Can you recommend an amplifier for under $500 / £500?

[kirkmc]

I've been thinking of upgrading the sound system that's in my home office. But I'm a bit flustered by a number of things, such as the wide range of models, and the fact that I'm not wiling to pay audiophile prices. I discussed this on a recent episode of The Next Track podcast:

 

https://www.thenexttrack.com/♫-episode-73-kirk-wants-to-buy-an-amplifier/

 

(This isn't a trick to get you to listen to the podcast, but feel free...)

 

Currently, I use a Yamaha R-N 301. I still haven't decided whether I should bother to upgrade or not. I'm not like many or most people here, will to spend thousands on hi-fi equipment. But I know many of you are into affordable audiophile stuff as well. 

 

So, can you recommend a sub- $500 / £500 amplifier (I'm in the UK)? 

 

What I would like are the following features: 

 

AirPlay

Dual speaker zones

Sub-woofer output

 

I could do without the AirPlay, since I have on old Apple TV (but the DAC in the Apple TV is probably not as good as one in an amplifier that accepts digital inputs). I could do without the dual speaker zones, but I really would like that. And I do want the sub-woofer output. 

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations based on your own listening experience (please don't just list amps you've read about). 

[GUTB]

I don’t think you can find an amp you’d call "good" in that price range. The most decent I could think of would be a Schiit Vidar which would be close to your budget. Also, if critical listening isn’t that important to you there’s a UK manufacturer of budget NCore class D amps named Nord — thier bottom of the line model might be close to your budget.

 

Alternatively consider a Chinese tube amp which are likely to at least sound decent — places like AliExpress, China-hifi, etc.

 

Sorry, that is a difficult budget for amps an audiophile would call good.

[beerandmusic]

20 minutes ago, kirkmc said:

I've been thinking of upgrading the sound system that's in my home office. But I'm a bit flustered by a number of things, such as the wide range of models, and the fact that I'm not wiling to pay audiophile prices. I discussed this on a recent episode of The Next Track podcast:

 

https://www.thenexttrack.com/♫-episode-73-kirk-wants-to-buy-an-amplifier/

 

(This isn't a trick to get you to listen to the podcast, but feel free...)

 

I still haven't decided whether I should bother to upgrade or not. I'm not like many or most people here, will to spend thousands on hi-fi equipment. But I know many of you are into affordable audiophile stuff as well. 

 

So, can you recommend a sub- $500 / £500 amplifier (I'm in the UK)? 

 

What I would like are the following features: 

 

AirPlay

Dual speaker zones

Sub-woofer output

 

I could do without the AirPlay, since I have on old Apple TV (but the DAC in the Apple TV is probably not as good as one in an amplifier that accepts digital inputs). I could do without the dual speaker zones, but I really would like that. And I do want the sub-woofer output. 

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations based on your own listening experience (please don't just list amps you've read about). 

slightly more, but imho a well worth stretch....

marantz SR5012 ($800 dlvd) will take you well into the future....

in addition to your requirements, alexa enabled, native dsd streaming, atmos, audyssee

and GOOD sound!

you won't regret it.

[kirkmc]

I'm not interested in a tube amp. 

[kirkmc]

1 minute ago, beerandmusic said:

slightly more, but imho a well worth stretch....

marantz SR5012 ($800 dlvd) will take you well into the future....

in addition to your requirements, alexa enabled, native dsd streaming, atmos, audyssee

and GOOD sound!

you won't regret it.

I don't need an AV receiver; I just want an audio amplifier. 

[kirkmc]

15 minutes ago, GUTB said:

I don’t think you can find an amp you’d call "good" in that price range. The most decent I could think of would be a Schiit Vidar which would be close to your budget. Also, if critical listening isn’t that important to you there’s a UK manufacturer of budget NCore class D amps named Nord — thier bottom of the line model might be close to your budget.

 

Nord starts at around £1200.

[charlesphoto]

You might consider a used Naim  Unitiqute - I’ve seen them recently used in the sub $1000 range and you’ll have much more on offer in the UK than here. Not dual speaker output but sub out. Not sure about airplay. I use one in my office for streaming with KEF LS50’s and it’s superb for that. 

[left channel]

In that price range most people start looking at powered speakers, direct from their PC or via a DAC with preamp, or they buy much lower-end amps than are being discussed here so far. In this price range you'll find built-in Bluetooth, but I doubt you'll find AirPlay. I've seen small inexpensive AirPlay receivers out there; most are intended to add AirPlay to active speakers.

 

After experimenting with small active speakers for a space-challenged desktop setup, I went with passive speakers and an SMSL A2 TDA7492. The SMSL is very good for the very low price, with tone controls and a line-level subwoofer output. No Airplay, and I don't further munge up my music with Bluetooth, but I think SMSL has some Bluetooth products out there.

 

I've placed an order for a Pro-Ject Amp Box S2, which seems to also have a subwoofer passthrough and may have a different sound worth paying a European price over China options, but it is otherwise is a much simpler product than the SMSL. Simple can be a virtue though, for example when you want to switch everything via a powerstrip: the SMSL amp's volume resets when I cycle the power instead of pushing the amp's own power button (which only puts it in standby). Some say the SMSL has a warm sound, and they might find the Pro-Ject cooler. When I have the second box in place, I'll do a listening comparison.

