Brett Gideon: Changes on the amplifier front

I blew up the old but lovely sounding Technics amplifier that I’d been using for ages last year. How? By being far too clever for my own good while comparing amps (enough said).

Since then, I’ve been listening to most of my music through my headphone system (Marantz CD6000OSE CD player, Perreaux SXH2 headphone amp, Slinkylinks interconnect and Sennheiser HD650 cans) and absolutely loving it but the speakers have been calling again.

I tried a Sonic Impact T-amp ($65 off TradeMe with a $50 power supply on the end), which sounds astonishing with some material and a bit odd at other times and I’ve also been using my Denon AVR1705 HT receiver in direct stereo mode but neither has been a recipe for two channel happiness. So I’ve bitten the bullet and ordered a Perreaux SX25i 25 Watt integrated amplifier, which should be with me tomorrow courtesy of Martin at Perreaux.

http://perreaux.com/product.php?idp=51

The SX25i is built on the same small and ultra minimalist form factor as my headphone amp and Martin assures me that it will make my stand mount speakers sing despite the modest power rating. I absolutely love the minimalism of the Silhouette series components – no flashing lights, extra controls, nothing but good sound. Why have more than you need?

So how on earth can I possibly explain that I’ve fallen in love with Yamaha’s retro looking A-S2000 amplifier? It’s obviously dropped straight out of the seventies or early eighties, along with more switches than the console on the Enterprise and God help me – wooden side panels. But seriously……I want one.

Schizophrenic. That’s it. I’m obviously Schizophrenic.

More on my amplifier adds, moves and changes as I run in the little Perreaux.