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Poor Man's Ferrari?

Starving artist with very intermittent income...non-audiophile-spouse is the breadwinner of the household. Intermittent-income-earner has eye on refurbished Mark Levinson No. 27 amps and No. 26 preamps on ebay which frequently show up at attainable-but-stretching-it prices. Are the potential audio world related pitfalls here as formidable as those oft heard horror stories about the blue collar guy who sinks a year's pay into a 1982 Ferrari 308 or is this sort of purchase a worthwhile goal for somebody on a really tight budget?
lg1
reubent
3,587 posts
 
Lgl,

I don't know that speaker, but if it's an older vintage JBL, I don't think you would need huge amounts of power to drive them. For well under $1000 you could get a nice Plinius Integrated amp or a Portal Panache. If you want to try tubes, go for something like the TAD 60 or Prima Luna's. I'll bet any of the above would sound great and save you a bunch of cash. I don't know about the Portal, but I believe most of the Plinius's have a phono stage built-in.

Enjoy,

TIC
oregon
608 posts
 
Stay away from eBay.
Post your questions but do offer more information about what you now have, what you are looking for (sound), type of music, digital, vinyl,etc.
We are always happy to give free advise. You get what you pay for, but in this case, you get tons more.
You also might consider paying an extra $30-$40 to access the Audio Blue Book. It is an excellent resource for knowing the relative value of the many components floating around.
Good luck. Be careful.
BTW, avoid looking at one name (ML), keep an open mind.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
IMO you are stretching too far.
You should try something in-between the junk you amp with now and what you consider the best.
Like the case of the supercar. What good is it? In your fantasies!! But in real life a good BMW 318i or such would be WAY BETTER realistically.
So I say look at something more reasonable.
And no.. you have to make your own choices. (mine is a Forte' 4a bought new years and years ago)
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
would need to know what amp and pre you're driving now.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
When upgrading, it is a good idea to seek long-term happiness by taking as big a step as you can. However I agree with Elizabeth that in your case you don't have to look at 'attainable-but-stretching-it', especially if it means getting lucky with the first try on eBay. Given your takeoff point (your Sony), attainable will please you more than you know. You can create a very satisfying setup if you listen to some integrated amps priced like the ones Reubent suggests. Audio Space is a name I would add, for tube gear.
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