[happyangryhappy]

Wow, many replies. Thanks a lot.

I like the look and the reviews I read of the Jolida and Rega. However, just to be sure would both of these be comfortable driving 4 ohm speakers? There web sites had little to offer here. Rega said "ask your dealer".

 

[replytoken]

I know that Jolida's 302B will drive 4 ohm speakers. I am not certain about Rega's Mira3.

 

[skullguise]

One more to consider if you can find it: Jungson 88c. 80wpc into 8ohms. Smooth sounding yet pretty detailed and musical.

Retailed for $399 new, maybe find one used for all of $300-350. Discontinued in favor of a newer version of the 88c (or a new base model, don't remember). But I have one, and it sounds great! I have successfully and nicely driven lots of speakers with this.

 

[rocktboy]

http://www.ornec.com/product/US/100143/

compare to:
http://www.redrosemusic.com/passion.shtml

yes it's 220v and shipping is $100+ plus but it's still a deal.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets I think the Marantz PM7200 is a great choice in that range. It retails for $550 brand new, includes a phono stage (which I haven't used, so I don't know about its sound), and puts out 25 w/ch in Class A mode (yes, it's a class A amplifier!) and 85 w/ch in AB mode. If you have a chance to listen to one definitely try it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller I second the PM7200 and I absolutelly love it, details are amazing, also the heapdhone jack is not that bad neither, and it is a very quiet amp...

Thirded. That is/was (it has already been replaced over here, but is still available on sale-out for ~ 400 Euro) a nice upper level mid-fi/entry level audiophile integrated. Same goes for the practically identical predecessor PM8000, which I have. Totally does the job for my purposes, but I wouldn't really recommend it for tough speaker loads (like some older Infinity models...). The phono stage is quite ok, btw - though somewhat CE crippled with comparatively high input capacity over here...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Experimenting with some nice little interconnects instead of the processor bridges that come with it can be worthwhile...