Based on earlier videos, this confirms my choice of the TA1 as my first audiophile amp. Paired with other videos’ recommendations of the Debut 3.0 65 and the 10E RSL Speedwoofer, I just love the sound of this system! Thanks Randy for all the analyses of these products!
Owned the Rotel A8 $449 for two weeks. Sounded great with that typical Rotel sound. Gave it 5 stars on crutchfield then it immediately broke, sent it back.
@@Carl-bd1rf That's sad though not uncommon with many venerated Mfg'ers it's a quality control issue. Typically there is a basic standard that a certain percentage will get past that threshold. It is something like 3% is considered as a 100% success rate. As in life nothing is 100%.
SMSL AO300 Home DAC Amp, CS43131 & MA5332MS, 165W*2 Power Amp, BT/USB/OPT/COAX/HDMI(ARC)/RCA to Speaker/Subwoofer DAC Amplifier with 4.4mm/6.35mm Headphone Output, MQA DAC Amplifier (Silver). previously highly recommended on this channel, bought one, the best £172.24 pounds UK I have spent on an amp. An Amazon day special reduced from 259.00 pounds.
I am way past this price range already, but I love your channel. This is a great video. There's good sound available in this hobby at reasonable prices, but you have to shop carefully. Informative videos like this can steer people in a good direction.
If you could just increase your budget to $650 dollars, I'm sure that you could get the marantz 6007 amp, which I believe would beat all these amps. It also has a great DAC. I own one and visitors who haven't heard it are blown away when I demo it. It is so punchy. Award winning amp. And fully featured.
This is a perfect video for me. I'm a newbie, and I try to select my first amp. I was thinking about Emotiva and Yamaha and I think this video helped me to make a final decision. Now speakers... I'm thinking about Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II and ELAC Debut Reference B6.2. Any suggestions?
Just spit balling: in the past you Randy had an episode where you hinted of hooking up a TA1 with the ZA3's. Have you tried this and how did it sound? Taking it another step in the thought process, would changing the ZA3's to a pair of Outlaw Audio 2220 and using the Bluesound Node Nano a good step up from a reference of the Wiim Ultra? One more Q4U - does the speakers need to match the system? Putting a $500 or $1k into the amp+ streamer/turntable would aesthetically need $1k speakers, I mean wouldn't CSS5's seem out of place for a small room (12x14)? Wouldn't a Focal Theva fit the rest of it over an Elac or QAccoustics?
sweet and informative round up. thought I'd give a heads up since there's always someone who's not privy but for anything amazon anywhere I use camel camel camel to keep track of price fluctuations and to send me an email when something drops, and it's also interesting to see how some prices work
I have a Sony DH590 that I’ve had for like eight years. Would the Emotiva be much of an upgrade? Sound wise bc I know there’s no hdmi offered from the emotiva.
i bought a ta1 based on glowing reviews from you and the audio philiac. ive been disappointed in its shrill sound...only the Robinson guy pointed it out. after i realized its not hifi, but rather a damn good way to stream background music off your phone i understood its niche
I don’t trust US companies anymore. It’s usually very expensive just because US infrastructure is very lacking compared to China If buy a Topping, Ayma etc. You get exactly what you paid for
Well, an afterthought speaker pairing also plays into that sound signature... That could be as much an issue as that niche Andrew made reference to. Just saying as many if not all the other reviewers I follow make that point.. pointedly Tarun the British Audiophile, Thomas and Stereo, are just a few. You might consider if you haven't already barrow some speakers from friends and check into it...just saying. Another issue not pointed out as often as it should is ears are fairly individual as are our perceptions of what we hear. Some people are more or less susceptible to cret frequencies causing listener fatigue, but that too is again a sign ears are different as not all of us sense the same issue at the exact same frequency.
Funny. I did the same and absolutely love it. But trusted reviews on speakers and hated them. You really have to listen before you know, especially since many you tubers have a financial interest through their links, etc.
Listening to hifi or music seriously is a whole skill in itself. You must use your ears. I say grab the 3 best speakers in your price range and look iisten to them all with one amp and see what you like in general. Then you change the amp and see how that changes anything. But tbh this is a laborious process but enjoyable for serious hifi lovers. No one takes it that seriously. So called music lovers haven't heard any decent gear in their life.
Wot, no NAD C-316BEE V2? It's got: BEE's PowerDrive, thru-hole parts, excellent tonality & gets great reviews. It's the only class AB amp remaining in NAD's lineup. Buy it for $350 while you still can! I agree with you regarding Yamaha, Marantz & Denon internals, the're a scary mess compared with other brands!
