[probull3t]

Hey there,
 
Just today I went out and bought some series 7 Paradigm Atom bookshelf speakers to use for near-field listening on my desk to be paired with my MBP running Spotify. Right now I plan on using an older Sony 5.1 receiver to power these babies while researching for a better way to power them. As of now I'm using a Fiio E10 USBDAC headphone amp, and I'm considering upgrading that as well to a better DAC. 
 
Any recommendations on a stereo or HT receiver to run these? Or should I go the route of purchasing an older ADCOM amp and preamp? The salesman at the store where I purchased my speakers seemed to think that purchasing a dedicated amp and preamp to run these little bookshelf speakers would be overkill. I guess I'm just looking for recommendations on any gear I can buy preferably under $400 to help me get the most out of these Paradigm Atoms. My musical preference leans heavily towards folk, indie folk, blues and folk rock, but I listen to about every genre of music on any given day. 
 
Thanks in advance for all of your help and suggestions!

 

[Zashoomin]

I have the same ones .  They sound pretty good even though I wish I could have gotten the mini's .  But anyway I have a Yamaha A-S500 there is a guy that sells b-stock ones for $300.  It is an integrated amp and a pretty darn good one for the price.  Ya these things really don't need much more than 50W per channel unless you want to blast everyone out of the room.  The Yamaha outputs 85W per channel and I rarely have the volume knob more than a quarter of the way up.  
 
As for the DAC you could upgrade that too if you wanted.  Also vinatage stuff is acctually quite good.  Don't count it out.  I am not too familiar with vintage recievers but you might have a gem there...then again you might have a dud.  I honestly dont' know.  

 

[probull3t]

Anybody have experience running similar speakers using Nuforce Icon or Dia amps? My brother seems to think I would have no trouble running the Atoms off of one of those amps. 

 

[trog]

Your bro is spot on and as a guide peeps have now found out that for nearfield/PC AUdio just the cheap/compact Lepai TA2020 based amps do just fine - i should know as one of my set ups involve the Lepai TA2020, 89dB Polks and a Fiio E7 DAC ^^ The E10 is a slight step up so you may want to have a look at the Lepai or higher/beefier T-amps Topping TP-22, etc?

 

[probull3t]

Quote:

Your bro is spot on and as a guide peeps have now found out that for nearfield/PC AUdio just the cheap/compact Lepai TA2020 based amps do just fine - i should know as one of my set ups involve the Lepai TA2020, 89dB Polks and a Fiio E7 DAC ^^ The E10 is a slight step up so you may want to have a look at the Lepai or higher/beefier T-amps Topping TP-22, etc?

I actually had him order a Nuforce Dia for me using his Amazon Prime account only an hour ago. $200 isn't bad at all, and hopefully it'll be a good investment. I've looked at those Lepai amps before, but am always weary about those audio products that sound too good to be true. This Nuforce Dia looks like it has exactly the amount of power I'm looking for in an amp along with coaxial in to run from my Fiio E10. Seems like a good combination! I can always return the little sucker if it turns out to be not worth the $$. 

 

[cel4145]

I actually had him order a Nuforce Dia for me using his Amazon Prime account only an hour ago. $200 isn't bad at all, and hopefully it'll be a good investment. I've looked at those Lepai amps before, but am always weary about those audio products that sound too good to be true. This Nuforce Dia looks like it has exactly the amount of power I'm looking for in an amp along with coaxial in to run from my Fiio E10. Seems like a good combination! I can always return the little sucker if it turns out to be not worth the $$. 

Well, they sound excellent for the price, but the Lepais are the lowest common denominator of t-amps. You could do better with a Topping TP21 or Indeed TA2021. They have much better build quality, bit better SQ, a bit more power, and a better power supply plug than the Lepais. I recently retired my HK 3390 from my desktop setup after I got the Indeed TA2021. Didn't need the extra power of the HK, and I liked the smaller size of the Indeed and the better energy efficiency. Here's a testimonial about the Indeed that convinced me to give it a try: http://t-amps.blogspot.com/2012/03/indeed-hifi-ta2021-25wx2-amp.html.

For less than the Nuforce Dia, you could get a Schiit Modi or Objective 2 DAC. I run the O2 with my Indeed. You are paying for the name with the Nuforce Dia, so I doubt it would be giving you better quality than those DACs.

If you don't want to go with a digital amp, the Emotiva mini-X a-100 could be a good choice.

Still, one advantage of spending your money on an AVR would be the bass management if you ever add a sub, and the flexibility of later adding on other devices and/or repurposing it for multichannel use. Sub could be useful if you would like to enhance bass heavy music (like EDM) since the Atom series 7s were measured with a -3db of 65hz.

 

[trog]

Quote:

I actually had him order a Nuforce Dia for me using his Amazon Prime account only an hour ago. $200 isn't bad at all, and hopefully it'll be a good investment. I've looked at those Lepai amps before, but am always weary about those audio products that sound too good to be true. This Nuforce Dia looks like it has exactly the amount of power I'm looking for in an amp along with coaxial in to run from my Fiio E10. Seems like a good combination! I can always return the little sucker if it turns out to be not worth the $$. 

 
Meh i paid $30 USD for the Lepai with a seperate 12V 5A PSU and thought even if it was a lemon and died 6-12 mths later it's cheap and i'd just get another one? 2 years later it's still going strong under heavy 24/77 use

However i agree with cel : that Nuforce is overpriced and one is paying for the name not $$/performance in this case