On Oct 15, 10:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

oups.com...





On Oct 15, 8:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

roups.com...

Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

**Budget?
Location?
Willingness to consider used products?
Speakers?
Expectations form the equipment?
SPL expectations etc?

Trevor Wilson

Hi Trev,

Answering your questions -

Im Melbourne based. Prefer new. Bugdet $1000-$1600 AUD.

Main speakers - JBL's and Whatmoughs.

Expectations - very high but I know I can't expect what one would get
from $20K for the price I am willing to pay.

**See if you can find a second hand ME240 (high cap would be nice). Although
older, an ME550 + Me14/15/24/15 should be obtainable for the upper end of
your price range and provide a useful improvement in performance. Older
still, but capable of stunning performance, would be an ME75, with any of
the preamps. The ME75'B' series is my favourite. The 'C' series sounded a
little better, but the power transformers were fragile and prone to noise,
if subjected to shock. There is a soon-to-be-released upgrade to all ME
power amps, which will transform them into something very special indeed.
Again, the ME75 is the best bang for your Buck here.

Trevor Wilson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thanks Trev. Pardon my ignorance but what does ME stand for? Are there
any resellers in Melbourne where I can go for an audition?

cheers Max

"max graff" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 15, 10:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

oups.com...





On Oct 15, 8:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

roups.com...

Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

**Budget?
Location?
Willingness to consider used products?
Speakers?
Expectations form the equipment?
SPL expectations etc?

Trevor Wilson

Hi Trev,

Answering your questions -

Im Melbourne based. Prefer new. Bugdet $1000-$1600 AUD.

Main speakers - JBL's and Whatmoughs.

Expectations - very high but I know I can't expect what one would get
from $20K for the price I am willing to pay.

**See if you can find a second hand ME240 (high cap would be nice).
Although
older, an ME550 + Me14/15/24/15 should be obtainable for the upper end of
your price range and provide a useful improvement in performance. Older
still, but capable of stunning performance, would be an ME75, with any of
the preamps. The ME75'B' series is my favourite. The 'C' series sounded a
little better, but the power transformers were fragile and prone to
noise,
if subjected to shock. There is a soon-to-be-released upgrade to all ME
power amps, which will transform them into something very special indeed.
Again, the ME75 is the best bang for your Buck here.

Trevor Wilson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thanks Trev. Pardon my ignorance but what does ME stand for? Are there
any resellers in Melbourne where I can go for an audition?

**ME Sound. They were producing amplifiers from 1976 'till 2003, right here
in Australia. Recently the owner has re-formed his company and is producing
very limited numbers of high end (expensive) models. There are, however,
thousands of older models (such as the ones I cited), many of which are
available second hand. Additionally, the owner is committed to releasing
upgrades to older models (such as the ones I cited), reflecting new
technologies and design ideas. More information (such as it is) he

http://www.me-au.com/

Of course, the foregoing assumes that you are comfortable with second hand
products. Auditioning will, therefore, depend on the seller. You could try
Winovate in Glen Iris. They may have some products available.

Trevor Wilson

On Oct 15, 11:17 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

oups.com...





On Oct 15, 10:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

groups.com...

On Oct 15, 8:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

roups.com...

Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

**Budget?
Location?
Willingness to consider used products?
Speakers?
Expectations form the equipment?
SPL expectations etc?

Trevor Wilson

Hi Trev,

Answering your questions -

Im Melbourne based. Prefer new. Bugdet $1000-$1600 AUD.

Main speakers - JBL's and Whatmoughs.

Expectations - very high but I know I can't expect what one would get
from $20K for the price I am willing to pay.

**See if you can find a second hand ME240 (high cap would be nice).
Although
older, an ME550 + Me14/15/24/15 should be obtainable for the upper end of
your price range and provide a useful improvement in performance. Older
still, but capable of stunning performance, would be an ME75, with any of
the preamps. The ME75'B' series is my favourite. The 'C' series sounded a
little better, but the power transformers were fragile and prone to
noise,
if subjected to shock. There is a soon-to-be-released upgrade to all ME
power amps, which will transform them into something very special indeed.
Again, the ME75 is the best bang for your Buck here.

Trevor Wilson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thanks Trev. Pardon my ignorance but what does ME stand for? Are there
any resellers in Melbourne where I can go for an audition?

**ME Sound. They were producing amplifiers from 1976 'till 2003, right here
in Australia. Recently the owner has re-formed his company and is producing
very limited numbers of high end (expensive) models. There are, however,
thousands of older models (such as the ones I cited), many of which are
available second hand. Additionally, the owner is committed to releasing
upgrades to older models (such as the ones I cited), reflecting new
technologies and design ideas. More information (such as it is) he

http://www.me-au.com/

Of course, the foregoing assumes that you are comfortable with second hand
products. Auditioning will, therefore, depend on the seller. You could try
Winovate in Glen Iris. They may have some products available.