"It looks like **I** made it." LOL. I get exactly what you mean. Hey, I solder. I know what all the components do. I can cobble this together... But it will look like hell. Randy, did you ever do any Heath Kit projects back in the day?
LOL! “Looks like my living room… “ ha ha ha ha! We have a 6-year-old girl, so I think our living room looks like the inside of a Denon amp as well! Instead of transistors and caps, it’s plushies and art supplies.
I do not understand why nobody makes an decent Stereo Amplifier with 1 HDMI ARC a couple analogs in and good power output. WITHOUT internet, wireless, streaming, spotify, blutetooth in bluetooth out, Wi-Fi out and in and whatever here and there. How about something simple, and the controller, oh man, there is so many bad controllers too. But if it has HDMI ARC you do not need to use it that much. Because of the lack of simple, but not too simple stuff, is the reason I still have my Surround Receiver, everytime I look for something new I come to the conclusion that I probably have enough power and it is really expensive to upgrade to something that is better on paper.
It seems like Mosimo/sound United is focusing more on home theater with their Denon brand and is leaving the two channel gear for their Marantz brand. It would be nice if they would release an integrated under $800 though.
How does the HTA200 from Dayton Audio compare to these. Would be nice to include for the tube pre-amp section option and it looks awesome! $399.98 on Daytona Website. American company.
I have one an absolutely love it. Only thing is you really don't want to count in it's phono stage. Kind of a bummer because it only has one other analog input, so if you run a phono preamp, you're out of luck on additional analog inputs. But I also have a CD player and hooked it up via the optical in and it sounds great and I also run a laptop into it for streaming. It has a really rich, warm sound you'd expect from tube. Looks really cool too.
I'm torn between an integrated or going dual-mono Fosi. Either way, there's a WIIM Ultra front and center. In the day, I was Yamaha/Klipsch as my perfect warm sound. Suggestions?
So if I get it right in the end of the day all those 200$ smsl-topping-naim amps are good enough for the price, but they can not fight this old gang, are not they? I am talking about pure sound right now and do not touch anything above.
Thought I would check out Bryston and they seem to only be interested in trade shows. Go figure why near nobody on TH-cam reviews their products. Too bad as their equipment is hand made with the best electronics on the market and comes with a 20 year warranty. Haha, plus if someone's equipment is 40 + years old they will rebuild it. I found out a while ago that they were bought out roughly 3 years ago by the speaker manufacturer that custom made their speaker line. One would think they would promote more in this tube and they are made in Canada/The $ exchange rate with the US typically works out to about $0.74 in the dollar.
For me, the only attraction of an integrated amplifier, is the profound paucity of new reasonably-priced traditional preamplifiers. Why has this segment all but disappeared?
![[ENGSUB] UNPRODUCTIVE DAY ใช้ชีวิต (เปื่อยๆ) ด้วยกัน 1 วัน! | OUROAD CLOSEFRiEND SS2 EP.9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pyYKZ3kra9w/mqdefault.jpg)
Emotiva TA1 bit.ly/3AMpV4r (affiliate)
Cambridge AXA 35 howl.link/clIpROSwbYH (affiliate)
Yamaha AS301 howl.link/cjWnduNs1ib (affiliate)
Rotel A10 mk ii howl.link/clgnccSdaf4 (affiliate)
Wiim Amp Pro howl.link/amt5habpj1xph (affiliate)
Denon PMA600NE howl.link/iu96b5zgfvh0f (affiliate)
Based on earlier videos, this confirms my choice of the TA1 as my first audiophile amp. Paired with other videos’ recommendations of the Debut 3.0 65 and the 10E RSL Speedwoofer, I just love the sound of this system! Thanks Randy for all the analyses of these products!
Aliens! One of my favorite movies of all time! RIP Bill Paxton.
Nailed it
Cambridge AXA35 has tone controls. You need to press the menu button to access it
Owned the Rotel A8 $449 for two weeks. Sounded great with that typical Rotel sound. Gave it 5 stars on crutchfield then it immediately broke, sent it back.
@@Carl-bd1rf That's sad though not uncommon with many venerated Mfg'ers it's a quality control issue. Typically there is a basic standard that a certain percentage will get past that threshold. It is something like 3% is considered as a 100% success rate. As in life nothing is 100%.
I have the Emotiva TA1 and just heard you mention the sale, so I grabbed the XB2 speakers for $399. Thanks.
