Question How to buy a used amplifier?

luckycharms

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Hi all,

This is, of course, a vague question. I'd like to pick up a decent amplifier for some bookshelf speakers (thinking of the Wharfedale Diamond 220's) to which I'll hook up a raspberry pi. I was going to get a HiFiBerry Amp2, but then figured I'd probably get better sound out of an older receiver for not much more $ (or £ in my case).

I'd like to spend around £60-75 (i.e. not more than $100). I'm in Oxford, UK, and there are some listings around my area, but not sure which of these are decent. Any general advice on what to look for? Thanks in advance, apologies for the vagueness, and see the local listings I've found below.

Best,
Allie

local listings:
Philips audiophile amplifier FA880 | eBay
Teleton F-2000 Stereo Receiver - Amplifier & Speakers, Original Set | eBay
JVC VN-300 Integrated Stereo Amplifier | eBay
Demon amplifier/ home entertainment system – Electronics & computers – Oxford, Oxfordshire – Marketplace | Facebook
aiwa amplifier – Electronics & computers – Oxford, Oxfordshire – Marketplace | Facebook
Akai amplifier | in Oxford, Oxfordshire | Gumtree
 
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Watch out for that Demon. ;)
 
Hi all,

This is, of course, a vague question. I'd like to pick up a decent amplifier for some bookshelf speakers (thinking of the Wharfedale Diamond 220's) to which I'll hook up a raspberry pi. I was going to get a HiFiBerry Amp2, but then figured I'd probably get better sound out of an older receiver for not much more $ (or £ in my case).

I'd like to spend around £60-75 (i.e. not more than $100). I'm in Oxford, UK, and there are some listings around my area, but not sure which of these are decent. Any general advice on what to look for? Thanks in advance, apologies for the vagueness, and see the local listings I've found below.

Best,
Allie

local listings:
Philips audiophile amplifier FA880 | eBay
Teleton F-2000 Stereo Receiver - Amplifier & Speakers, Original Set | eBay
JVC VN-300 Integrated Stereo Amplifier | eBay
Demon amplifier/ home entertainment system – Electronics & computers – Oxford, Oxfordshire – Marketplace | Facebook
aiwa amplifier – Electronics & computers – Oxford, Oxfordshire – Marketplace | Facebook
Akai amplifier | in Oxford, Oxfordshire | Gumtree
I’m sure some of them will do the job, but what is the RPi for? If your use of book shelf’s/RPi is for a discrete, small system, those old units may spoil it.

I have the Amp2 on the back of my RPi, great sound and all hidden. Very Low Standby power too (important to many, but not me).
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Thanks for the reply. The RPi is for enabling streaming, plex, airplay, possibly bluetooth, etc, flexibly. And yes, for a little discrete system. Small is nice, not totally necessary for my application (i'm not a minimalist or anything), and thought if some of these older units can produce better audio at a similar price, then why not... Nice to hear about your Amp2 experience... i may go that way...
 
Thanks for the reply. The RPi is for enabling streaming, plex, airplay, possibly bluetooth, etc, flexibly. And yes, for a little discrete system. Small is nice, not totally necessary for my application (i'm not a minimalist or anything), and thought if some of these older units can produce better audio at a similar price, then why not... Nice to hear about your Amp2 experience... i may go that way...

If only for music, you should consider LMS media server running on the RPi via piCorePlayer.

pi based systems

My RPi has a HDD plugged into the USB port, full of Flac and MP3, and is also serving the same music out to my other Squeezebox players around the house (ie plenty of scope for expansion of a multiroom system).

IOS/Android app etc....Spotify Connect, tidal, bbciplayer, etc.

I won’t go on, in case you have a better direction, but it’s working really well for lots of people.

pi based systems
 
I have a linux media server in my home already (RAID, etc), and I mostly use Plex to serve up my media. This particular system I'm putting together is just for audio. I'll take a look at what you suggest - thanks.
 

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