newbie here

Hi all. I am buying a pre-owned pair of Aeon I's in cherry from a reputable dealer in NC, and he recommended a Musical Fidelity A5, but it looks like an A3 might be better in my budget. Has anyone tried or heard this setup and if so, what are your thoughts? The other choice for power is a Krell 300i.

I have tried the search feature but couldn't locate any links to reviews or tests of the Aeon I. Can someone help me out there as well?

This is my second set of ML's (owned some older Sequel II's with SL3 panels a few years back) so I consider myself still a newbie but I never forgot the complete envelope of sound the ML's awarded me with.

I've looked in on this site many times over the years but never joined till today. Thoughts or recommendations are more than welcome! I look forward to being a more active member from here on out!

The A5, I know for sure, is able to power even the Summits well enough that I am sure that the Aeons will have no problem drawing its juice from this integrated.

As for the A3, I have not dealt with that integrated.

:welcome: !!

First off, welcome! And by the way, though I live in Texas, I was raised in Paducah!!

From what I recall, the A3 delivers about 85 watts at 8 ohms and doubles down at 4 ohms (a good thing). Some might argue that's a bit light, in terms of power. As for me, I went with a used Pass X150 (naturally, with 150 watts) and it is MORE than enough power for my smallish listening room.

How large is your room?

Small world isn't it? I am currently moving to Murray so I don't have a specific size room, although my guess is an average size (for KY) great room, somewhere in the 15x20 range. I forgot to add the Aeon I I found were on Agon and the final price we agreed on was $1450 shipped. Is that a fair price on this model, assuming they are not abused and in good shape?

I searched Agon for Musical Fidelity and this ad popped out, which gave me the idea it was 150 wpc. I'll need to go check their site I guess and discover the true rating. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1182795683

This price was close to my budget, and was pretty close to the Krell 300i. Which of the two would be the best pairing?

coolcobramatt said:

Small world isn't it? I am currently moving to Murray so I don't have a specific size room, although my guess is an average size (for KY) great room, somewhere in the 15x20 range. I forgot to add the Aeon I I found were on Agon and the final price we agreed on was $1450 shipped. Is that a fair price on this model, assuming they are not abused and in good shape?

I searched Agon for Musical Fidelity and this ad popped out, which gave me the idea it was 150 wpc. I'll need to go check their site I guess and discover the true rating. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1182795683

This price was close to my budget, and was pretty close to the Krell 300i. Which of the two would be the best pairing?

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I would look at the NAD c272 or the Rotel 1070 or 1080. You can find used models for <$1000 that have way more wattage output. Current output is also important, too. Either amp should drive your speakers fine, IMO. The musical fidelity amp is also quite good, but my recommendations would also require a pre-amp, too.

Erik

coolcobramatt said:

I searched Agon for Musical Fidelity and this ad popped out, which gave me the idea it was 150 wpc. I'll need to go check their site I guess and discover the true rating. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1182795683

This price was close to my budget, and was pretty close to the Krell 300i. Which of the two would be the best pairing?

Click to expand...

My mistake, I was looking at a different model from Musical Fidelity's website (an older integrated that was called the A3). I think you'll find 150 wpc to be quite sufficient, depending upon your listening tastes. I find I almost never move the Pass beyond 9 or 10 o'clock (though, admittedly, I don't really like listening at loud volumes).

coolcobramatt said:

... I forgot to add the Aeon I I found were on Agon and the final price we agreed on was $1450 shipped. Is that a fair price on this model, assuming they are not abused and in good shape?

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Well, a quick search on Audiogon yields 4 Aeons for sale at $1450, $1600, $1850, and $1900, so the $1450 looks pretty good.

As for power, I would try and get at least 100 watts at 8 ohms that doubles up to around 200 watts at 4 ohms if you could. However, the 85 watts at 8 ohms seems marginal but workable, particularly as it doubles up at 4 ohms.

Oh, and :welcome:

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I can't wait to get these puppies hooked up, although right now I don't have an amp or decent speaker cables. Argh the upgrade bug and I haven't even gotten the basic done yet lol.

coolcobramatt said:

Argh the upgrade bug and I haven't even gotten the basic done yet lol.

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Be careful around here.... .

Ok found a Musical Fidelity A300 (150 wpc) for $750. Looks as if it sold used on Agon back in 05 in the $750 range. What would be a fair price for this piece and is this a good int for the Aeons?

coolcobramatt said:

Ok found a Musical Fidelity A300 (150 wpc) for $750. Looks as if it sold used on Agon back in 05 in the $750 range. What would be a fair price for this piece and is this a good int for the Aeons?

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Well, looking at the Audiogon bluebook facility, the last A300 was sold in Dec '06 for $880, and the lowest that was sold was for $750 sometime in '06, so it seems to be a good price. I don't personally know about Musical Fidelity amps, so I can't comment on the how applicable they arer, but the power and the fact that (I seem to recall from earlier) that it will double up to 300 watts at 4 ohms sounds good.

thanks for checking the Agon blue book, I don't have that option. It sounds like I will pick it up if it is still available.

Any suggestions on speaker cables? I know I am opening Pandora's Box on this but you all have been great on advice so far. Gotta keep askin!