SMSL AO300 Home DAC Amp, CS43131 & MA5332MS, 165W*2 Power Amp, BT/USB/OPT/COAX/HDMI(ARC)/RCA to Speaker/Subwoofer DAC Amplifier with 4.4mm/6.35mm Headphone Output, MQA DAC Amplifier (Silver). previously highly recommended on this channel, bought one, the best £172.24 pounds UK I have spent on an amp. An Amazon day special reduced from 259.00 pounds.
good show,need to check the NAD 316 out,thanks for great show
Aliens 2! Love it, best sequel ever
Seems like the NAD C 316BEE should have been included on this list.
AXA 35 does have tone controls , push the volume button to get bass, treble and balance
I am way past this price range already, but I love your channel. This is a great video. There's good sound available in this hobby at reasonable prices, but you have to shop carefully. Informative videos like this can steer people in a good direction.
Great evaluation across function and sound qualities.
If you could just increase your budget to $650 dollars, I'm sure that you could get the marantz 6007 amp, which I believe would beat all these amps. It also has a great DAC. I own one and visitors who haven't heard it are blown away when I demo it. It is so punchy. Award winning amp. And fully featured.
That is much cheaper in Europe right now on sale around 400 Euro
This is a perfect video for me. I'm a newbie, and I try to select my first amp. I was thinking about Emotiva and Yamaha and I think this video helped me to make a final decision. Now speakers... I'm thinking about Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II and ELAC Debut Reference B6.2. Any suggestions?
Two presses on the remote and your into the tone settings on the Emotiva, I don’t understand how it could be any easier!
TA-2 owner... Agreed.
Just spit balling: in the past you Randy had an episode where you hinted of hooking up a TA1 with the ZA3's. Have you tried this and how did it sound? Taking it another step in the thought process, would changing the ZA3's to a pair of Outlaw Audio 2220 and using the Bluesound Node Nano a good step up from a reference of the Wiim Ultra? One more Q4U - does the speakers need to match the system? Putting a $500 or $1k into the amp+ streamer/turntable would aesthetically need $1k speakers, I mean wouldn't CSS5's seem out of place for a small room (12x14)? Wouldn't a Focal Theva fit the rest of it over an Elac or QAccoustics?
sweet and informative round up.
thought I'd give a heads up since there's always someone who's not privy but for anything amazon anywhere I use camel camel camel to keep track of price fluctuations and to send me an email when something drops, and it's also interesting to see how some prices work
The Denon pma600ne is one of my all time favorite integrated amps for sure....
Mike Campbell has Dirty Knobs.
Aliens sequel to Alien .. love those Xenomorphs…. RIP Mr. Paxton!
I have a Sony DH590 that I’ve had for like eight years. Would the Emotiva be much of an upgrade? Sound wise bc I know there’s no hdmi offered from the emotiva.
i bought a ta1 based on glowing reviews from you and the audio philiac. ive been disappointed in its shrill sound...only the Robinson guy pointed it out. after i realized its not hifi, but rather a damn good way to stream background music off your phone i understood its niche
I don’t trust US companies anymore. It’s usually very expensive just because US infrastructure is very lacking compared to China
If buy a Topping, Ayma etc. You get exactly what you paid for
Well, an afterthought speaker pairing also plays into that sound signature... That could be as much an issue as that niche Andrew made reference to. Just saying as many if not all the other reviewers I follow make that point.. pointedly Tarun the British Audiophile, Thomas and Stereo, are just a few. You might consider if you haven't already barrow some speakers from friends and check into it...just saying. Another issue not pointed out as often as it should is ears are fairly individual as are our perceptions of what we hear. Some people are more or less susceptible to cret frequencies causing listener fatigue, but that too is again a sign ears are different as not all of us sense the same issue at the exact same frequency.
Funny. I did the same and absolutely love it. But trusted reviews on speakers and hated them. You really have to listen before you know, especially since many you tubers have a financial interest through their links, etc.
@@richgrao yes, that was one of the earliest things I learned some 45 plus yrs ago 😂.
Listening to hifi or music seriously is a whole skill in itself. You must use your ears. I say grab the 3 best speakers in your price range and look iisten to them all with one amp and see what you like in general. Then you change the amp and see how that changes anything. But tbh this is a laborious process but enjoyable for serious hifi lovers. No one takes it that seriously. So called music lovers haven't heard any decent gear in their life.
You forgot the best, most neutral and finest sounding integrated amp under $600...The IotaVX SA3.
Wot, no NAD C-316BEE V2? It's got: BEE's PowerDrive, thru-hole parts, excellent tonality & gets great reviews. It's the only class AB amp remaining in NAD's lineup. Buy it for $350 while you still can!
I agree with you regarding Yamaha, Marantz & Denon internals, the're a scary mess compared with other brands!
$600.00 - Reverse the inflation on this to the 70's/Vintage. Just did and $128 USD
T2 is the best sequel ever, Aliens is up there for sure though.
