Suggestion of Amplifiers

[senguptamitava]

CAn anybody suggest me a good integrated stereo ampli within a tag of 12k?
Also what are the reviews about Sonodyne amplifiers and floor stander Sonus V2 2605

 

[denzong]

Please state ur use and some more details. What will u pair the amp with and what would be the source

 

[jaudere]

Norge concerto gold 1000 or DNM A8080 could be another option.
Or you may go for used. There is one nakamichi amp on sale on this forum.

Do you have any specifications at least for power of amp in RMS?

Frankly speaking I was not impressed with sono dyne integrated amp and floor stand combo. But that was some 4 years back and I was too inexperienced in auditions. I even did not know exactly what kind of music I liked. I dont know what my impression will be at present.

 

[crisp]

Before you make up ur mind, consider ur room size. If ur room is of moderate size and u r not going to listen at high volumes, then check out book shelfs before going for Sonus V2 2605.

 

[senguptamitava]

My actual aim is to build a good system mainly to plunge into the world of vinyl. I have quite a no of them but mainly Hindi Film music along with some bengali collection. so thats it. but my preferences are quite clear:
1. Sound clarity should have no compromise at all.
2. Low frequncies should be clear and deep and heart throbbing.
3. High frequencies chould be sharp.
4. Vocals or mids should be balanced.

Regarding room size, though i have a small room (12'x12') but I prefer ( Its my own choice) floorstanders than bookshelves.
currently i posses two bookshelves of 75W @ 6ohms and a pair of Hi-Q International Loudspeakers (Those which came with the Hi-Q system of Philips and are i think 20w@4 ohms).
maybe it may be possible for me to use those too. Then I would look for floorstanders later.
also my total budget excluding turntable is round about 40k or below.

 

[denzong]

you can try the sansui amp i have on sale. excellent phono it has

 

[rishiguru]

My actual aim is to build a good system mainly to plunge into the world of vinyl. I have quite a no of them but mainly Hindi Film music along with some bengali collection. so thats it. but my preferences are quite clear:
1. Sound clarity should have no compromise at all.
2. Low frequncies should be clear and deep and heart throbbing.
3. High frequencies chould be sharp.
4. Vocals or mids should be balanced.

Regarding room size, though i have a small room (12'x12') but I prefer ( Its my own choice) floorstanders than bookshelves.
currently i posses two bookshelves of 75W @ 6ohms and a pair of Hi-Q International Loudspeakers (Those which came with the Hi-Q system of Philips and are i think 20w@4 ohms).
maybe it may be possible for me to use those too. Then I would look for floorstanders later.
also my total budget excluding turntable is round about 40k or below.

Hi amitava, I am rishiguru and from Kolkata too.

My advice will be to avoid Sonodyne amps. I came in contact with a person who had bought the previous model of the current Sonodyne SiA 208r integreated stereo amp.

After 9 months he had a problem and went to Sondyne authorized service center only to be told that they have no spare parts since the new model has arrived.

These sondyne amps are not made in India but are rather imported as complete build units from China.

Not saying they are bad, Sonodyne amps are good for its price.

Also the current Sr208 is a chip amp, i.e it uses chips rather than discrete/ solid state transistor technology followed by audiophile companies.

Chip amp are easier & cheaper to make since a lot of the power amp curcuit is embedded in the chip. But discrete amps are generally sonically superior & costly.

I have a spanking 3 month old Norge 1000 GOLD which i got at INR 10K. To me it is the best amp under INR 15K available in India.

If you require more info read my two threads:

Norge 1000

Yamaha DSP-A2070

 

[Morten]

I second looking into the Norge line of amps. They are good, reasonably prized and INDIAN.

You will have to buy the phono preamp separately though. As far as I know, none of their amps have this integrated

 

[sudhir_rr]

i.e it uses chips rather than discrete/ solid state transistor technology followed by audiophile companies.

Chip amp are easier & cheaper to make since a lot of the power amp curcuit is embedded in the chip. But discrete amps are generally sonically superior & costly.

Present amplifier technology has been around for three decades. So designing a perfect amplifier without audible distortions is possible. It's incorrect to say discrete amps are superior to chip amps - people think of it most probably because they are costlier compared to chip amps in many cases.

