Recommended 2ch amplifiers under £100

[Robert94]

A friend of mine is after a new amplifier for 2 channel set-up that is under £100 and has the potential to run upgraded speakers on in the future.
He currently has Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s:
Power handling 20-100 watts
Impedance 6 ohms
Sensitivity 86 dB

They are currently looking at a Cambridge A5 amp secondhand from eBay for £70. I was wondering if you guys had any other recommendations and if you think getting a second hand amp is the way to go as you can get some good deals - I'm very pleased with my second hand azur 340a.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Just to clarify things a bit: A5 is a Integrated Amplifier - means it has volume control.
Regular amps don't - they just amplify by fixed amount.

Given that A5 msrp is 120 of your queens currency , 70p for 2nd hand doesn't sound to me like a great deal. It could've been purchased on sale new for 80-100p

Though I don't have personal experience with Cambridge products - I think they are making solid products.
Your Azur 340a is obviously more powerful than A5.

I would recommend to look for second hand Yamaha receivers - they are bulletproof and great value.

 

[Robert94]

Just to clarify things a bit: A5 is a Integrated Amplifier - means it has volume control.
Regular amps don't - they just amplify by fixed amount.

Ah thank you for the terminology clarification!

Your Azur 340a is obviously more powerful than A5.

I would recommend to look for second hand Yamaha receivers - they are bulletproof and great value.

Looking at the specs the A5 has 60W per channel but my azur 340a is only 40W per channel.

Regarding Yamaha I've mainly only really seen them as a AV company rather than an integrated amp company (although I've never really looked so that could just be my ignorance). I'll have a look for some.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Ah thank you for the terminology clarification!



Looking at the specs the A5 has 60W per channel but my azur 340a is only 40W per channel.

Regarding Yamaha I've mainly only really seen them as a AV company rather than an integrated amp company (although I've never really looked so that could just be my ignorance). I'll have a look for some.

I was looking up specs here:
http://www.whathifi.com/cambridge-audio/azur-340a-se/specs
it's says 80rms - typically power specs is proved per channel. If they summed it? it's possible, but misleading imo

Besides A/V receivers, Yamaha have plenty of stereo only models - and they include robust and very clean amp section as well as more inputs and flexibility than integ amps do.

 

[Robert94]

I was looking up specs here:
http://www.whathifi.com/cambridge-audio/azur-340a-se/specs
it's says 80rms - typically power specs is proved per channel. If they summed it? it's possible, but misleading imo

Besides A/V receivers, Yamaha have plenty of stereo only models - and they include robust and very clean amp section as well as more inputs and flexibility than integ amps do.

I find the whathifi specifications to always be off.. In the user manual it is 40W per channel, but I run B&W 685 S2 (recommended 20-100W) and I have never needed to turn it up to more than 3/4 volume so it's been pretty impressive (although my first hifi system so I haven't been exposed to anything else)

I'll have a look around for some older Yamaha models, thanks!

 

[Seth=L]

Economies of scale would drive me to purchase an AV receiver long before an integrated amplifier with that strict a budget. AV receivers offer a lot more features, power, flexibility, and at least equal sound quality to integrated amplifiers in that price range.