Trevor Wilson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thanks matey. I will dig into it.

"max graff" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

You forgot the third option - the receiver. An integrated amp is a receiver
without a FM section. A power amp is an integrated amp that you use with a
separate preamp or other controller. Of course you know all that.

Usually, all other things being equal, a receiver is the cheapest solution.
This is because of the power of the mass market. I see a lot of integrated
amps that are no better than a good receiver.

The most flexible tool is the power amp. There are situations where that is
all you need. There are other situations where the built-in control
facilities of an integrated amp get in the way. There are other situations
where integrated amps that have all of the features you want, like maybe a
preamp for a certain phono cartridge, are hard to find.

"Trevor Wilson" wrote in message
...

"max graff" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 15, 8:10 am, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"max graff" wrote in message

ups.com...

Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

**Budget?
Location?
Willingness to consider used products?
Speakers?
Expectations form the equipment?
SPL expectations etc?

Good questions.

Im Melbourne based. Prefer new. Bugdet $1000-$1600 AUD.

Main speakers - JBL's and Whatmoughs.

Expectations - very high but I know I can't expect what one would get
from $20K for the price I am willing to pay.

**See if you can find a second hand ME240 (high cap would be nice).
Although older, an ME550 + Me14/15/24/15 should be obtainable for the
upper end of your price range and provide a useful improvement in
performance. Older still, but capable of stunning performance, would be an
ME75, with any of the preamps. The ME75'B' series is my favourite. The 'C'
series sounded a little better, but the power transformers were fragile
and prone to noise, if subjected to shock. There is a soon-to-be-released
upgrade to all ME power amps, which will transform them into something
very special indeed. Again, the ME75 is the best bang for your Buck here.

Yeah, sure. :-(

In article , Arny
Krueger
wrote:

"max graff" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

You forgot the third option - the receiver. An integrated amp is a
receiver without a FM section. A power amp is an integrated amp that
you use with a separate preamp or other controller. Of course you know
all that.

I don't know about other countries, but there is a historic difference here
between the UK and USA.

Until the advent of 'AV' as a serious mass-market here in the UK the
receiver tended to fall out of favour. So stereo receivers here have tended
to be rare (and often used to be called a 'tuner-amp'). Armstrong Audio
were about the last UK stereo hifi maker who specialised in receivers for
hifi enthusiasts, and stopped making them in the early 1980s. I suspect the
reason the receiver fell out of favor was the arrival of many 'tower
systems' and other relatively cheap combinations which flooded the UK
market in the late 1970s and 1980s, tending to give the idea a 'bad name'
for many UK magazines and enthusiasts. Plus, of course, the way the UK
press at the time started to become obsessed with just a few 'magic' brand
names for 'subjective' reasons... :-)

They are much more common now, and may well make sense if you want the
tuner, but IIUC tend to be AV multichannel in many cases rather than
stereo.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Arny
Krueger
wrote:

"max graff" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi guys,

My old two channel pre-amp has gone coo-coo. Time to go shopping.

I am looking at Rotel as I am very happy with my existing CD
player.
Should I go for a integrated amp or should I go for a pre amp
connected to a power amp?

You forgot the third option - the receiver. An integrated amp is a
receiver without a FM section. A power amp is an integrated amp that
you use with a separate preamp or other controller. Of course you
know
all that.

I don't know about other countries, but there is a historic difference
here
between the UK and USA.

Until the advent of 'AV' as a serious mass-market here in the UK the
receiver tended to fall out of favour. So stereo receivers here have
tended
to be rare (and often used to be called a 'tuner-amp'). Armstrong
Audio
were about the last UK stereo hifi maker who specialised in receivers
for
hifi enthusiasts, and stopped making them in the early 1980s. I
suspect the
reason the receiver fell out of favor was the arrival of many 'tower
systems' and other relatively cheap combinations which flooded the UK
market in the late 1970s and 1980s, tending to give the idea a 'bad
name'
for many UK magazines and enthusiasts. Plus, of course, the way the UK
press at the time started to become obsessed with just a few 'magic'
brand
names for 'subjective' reasons... :-)

They are much more common now, and may well make sense if you want the
tuner, but IIUC tend to be AV multichannel in many cases rather than
stereo.