The reason why discrete amps are preferred by companies making audiophile grade amplifiers is because copying of a design can be proven easily. Proving copying of a chip amp design near impossible because all designs based on a chip look very similar. Even their PCB layouts are very similar.

Three very popular chip amps in order of distortion levels (high to low) TDA7293 (Upto 100W), LM3886 (Upto 60W), LME49810 (Upto 400W). LME49810's distortion (THD+N, IM) levels are so low that none of the commercially available distortion meters can measure them.

 

[rishiguru]

Present amplifier technology has been around for three decades. So designing a perfect amplifier without audible distortions is possible. It's incorrect to say discrete amps are superior to chip amps - people think of it most probably because they are costlier compared to chip amps in many cases.

The reason why discrete amps are preferred by companies making audiophile grade amplifiers is because copying of a design can be proven easily. Proving copying of a chip amp design near impossible because all designs based on a chip look very similar. Even their PCB layouts are very similar.

Three very popular chip amps in order of distortion levels (high to low) TDA7293 (Upto 100W), LM3886 (Upto 60W), LME49810 (Upto 400W). LME49810's distortion (THD+N, IM) levels are so low that none of the commercially available distortion meters can measure them.

Thanks for the useful information regarding chip amps, sudhir_rr.

It seems my Logitech Z-2300 2.1 multimedia speaker amp using a pair of TDA7295 (80W) & another pair of TDA7296 (60W) is not that bad after all.

 

[sudhir_rr]

Thanks for the useful information regarding chip amps, sudhir_rr.

It seems my Logitech Z-2300 2.1 multimedia speaker amp using a pair of TDA7295 (80W) & another pair of TDA7296 (60W) is not that bad after all.

Definitely not , although I don't have much information about the quality of the speaker drivers in it. I am sure that a company like Logitech would be careful enough to use high quality components with TDA7295.

 

[Teja]

CAn anybody suggest me a good integrated stereo ampli within a tag of 12k?
Also what are the reviews about Sonodyne amplifiers and floor stander Sonus V2 2605

+1 to the Norge 1000 - excellent amp.
No experience with Sonodyne.

 

[senguptamitava]

Thanks Rishiguru for your advice

Can I audition them in Kolkata? who is the dealer with Norge? have sent you a PM. Please reply.

 

[rishiguru]

Thanks Rishiguru for your advice

Can I audition them in Kolkata? who is the dealer with Norge? have sent you a PM. Please reply.

Sent you a PM.

 

[vinyl]

Hi amitava, I am rishiguru and from Kolkata too.

My advice will be to avoid Sonodyne amps. I came in contact with a person who had bought the previous model of the current Sonodyne SiA 208r integreated stereo amp.

After 9 months he had a problem and went to Sondyne authorized service center only to be told that they have no spare parts since the new model has arrived.

These sondyne amps are not made in India but are rather imported as complete build units from China.

Not saying they are bad, Sonodyne amps are good for its price.

Also the current Sr208 is a chip amp, i.e it uses chips rather than discrete/ solid state transistor technology followed by audiophile companies.

Chip amp are easier & cheaper to make since a lot of the power amp curcuit is embedded in the chip. But discrete amps are generally sonically superior & costly.

I have a spanking 3 month old Norge 1000 GOLD which i got at INR 10K. To me it is the best amp under INR 15K available in India.

If you require more info read my two threads:

Norge 1000

Yamaha DSP-A2070

What you say is very much true. Sonodyne amps are VFM, but they are no more the same as they used to be earlier in the Uranus days. Also Sonodyne guys are perhaps not much keen to sell their residential segment products.

I use Norge 1000 and Sonodyne 2605 v2 combo, it is very good. Low's mid's and high's are all balanced. Certain recordings may not sound balanced, because the inherent problem is in the mastering of the digital music meant for CDs. Digital music mastering for CD, puts emphasis on compression and loudness. SQ of digital music is no doubt clean and crisp, but no space for the music itself to breathe, and hence not easy on the ears.

Again coming back to the Norge amp, there is one problem I am facing, I can't say about others. There is current leakage to the body of the amp. I think it is induced current. I have mentioned this in detail in your post regarding review of Norge 1000.

 

[techiecal]

I am also looking for an integrated amp to play my Technics SLB20 and CD player in Kolkata. A good used amp will do.