-91 dB so I guess it would be a wise idea to chose a speaker with similar sensitivity levels.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was in a similar fork in the road a few months ago, but my budget was a bit higher. In my case, I was choosing between the Rega Mira-3 and the NAD C372. I ultimately chose the C372, mainly because I much preferred its sound. The C372 was more dynamically effortless, more neutral, more resolving (better coherence of low-level detail) and exhibited a significantly more gripping and extended bass. The top end on the Rega Mira-3 seemed rolled off compared to the C372, giving the C372 an airier and more refined sound, with better reproduction of acoustic space. The Rega seemed artificially smooth (smoothness at the expense of high frequency extension), whereas the C372 had high-frequency extension AND smoothness

Congratulations, Eric...I know you'll be happy with the Brio. If memory serves me correctly you'll be driving a pair of Paradigms. What about a cd player? As for turntables, I've heard the P2 and it's a good choice.

Enjoy!

Wow, that's awesome. Congrats, Erik! Please let us know when it does arrive, let us know how it feels to unpack it and add it to your system. I love those moments.

Good Show, Erik! Like many others, I'm happy for you and want to hear your reactions when you get everything up and running.

Yes!

You are going to be very pleased.

Looks like a very nice system Erik...