I believe a number of other factors have ensured the 'FM Receiver'
remained less popular in the UK - there's the difficulty of getting a
signal clean enough for (relatively) sensitive tuners which renders an
adequate tabletop or portable 'radio' a better solution for many people
and the arrival of the 'telly' put paid to 'serious radio' listening in
the evenings for the great majority of Brits.

I suspect the inclusion of FM tuners and Phono Stages in many AV
Receivers is more to do with 'feature count' competition than anything
to do with actual demand and the continual reports of growing
listenership by some radio stations owe more to the fact that the
workplace relies less on steam power these days and that fewer people
travel on horses....

In article , Keith G
wrote:



I believe a number of other factors have ensured the 'FM Receiver'
remained less popular in the UK - there's the difficulty of getting a
signal clean enough for (relatively) sensitive tuners which renders an
adequate tabletop or portable 'radio' a better solution for many people
and the arrival of the 'telly' put paid to 'serious radio' listening in
the evenings for the great majority of Brits.

It was also the case that FM Stereo and Colour TV arrived in the UK in a
similar time period, and that the BBC tended to give priority to expanding
the Colour TV network. The result was that FM Stereo only expanded slowly.
For some years in the UK 'stereo' was for occasional programmes on radio 3,
from the transmitters in the south-east. So much so that HFN used to list
each month the couple of dozen broadcasts for the next month. They fitted
into two or three column inches. Clear sign that by then 'radio' was the
poor relation of 'TV' so far as the BBC were concerned. And of course there
were no national independent broadcasters for radio...

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Keith G
wrote:



I believe a number of other factors have ensured the 'FM Receiver'
remained less popular in the UK - there's the difficulty of getting a
signal clean enough for (relatively) sensitive tuners which renders
an
adequate tabletop or portable 'radio' a better solution for many
people
and the arrival of the 'telly' put paid to 'serious radio' listening
in
the evenings for the great majority of Brits.

It was also the case that FM Stereo and Colour TV arrived in the UK in
a
similar time period, and that the BBC tended to give priority to
expanding
the Colour TV network. The result was that FM Stereo only expanded
slowly.
For some years in the UK 'stereo' was for occasional programmes on
radio 3,
from the transmitters in the south-east. So much so that HFN used to
list
each month the couple of dozen broadcasts for the next month. They
fitted
into two or three column inches. Clear sign that by then 'radio' was
the
poor relation of 'TV' so far as the BBC were concerned. And of course
there
were no national independent broadcasters for radio...


I think the same scant regard for 'audiophiles' is being demonstrated
with the cavalier attitudes to bitrates on DAB. The sad truth, of
course, is that what they transmit is plenty good enough for the great
majority of the people!

But I'm afraid I carry the same sentiment across all 'digital'
platforms - contrary to the pop vox, I believe 'digital' represents a
lowering of 'real quality' standards and that most people are blinded by
the vast choice/speed of access/relatively low cost of 'digital
anything' and cannot see that, although there is *more* of everything
with superficially 'better specifications', so much more of it is
actually *life-wasting* crap!

(In short - *Remote Controls* are the tools of the Devil!! :-)

In article , Keith G
wrote:


I think the same scant regard for 'audiophiles' is being demonstrated
with the cavalier attitudes to bitrates on DAB. The sad truth, of
course, is that what they transmit is plenty good enough for the great
majority of the people!

But I'm afraid I carry the same sentiment across all 'digital'
platforms - contrary to the pop vox, I believe 'digital' represents a
lowering of 'real quality' standards and that most people are blinded by
the vast choice/speed of access/relatively low cost of 'digital
anything' and cannot see that, although there is *more* of everything
with superficially 'better specifications', so much more of it is
actually *life-wasting* crap!

In one very real respect 'digital' during the last 25 years has meant the
opposite.

For many manufacturers, the standards for LP pressings and cassette tapes
were really dreadful during the 1970s. CD allowed me to buy music without
having to take back most of what I bought for a replacement. The result was
that I was able to enjoy far more music than was previously the case. I
used to avoid buying LPs as I got fed up with the worry of that first
listen to see if I had to take it back, or could put up with the
manufacturing faults.

Since then I've been happy to buy even by post and secondhand without
feeling as I did so I'd have to plan when to get a replacement, and often a
replacement for the replacement - as I had regularly to do with 'analogue'.
Thus for sheer ability to enjoy music, in the real world 'digital' was a
major advance over analogue in my experience.

During the last few days I bought some second-hand CDs, and also one of a
1963 recording I've owned since then on LP. Have been thoroughly enjoying
them all since. :-) FWIW This seems to me to be a good time to buy CDs if
you like 'classical' music as they are fairly cheap, and there are loads of
re-issues of old recordings, often sounding excellent.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html