amcananey
Forever a 500+ Head-Fier
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I have been looking for a list of "budget" balanced amps. I say "budget", because it seems that balanced amps that cost less than $1,000 are few and far between. Even those that exist generally cost around $800. I wasn't able to find a list of balanced amps, much less a list of budget balanced amps, anywhere, so I thought I would start one.
Below is a list of all desktop balanced amps that are currently available and which cost less than $1,000. Prices are approximate and where shipping is included, it represents the rough cost of shipping to the US or Western Europe. I'm not trying to get the prices exactly right, just trying to get a sense of order of magnitude of what each would cost.
Potential buyers in the EU purchasing an amp from outside the EU will have to add customs charges to the totals below (buyers in other countries may have the same issue).
That said, here goes:
[size=medium]- Little Dot Mk VI/VII (approx. $800/$440, respectively, including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Audio-Gd NFB-10 (combined DAC/amp unit - approx. $850 including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Einar Sound VC-01i ($600 plus shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Blossom BLO-0169 ($863 including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]Of this list, I would note that the Einar Sound has decidedly mixed reviews, and the Audio-Gd NFB-10 is a combined DAC/amp that doesn't have analog inputs, so it can't be used as a straight amp.[/size]
[size=medium]Just for the heck of it, I'll mention that there is also the Emmeline SR-71B ($650 plus shipping). But I note that it is portable, so I didn't include it in the list above.[/size]
Aware of any others? Please update the list!
Best regards,
Adam
Below is a list of all desktop balanced amps that are currently available and which cost less than $1,000. Prices are approximate and where shipping is included, it represents the rough cost of shipping to the US or Western Europe. I'm not trying to get the prices exactly right, just trying to get a sense of order of magnitude of what each would cost.
Potential buyers in the EU purchasing an amp from outside the EU will have to add customs charges to the totals below (buyers in other countries may have the same issue).
That said, here goes:
[size=medium]- Little Dot Mk VI/VII (approx. $800/$440, respectively, including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Audio-Gd NFB-10 (combined DAC/amp unit - approx. $850 including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Einar Sound VC-01i ($600 plus shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]- Blossom BLO-0169 ($863 including shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]Of this list, I would note that the Einar Sound has decidedly mixed reviews, and the Audio-Gd NFB-10 is a combined DAC/amp that doesn't have analog inputs, so it can't be used as a straight amp.[/size]
[size=medium]Just for the heck of it, I'll mention that there is also the Emmeline SR-71B ($650 plus shipping). But I note that it is portable, so I didn't include it in the list above.[/size]
Aware of any others? Please update the list!
Best regards,
Adam