My Favorite Amps from Cheap to Expensive

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Recommended Streamer

Recommended Speaker List

Around $100 (These prices will fluctuate between $75 - $150)

Around $200

Around $400

Around $500

Around $600

Recommended Amp List

Under $100

Around $130

Around $250

Around $400

Recommended DACs

Subs

[samuellord]

Randy, as others have said, the common meaning of integrated amp is an amp and preamp in one box: that is, an amp with a volume control and at least two inputs. Now, the ubiquity of cheap DACs and phono circuits is causing that meaning to change, but the absolute minimum remains amp + volume control + choice of input selection. Cheers

[pervertedalchemist]

I'm in the Yamaha camp. Their amplifiers have never disappointed me.

[richardlloyd]

Great overview! I tried out a Rotel A11 tribute based on your review (last year) and it is now my go-to amp. For those who don't know this unit, it doesn't have tons of bells and whistles, but what it does have is a great basic design (the original A-11, which was quite nice) with added sonic love from no less than Ken Ishiwata...his final triumph. Fifty watts might not be enough for some situations and inefficient speakers, but I can say that this amplifier pushes my Polk R-200's (Randy Rocks it Once Again ; ) to really high levels (last night, Cream / Wheels of Fire and Miles Davis / Kind of Blue) in a medium sized room with no sign of hardening the mids or losing control: just sweet. BTW, as Randy noted, it has a terrific Phono stage. 
OK, too much coffee, so I'll add this: the volume control is rather unique in that it uses a Linear Taper instead of a more conventional Audio Taper. Audio Taper pots are what most of us are used to, and they can give the impression of immense power because they get loud early in the rotation (my wonderful Marantz 2275 gets loud by 9 o'c and by 12o'c is almost unbearable). But there is a catch with this design, because most of your amplifiers power reserve is used up by somewhere around 1o'c. Well, it all works, and this was especially good in the early days because a prospective buyer would go "OMG! Look how loud this little 15W Pioneer SX-450 gets at 9o'c!!!" And it did. But not much happened past 12 o'c. (not picking on the great little SX-450...it was true for all makes and models, and still is...with rare exceptions). So why use a Linear Taper Pot? Well, there is one big advantage: the volume level rises MUCH more slowly as you turn the knob. I find it easier to really find the volume sweet spot, especially when back on the couch and using the well thought out Remote Control. I haven't gone in to see if they did this with a digital control or an actual potentiometer, but the effect is the same, and once you get used to it, it is a WAY cool feature. Sorry if I went on a ramble ; )

[mm]

Audiolab 6000a, looks and runs cool, very versatile, beautifully balanced and clear sound. Cranking up with the Warfedale diamond 12.2's, their bass vibrates the floor and fills the medium size room with great sound and little effort, a power amp can be added for more demanding speakers. A well thought out, undervalued amp that offers the best value, love it.

[nakkenakuttaja]

I would add Lyngdorf tdai-1120 to the list. It's cheaper than Buchardt I150 and has a ton of features. It has one of the best and easiest room corrections (Room Perfect), 2 x Coaxial, 2 x Optical, HDMI eARC, Phono stage (MM), Bluetooth connectivity and USB. Streaming includes Internet Radio (vTuner), Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect including MQA decoding, Roon Ready, Google Chromecast, Apple AirPlay2, DLNA Support (UPnP/see DLNA formats). Power rating is 2 x 120 W RMS @ 4Ohm / 2 x 60 W RMS @ 8Ohm. It also has best subwoofer integration options that i have ever seen and it sounds amazing 👍

[kirkaparty]

Nice List. I would Add IOTAVX SA3, Audiolab 6000a and Marantz PM8006. The Marantz is outstanding with B&W, Focal, Klispch and KEF speakers

[davidline]

Glad I brought the A11 tribute, it suits my needs perfectly. thought it would be a risk but after a couple years other people still saying nice things about it.

[Rab]

I use coupled an Audiolab 6000A with a pair of Elac Uni-Fi Reference and for records I use a Schiit Mani Pre-amp. It’s an absolutely lovely combination (with a good set of cables as well)

[DoctorPoo]

I started with the Emotiva TA1, it’s in storage now having upgraded to an Akitika pre and amp with an Ares2 DAC.
I did get that Basx mini with jumper to lower my planar headphones recently too.

[Inferno_Assassin]

I would also recommend the Arylic B50. Lower power and less room for upgrades in power, but it has HDMI ARC and a line out for a sub. The app has a lot of features including a subwoofer crossover/hi-pass filter.

[eddtru]

I was eyeing the Yamaha s-301 but the Cambridge Audio AXR85 for $339 factory refurbished is insanely good.

[krihanek]

My choice was to buy the Emotiva PT2 $699 and A2 $499 (got them both during the sale, saved 10%). I wanted the power the A2 makes combined with the bass management of the pre-amp. Cutting off the low frequencies to the bookshelf speaker signal. Paired with a powered sub-woofer this option was just what I needed.

[sullytool]

The Cambridge ax100 is a really nice amp, has a tuner, sub out, a and b speasker outs. bluetooth, onboard dac. I just bought mine and paired them with 2 Kanto passives and a 10" monoprice sub and wow!!!

[adsph]

All of these listed have their strong aspects. I expect higher cost products to be better. To be honest I’m amazed at the truly budget one’s that deliver the goods at their price points. Great take as usual.

[johnpischedda]

The Yamaha is the sweet spot I love it ! Decent DAC as well ! I’ve also got the Fosi in a smaller system which is impressive!

[john]

I respectfully disagree with your definition of an integrated amp. An integrated amp is simply a device that has both the preamp stage and a power stage. It doesn't need to have a source. In fact I think the best amps are amps that are analog only and do not have a built-in DAC.

[defkon]

Wow CheapAudioMan the Denon DRA-800H didn't make your list. I ended up buying one after I compared the features after much debate between that & the PMA600NE and the Cambridge AXR85. <3 the videos man!!

[paulandrews]

An integrated amplifier has pre and power amps integrated in one box. An amplifier that has a source is a receiver. An amplifier with a dac or bluetooth does not have a source but a circuit that enables reproduction from an external source

[archangele]

The last amp can easily be upgraded with a separate DAC
by using an inexpensive ZEN DAC which last time I looked, sells for
around $200. I presently use the ZEN DAC with an Apple iMac and it
sounds excellent. The cool thing about a separate DAC is that you
can use it to drive any audio amplifier of your choice so you could
continue to use it with a different amplifier if you ever decide to upgrade
your present one to a better one. I have a few different DAC's ranging
in price from $200 to almost $1, 000 and to be frank, I can't really tell
the difference between the $200 ZEN DAC and the most expensive one.

[myfreakyvalentine]

I have the Rotel All Tribute. I was running them with Acoustic Energy AE300 bookshelf speakers and they were fine, but it wasn't until changing over to different speakers (Q Acoustic 3050i), that I was really able to appreciate how good it really is. I also have an SMSL A300 which I wanted to try out, but my advice, get the Rotel, especially as they have been around a few years now and seem to be dropping in price. Also, speaker matching matters.