 

I think by now I've convinced most readers to avoid my world and go with powered speakers plus an AirPlay receiver, no?

 

[kirkmc]

Chris recommended that, in particular the Yamaha NX-N500, which has AirPlay, and which retails at £500. However, I already have good speakers (Focal Chorus), and that seems like a waste to not be able to continue to use it. It is very tempting, though; it gets rid of a large device, and provides presumably decent sound without a big footprint. It's likely that the amplifiers in those units are well matched to the speakers. 

[GUTB]

To be honest, your Focals are going to be wasted on amps in that price range. The best you can do is take a chance on a Chinese solid state from the Queenway shop on AliExpress — I haven’t listened to any of those.

[wgscott]

This comes in under $500:

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_745D3020/NAD-D-3020.html?tp=34948

 

and this one a bit over (about £500) , but adds some of the features like airplay, as well as being "direct digital":

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_745D7050/NAD-D-7050.html?tp=34948

 

I don't have direct experience with either, but these would be high on my list of potential options given what you describe.  Unfortunately, I don't think either handle dual speaker zones.

[kirkmc]

3 minutes ago, wgscott said:

This comes in under $500:

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_745D3020/NAD-D-3020.html?tp=34948

 

and this one a bit over (about £500) , but adds some of the features like airplay, as well as being "direct digital":

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_745D7050/NAD-D-7050.html?tp=34948

 

I don't have direct experience with either, but these would be high on my list of potential options given what you describe.  Unfortunately, I don't think either handle dual speaker zones.

I was looking at those earlier today. The first is £500, but the second is £900, way overpriced compared to the first. 

[wgscott]

16 minutes ago, kirkmc said:

I was looking at those earlier today. The first is £500, but the second is £900, way overpriced compared to the first. 

 

I'm looking from the US on those links at Crutchfield, and the first comes in at $400, and the second at $650, which is almost exactly £500.  

 

I gather you are in the UK?  Even so, those prices seem extremely inflated.  (When I lived in Cambridge most Apple stuff cost in pounds what it does in dollars, which was bad enough).

 

 

[kirkmc]

Brexit; everything has gotten a lot more expensive. Most things are a 1:1 ratio, but some are much more. 

[wgscott]

If you have a friend in the US that would be willing to purchase it and send it or bring it to you, it might worth it. I do this for my brother-in-law quite frequently.  NAD is a Canadian company and I am almost certain those amps are made in China, so someone is gouging.  (Amazon.co.uk lists the more expensive one at £650 fwiw.)

[kirkmc]

I always thought NAD was British. I just looked on Wikipedia and I see that they used to be but are now Canadian. 

 

I had a NAD amp some years ago; it was very good. It’s certainly a brand I would consider. 

[GUTB]

Junk, you won't get good sound out of that. Those are strictly lifestyle products.

 

But, if you don't have a listening room and are just using your speakers as a kind of TV and computer audio setup, then -- why not? You won't get anywhere near the limit of a good amp in that scenario so you may as well get something that can grip your drivers and give you resolution and bass, both of which would be served fine by a cheap little class D like that NAD.

[jcbenten]

You have nice speakers...maybe a used Naim or Linn.  You should have decent availability.

[kirkmc]

1 minute ago, jcbenten said:

You have nice speakers...maybe a used Naim or Linn.  You should have decent availability.

It’s far too complicated to buy something like that used. If I don’t like it, I would likely be stuck with it. 

[wgscott]

9 minutes ago, GUTB said:

a cheap little class D like that NAD.

 

Your audiophool propaganda no good here.

[jcbenten]

7 minutes ago, kirkmc said:

It’s far too complicated to buy something like that used. If I don’t like it, I would likely be stuck with it. 

Perhaps...but in that price range it's a crap shoot anyway.  Unless you are in the wilds of Scotland or in the islands a local shop will have used gear to test.

[kirkmc]

11 minutes ago, GUTB said:

Junk, you won't get good sound out of that. Those are strictly lifestyle products.

 

But, if you don't have a listening room and are just using your speakers as a kind of TV and computer audio setup, then -- why not? You won't get anywhere near the limit of a good amp in that scenario so you may as well get something that can grip your drivers and give you resolution and bass, both of which would be served fine by a cheap little class D like that NAD.

So, according to you, I shouldn't bother at that price point? I should just stick with my current lifestyle brand amplifier?

 

This is exactly what I discussed in the podcast episode I linked to in the original post; the fact that non-audiophiles - those not willing to spend thousands on their equipment - are generally scorned, making it very hard for people like me to figure out what to buy. 

[kirkmc]

Just now, jcbenten said:

Perhaps...but in that price range it's a crap shoot anyway.  Unless you are in the wilds of Scotland or in the islands a local shop will have used gear to test.

There's a hi-fi shop in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is where I live. They sell mostly higher-end stuff, and don't have much in the way of used gear. 

[kumakuma]

1 minute ago, kirkmc said:

So, according to you, I shouldn't bother at that price point? I should just stick with my current lifestyle brand amplifier?

 

This is exactly what I discussed in the podcast episode I linked to in the original post; the fact that non-audiophiles - those not willing to spend thousands on their equipment - are generally scorned, making it very hard for people like me to figure out what to buy. 

 

Please don't assume that GUTB is representative of the folks that hang out here. Most people here are more helpful and less arrogant.

[Ralf11]

and many are more knowledgeable