New Sound System But Stuck On Amplifier

Hi everyone.

Over the past few months I have read a lot of from this site and it has helped me narrow things down. Have a great record collection and now finally want to go all out instead of half-assed systems. As of now I am going with this:

Rega Planar 3 with the Rega Exact cartridge
Pro-Ject Tube Box S - Tube preamp
Polk Audio RTi A3 bookshelf speakers

What amp would you guys recommend?

 

Buy the Rega Brio-R and skip the external phono stage. The Brio has a nice one built-in. Spend the money saved on better speakers; ...way better speakers.
-Bill

 

Bill speaks the truth. I've just started a relationship with a 2017 Brio R that's bordering on unnatural.

 

Thanks for the information guys. I ended up getting the Rega Brio R and Dynaudio Emit 20 speakers.

The problem is that the Rega gets very hot very quick when the volume is past half way. The Rega is not suited for 4 ohm and to be fair the manual even states that it will get hot.

The TT is wonderful and the speakers are amazing but I have to return the Rega and need some advice on a new amp that can handle the speakers; I am open to the idea of buying a preamp if needed. My budget is around $1,500-2,000 (Australian)

Any help would be great, thanks.

 

I'd consider a NuPrime IDA-8 paired with something like a Lounge LCR if the budget allows, I think that's pushing it. But the IDA-8 won't sweat 4-ohms (though, to be fair, it does NOT increase power at lower impedance due to its design). Just a thought. Other fair warning - the IDA-8 only has one analog input, FYI.

 

The Parasound Halo will probably drive anything but may be out of your budget. Rogue Audio Sphinx is something to consider if it's available there.

 

How hot is hot? Like so hot you can't touch it? Are you hearing anything that indicates also the amp is not up to the task?

 

Yamaha AS-801 Decent internal phonostage and it won't break a sweat driving 4 ohms.

 

Playing 1 record about 3 quarters the way up in volume and it gets so hot you cannot leave your hand on it after 1-2 seconds.

 

Good suggestions here. I haven't read many good things about the Pro-Ject Tube Box.
However, the Rega Brio R does seem to be universally praised.

 

Three quarters of the way up on the volume control? That's crazy! Either the internal phono stage has no gain, the speakers are hugely inefficient, the amp has no power, your in a huge room that's too big for the system, or you're deaf! Something isn't right here!

 

I would take back the speakers because they likely will have issues with other amps. Are you sure it's simply the 4 ohms or is this a notoriously difficult to drive speaker which really needs a lot of watts? It does sound like the speakers are simply inefficient and you are trying to play too loud in a large room requiring a bigger amp and preferably larger more efficient speaker combination.

 

In days gone past I've run a Naim Nait and Linn Intek flat out (on the phono input) into Linn Kans. Apart from the fact that could partially explain the tinnitus now, a lot of the British designed amps had a usable volume pot.

Some others would get loud at 9 o'clock, very loud at 10 o'clock, and be unusable any further around; so pretty pointless and possibly fooling you into thinking the amount is more powerful than it is.

The Regas may run hot, but have always been reliable.

 

You make a decent point, and the truth is once I get a few drinks in me I love my music loud. Have never had any pain in my ears despite 15 years of loud Rock 'N' Roll and will always turn down the music if I was hurting.

Expert advice given to me was that 90 degrees was how hot a Rega could run, and no doubt if I played my records loud all day (dreaming of no people at home) I am sure I would cause damage in the end. Got a 5 year warranty on the speakers and a 3 year warranty on the amp, so I am not worried.

Reading a bit on tube amps lately and would love to trade in. Loud is one thing, but I want a good separation of instruments. Willing to spend 3k on a tube amp.

 

If that is the case then consider me out.

 

It is a 3rd bedroom that I have converted into a music room.

I hate some of my Beatles stereo albums. Having all the vocals in one speaker is very annoying and makes stereo sound seem stupid. Mono for the Beatles 100%

That is a different topic though.

 

i cant fault Cyrus amps. Had many over the years and there are loads available S\H as i suspect new are pricey in OZ. Great upgrade path too if you are interested. Good luck

 

Looks like a nice used (6 month old) Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II within your price range.

 

Way better speakers? What is it about the rti a3's that are so horrible?

 

Should you decide on way better speakers, today is the day.

Check this link to a sale the Polk Audio is having on their flagship LSiM line.

The LSiM703's are Polk's top of the line bookshelf speaker.

This is the last day of the sale. They are normally $$1,500/pr. Until midnight tonight $750//pr.

 

I know its going to be controversial and purchases have already been made, but I'd much rather drive a 3K pair of speakers with a 1K amplifier than the other way around. When building systems, I've always budgeted about 50% for the speakers, and distributed the rest of the budget through the remainder of the system, leaving an extra large portion also for the phono cartridge. You're finding faults with the current speakers and you like the music loud - seems like you'd be a good candidate for a pair of floorstanders. For the 1K budget there are any number of secondary market components you could look at Adcom, Parasound, Rotel come to mind immediately. In the 3K range for speakers, either new or secondary, there's a lot of fun stuff to choose between.

 

If I were in Australia I would try to get in touch with Rod Elliott. If his products have any equivalence to his hi-fi knowledge he could set you on the right path.

 

Suggest you take the Brio into a dealer. It sounds like it might need servicing. It's a terrific amp and they can run hot when running at high volumes for hours on end. But they can be defective and run "excessively" hot.

The volume knob setting is concerning too.

 

I have 4 ohm speakers and the Rega manual mentions that it will get really hot when running those amps at high volume. The warranty is for 3 years so I am looking at it trading it in.

Tube amps seem very tempting but the ones in my price range are also for 8 ohm. Might be worth going for a slight downgrade in speakers. Most of my music is down at a low volume after work, so the Rega Brio R is fine most of the time.

4 ohm speakers at 60-70% (Dynaudio Emit 20) were more then loud enough for the small room I have them in. Would 8 ohm speakers at around 80-90% sound similar?