Am I correct you can now use the Wiim Amp as a pre-amp since the last update that made USB-audio-out available?
Bought a used Cambridge CXA60, has a dac- but I dislike the sound of it. Tossed a Schiit Modi Multibit on it and everything sounds insanely good.
"It looks like **I** made it."
LOL. I get exactly what you mean. Hey, I solder. I know what all the components do. I can cobble this together... But it will look like hell.
Randy, did you ever do any Heath Kit projects back in the day?
I like this review, very good review. I like cheap class AB amps because I modify them to get something better without spending a fortune.
I have a Emotiva A2 that I am going to pair with the TA1 at some point. Maybe it will be my christmas thing this year?
LOL! “Looks like my living room… “ ha ha ha ha! We have a 6-year-old girl, so I think our living room looks like the inside of a Denon amp as well! Instead of transistors and caps, it’s plushies and art supplies.
Bring it Cheap Audio!
I do not understand why nobody makes an decent Stereo Amplifier with 1 HDMI ARC a couple analogs in and good power output. WITHOUT internet, wireless, streaming, spotify, blutetooth in bluetooth out, Wi-Fi out and in and whatever here and there.
How about something simple, and the controller, oh man, there is so many bad controllers too. But if it has HDMI ARC you do not need to use it that much.
Because of the lack of simple, but not too simple stuff, is the reason I still have my Surround Receiver, everytime I look for something new I come to the conclusion that I probably have enough power and it is really expensive to upgrade to something that is better on paper.
😂 The Denon basically means from its internal look its going to be expensive to repair if outside its warranty.
It seems like Mosimo/sound United is focusing more on home theater with their Denon brand and is leaving the two channel gear for their Marantz brand. It would be nice if they would release an integrated under $800 though.
You can't be serious. An amp with a "recessed midrange" isn't desirable, it is a bad amp.
Whilst I personally agree, some people will eq this way anyway. So for them they'd be happy.
How does the HTA200 from Dayton Audio compare to these. Would be nice to include for the tube pre-amp section option and it looks awesome! $399.98 on Daytona Website. American company.
I have one an absolutely love it. Only thing is you really don't want to count in it's phono stage. Kind of a bummer because it only has one other analog input, so if you run a phono preamp, you're out of luck on additional analog inputs. But I also have a CD player and hooked it up via the optical in and it sounds great and I also run a laptop into it for streaming. It has a really rich, warm sound you'd expect from tube. Looks really cool too.
I love Aliens. Great movie.
I have the yamaha as501 I am curious to see if it sounds better on the mids and highs than the yamaha as301
Right now you can get the Marantz PM6007 for around 400 euro's in the Netherlands (I think it is outgoing)
I'm torn between an integrated or going dual-mono Fosi. Either way, there's a WIIM Ultra front and center. In the day, I was Yamaha/Klipsch as my perfect warm sound. Suggestions?
Dual Fosi. I believe you can return them if you don't like them.
I personally don't mind a little trim now and then.
So if I get it right in the end of the day all those 200$ smsl-topping-naim amps are good enough for the price, but they can not fight this old gang, are not they? I am talking about pure sound right now and do not touch anything above.
How would this compare to spending the same level of money on say a 2X Fosi ZA3 (mono) and Fosi ZD3 with Sparkos Op Amps?
6? My lord... its the weekend, slow down. 5 is plenty for a Saturday my good sir.
You should try Sakura 739 integrated Amplifier
“It looks like I made it.” 😂
Thought I would check out Bryston and they seem to only be interested in trade shows. Go figure why near nobody on TH-cam reviews their products. Too bad as their equipment is hand made with the best electronics on the market and comes with a 20 year warranty. Haha, plus if someone's equipment is 40 + years old they will rebuild it. I found out a while ago that they were bought out roughly 3 years ago by the speaker manufacturer that custom made their speaker line. One would think they would promote more in this tube and they are made in Canada/The $ exchange rate with the US typically works out to about $0.74 in the dollar.
For me, the only attraction of an integrated amplifier, is the profound paucity of new reasonably-priced traditional preamplifiers. Why has this segment all but disappeared?
i wish I had bought Cambridge instead of ta1
Please explain why you think a toroidal power supply is not linear. Please correct the error.
Aliens!
Yamaha WXA-50.
Give me Vincent brand hi-fi juice. A little on the pricey side...so what.
Can't find Emotiva 20%. Where please?
Go to their website.
emotiva is $570,- wtf?
emotiva is 499 with 20% off so 399
I just spent $1000 on a preamp!
It's a Randy-thon. HONEY GET SOME COFFEE HE"S BACK