Looking for recommendations on buying a new amp!

some criteria?
- sound / power (of course) and fidelity
- would be nice to have some digital capabilities ( a streamer ? ) because in any case I'll end up buying one as this is how I get my music (Tidal/Spotify)
- functionality / practicality
- last but not least looks/controls (probably the least important)

I was told due to the size of my speakers I need to go for at least a 2x80W amp, although I was ALSO told by other retailers a proper 2x50W amp could easily drive my speakers and that the nominal W doesnt always matter..

Every shop here tries to push their own stock so I'm a little lost.

January 30, 2023 - 2:42am

manunkind

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Joined: Apr 27 2019 - 7:27am

Hello

I used to own Diamond 230 (older version of 10.7) with a Cambridge Audio Azur (can't remember the exact model#) amp. 80w per channel was more than enough. The impedance of your speakers is 6 ohm, that's something you should check- cx81 for example, puts out80W RMS into 8 Ohms, 120W RMS into 4 Ohms (soo 100w into 6). That's plenty!
That being said, i haven't heard any of the amps you've listed- but they all come from reputable manufacturers. You just have to audition and decide. Good luck!

January 30, 2023 - 11:10am

juniorhifi

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Joined: Jan 30 2023 - 1:38am

oh, the Ohm comment was very

oh, the Ohm comment was very enlightening. So whenever I see a Wattage at 8 Ohm I have to calculate a little more Watts for the 6 Ohms of my speakers?
I spoke with a retailer asking about a 2x50W and he said its not powerful enough for my speakers...

January 30, 2023 - 12:10pm

hoytis

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Joined: May 19 2021 - 10:37am

The Wharfedale's have a

The Wharfedale's have a sensitivity of 90dB. Easy to drive. Plus they recommend amps of 30-200W. They're the designers. Listen to them. You're totally fine with a 50W (8 ohms) amp. If the speakers were rated 4 ohms, then you might need to think about the amp, but only if you choosing one below 30 watts and were planning to crank it up at party levels for hours at a time. In reality, speakers' impedance varies drastically when music is playing. Depending on the frequency, the impedance could go from 30 ohms to 2 to 17. It's all over the map. The company rating is just a baseline. BTW, I have the Audiolab 6000a and love it. Nice and detailed.

January 31, 2023 - 2:05am

manunkind

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Joined: Apr 27 2019 - 7:27am

It's not that you need to

It's not that you need to calculate a little more for your speaker"- more ike the other way around. For example my application puts 90w per channel into 8 ohm, and 130w into 6 ohm. So 110w for your speakers. And your speakers need at least 50w- so my amp would be more than enough.

February 11, 2023 - 1:43pm

OlafC

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Last seen: 7 months 3 weeks ago

Joined: Feb 11 2023 - 1:32pm

can you listen to each on simliar speakers at a dealer?

Perhaps you can try to test listen to some of these amps.
At the moment i use a separate Rotel pre and end amp. the rc rb 03. nothing fancy, but its a massive improvement over the Onkyo AV receiver i had before that.
But im also still looking for improvement.

As a streamer you might wanna look into the Wiim pro. Very versatile with support for al the mayor services. And a decent app for your phone or tablet.
Not so great on pc or mac, i think their still working on that.
Im using the Wiim pro to a separate dac and keep my amplifier analog only.

February 20, 2023 - 7:14pm

Dorsia777

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Last seen: 1 week 6 days ago

Joined: Mar 14 2019 - 9:14am

Here’s one…

ROTEL - A12 MkII Integrated Amplifier - $1099

March 23, 2023 - 6:29pm

sheep777

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Last seen: 8 months 2 weeks ago

Joined: Mar 23 2023 - 6:24pm

bryston

you can consider bryston 14b cube 600w

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