Amplifier dilemma - Yamaha A-S2100 perhaps?

dollag

I have mentioned the lyngdorf tdai 2700 already twice, but seems to have gone unnoticed.

I had the supernait 2 on home demo with my kef r300’s and reference 3’s and was not impressed. The naim struggled to control the kefs lower end. My creek evo sounded better and also has tone controls.

Creek evo 100a

But I still feel that most amps would struggle to touch the lyngdorf. It has room perfect which imo would negate the need for tone controls and optimise your room.

Crazeenick

Thanks Dollag, will check out the Creek and the Lyngdorf  

RBZ5416

Most input seems to have been ignored...

Crazeenick

Not at all - I have carefully read every post on the thread and have looked up all amps suggested.  

Auditioning the amps suggested is going to take some time - there are hardly any hifi shops in the towns nearest to me - most people have no money around here!  Also, "esoteric" brands like Lyngdorf are quite hard to track down.

I am grateful for all input.

Cheers,
Nick

Nat64

When you change from 1 amp to another they do sound different.

I went from a Technics pre amp/amp which I had from new back in 1989 and i was very happy with the Technics and I would say it sounded full and with a certain bass quality.
The Yamaha was very detailed, the bass was tighter and far more controlled. It is a much better amp compared to what i had even though the Technics was the high end in its day.

Yes the Yamaha sounded very different , but after a couple of weeks of listening all I can tell you is I  I love everything about  the Yamaha.

That burning in period you talk about is your ears. After years of being used to hearing a certain sound you are now get used to the new sound.

Also consider that equipment can and will sound very different in your living room than it did at the dealer demo room .

Just what i found.

BlueWizard

The AS2100 has a few other features like XLR/Balance In and Out. That might matter to some people.

AS1100 = £1050

AS2100 = £1600

So about £550 more, we can also presume a higher build quality. From what I have heard, the amps are identical design, though perhaps built from different components, so it would very reasonable for them to sound the same. I think those who have the Amps would not argue that point. Most who get the AS1100 do so for value and because they don't need the extra features of the AS2100. But those how choose the AS2100 do so for the extra features and feel it is worth the additional £550. To each his own.

At least take a look at the Rotel A14 (£875) and the more expensive Rotel RA-1572 (£1395) -

Rotel A14 Integrated Amplifier

Rotel RA-1572 Integrated Amplifier

You could also check out various Denon models in this price range-

Denon PMA-1600-NE - 80w/ch - £1300 -

Denon PMA-1600NE Integrated Amplifier

For the record, I have a Rotel RA-1570 (the previous model) and would dearly like to have the newer RA-1572.


Steve/bluewizard

Crazeenick

Thanks everybody for your input!  Having read up lots of info on the amps suggested, my shortlist is now:

Rotel RA1572/RA1592
Reviews look good (apart from What Hi-Fi, but we know they are not always unbiased!).  I get the impression the RA1592 is just a beefed up RA1572 (ie more power), but will have essentially the same sound.  Is that fair? (I probably don't need the increased power of the 1592).

Creek evo 100a
Reviews look good.

Yamaha A-S1100/A-S2100
Still on my shortlist. Leaving aside the superior headphone stage on the A-S2100, do the slightly improved componenets on the A-S2100 (eg larger capacitors) lead to any improvement in speaker sound quality over the cheaper A-S1100?  Has anyone directly compared the two models?

NAD C375BEE
Older model and a bit cheaper, but have read some glowing reviews online.

Any comments on how the above models compare?  Which will give me the lively but detailed sound I am striving for ("a Naim Supernait-2 with tone controls"!).

BTW:  I did consider the Lyngdorf amp - I am sure it isounds great, but I don't fancy the complexities of settings "voicings" - I just want to grab and tweak a treble or bass knob!

Cheers,
Nick

dollag

Haven’t heard the rotel or nad.

Creek is a great amplifier but I’ve heard my r500’s sing better with other gear

Yamaha is a lovely amplifier and got nothing negative to say about it. Haven’t had it in my own system to directly compare.

Naim sn2 did not fair well with my r500’s, r300’s or my reference 3’s. was no control over the bass.

Best I heard my r500’s (without room correction cos I now use Dirac) was with some nord acoustic mono block amplifiers with a preamp. I had the oppo sonica but tried the Yamaha wxc50 and was great. Best I have heard my r500’s and r300’s by some margin.

Another thing I’d look at would be emotiva. They have some great pre and power amplifiers. I recently purchased their basx a300 power amp to pair with my oppo sonica and it’s fantastic, a lot of good clean power. I tried my reference 3’s on it and they sang. Great value for the cash.

Imo I’d forget reviews and try and get some demo’s in. I went to the shop with naim as my main target and walked out with a creek. @gibbsy done the same thing with naim and left with a rega. Personal preference plays a role.

For what’s it’s worth, it’s why I was pushing the lyngdorf because room correction to a degree negated the need for tone controls and optimises your room. My arcam avr along with some power amps sounds better than the naim sn2 I had on loan and by some margin too and since then I will not be without room eq. Lyngdorfs is the best in the business.

Just upgraded to an arcam from a marantz The post I done fairly recently and may be a good read.

Crazeenick

OP here with an update!

I tried the following amps and not been happy with any as yet:

Marantz PM14 S1 SE - sold it on
Nad C375BEE - sold it on
Cambridge Audio Azure 851A - sold it on
Yamaha AS2100

I currently have a Yamaha AS2100 and will probably re-sell.  Although it is very good in many ways (resolution, natural sound, soundstaging, low noise floor, great headphone stage...), I found the overall sound presentation slightly "boring".  I want something with a bit more "attack" like a Naim Supernait-2.

I plan to get hold of a Rotel RA1572 next, to compare with the Yamaha AS2100 - am hoping the Rotel will have a more exciting sound than the Yamaha - perhaps someone like Bluewizard could advise me whether I am likely to like the Rotel?

If the Rotel isn't to my taste either, I think I will "give up" and settle for a Naim Supernait-2.  If this happens, I wondered about getting a Schiit Loki tone control unit to put in between my Naim CDX2 cd player and the SN2 amp........

Any further comments guys?

dollag

edit sorry wrong post!!!!

as stated previously, for the money, nothing can come close to the tdai 2700 (to my ears) and would not look any further. It;s one of those things that once you hear it, you understand.

I am not a fan of naims gear but it is a preference thing and probably a lot to do with the speakers i paired it with; however this bothers me a lot.

a power stage of an amplifier should do nothing but amplify the signal but naims amplifiers do not seem to do this very well. I like clean amplifiers

an example here

SUPERNAIT 2

no real information of the amplifier but are charging how much??

their tech brochure is not better
https://www.naimaudio.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/files/NAIT_Leaflet_A4_6pp_EN_FINAL.pdf

i am currently selling this emotiva amplifier in the classifieds and is one of the cleanest amplifiers i have owned.

A-300

look at the price difference but then look at the information provided. yes some will say is not relevant but to me thats bs!!! a company should be transparent when talking specs and naim just arent.