Tangent Ampster BT II HiFi Amplifier

I recently went bargain hunting in my storage cupboards and came out with some real bargains, an original Marantz CD-63SE cd player that I bought in the early 90's and a pair of Tannoy Eaton Studio Monitors that I bought for the huge sum of £250 46 years ago (lovely speakers and a tone to die for). Both of these are items that have been upgraded in my hi-fi/cinema system over the years, the speakers because according to my wife "they don't match the furniture", suggesting listening with eye's closed didn't work. It seemed such a waste to not continue to enjoy these and I wanted to now set these up in my study, hence I was looking for a budget amplifier to connect the two that would at least sound OK. I wasn't expecting high hi-fi standards in the sound quality but have to confess I have been so pleasantly surprised that I know I must now buy some proper speaker stands (instead of current shoe boxes) and cable to wring the most out of them.A real bonus is that I can stream my iTunes collection from my PC, as most are ripped in Wav format the quality is also very good.5 stars from me because I can't give it 6. All for the build quality (excellent, definitely not budget), size (sits nicely on top of CD and generates little heat), connecting capabilities, audio power output with low noise at high levels, overall sound quality - nicely balanced treble and bass (though these can be adjusted via the remote if need be).

Build quality of this amp is good and it sounds great. Very detailed and clear sound, I especially like the top end. Design also pleases me as it is very minimalistic. Front panel is brushed metal. I use 4 speakers on mine. Q Acoustics 3010i and vintage B&O Beovox CX50. Amp powers both of them.I have also connected Fiio BTA30 Pro external DAC/bluetooth receiver/transmitter to the amp. Fiio has better sound quality with it’s built in DAC and it supports aptX HD. I also got Creative BT-W3 USB C bluetooth transmitter which works with iPad and also supports aptX HD. I play lossles hi res music from Apple Music (other services are available) and transmit it to the amp via Fiio BTA30 Pro. Sound quality is amazing. I’m just mentioning this if anyone is interested in similar setup.This also proves that you don’t have to spend thousands for decent quality audio. Tanget Ampster BT II is around £170. I paid £100 for open box Q Acoustics 3010i. Fiio BTA30 pro is around £100 (Google and you find it easily in UK). Creative transmitter is £26. Obviously you need USB C device to play and send the music but if you have a tablet or computer you are good to go.

Simple to set up and use. I use it with my TV via the digital optical link and with my phone via Bluetooth to play Amazon Prime Music. Sound quality is exceptionally good. Combined with my old and rather large Sony speakers it produces great depth and atmosphere with the TV - much better than any soundbar. The default settings probably work better with smaller speakers as the base can be overpowering at times, especially with movies. I've turned down the base on mine to get a better balance, and v. happy with the results. Only minor gripe is limited control on Equaliser - can only adjust base and treble rather than frequency ranges. But at this price you can't complain. Excellent value for money.

I'm very happy with the Ampster. I would describe myself as a practical audiophile- I use amplifiers that cost more than 10x the price of the Ampster, but I can still heartily recommend this £150 amp, only dropping one star for that clicky volume control with its lack of fine control.I bought this to replace a frankly bonkers setup for use in a kitchen- an input selector, headphone/preamp and Linn Power amp! These were just unused components that worked together for sound in the kitchen, but putting a signal through that many stages is never wise, so I wanted a small one-box solution.At first I noticed a lack of scale and power compared to my previous setup, but after I swapped out the speakers for something better the amp shone! I would say it produces a well balanced sound with no part of the frequency range dominating or drawing attention to itself.Granted it can still sound a little congested like it's running out of steam at very high levels, but for this design of amp at this price, that really is quibbling.I have no issues with the combined volume and input selector control. Once you get used to it it works well. As others have mentioned though there can be quite big steps in volume between clicks, though my personal bugbear of not being able to listen very quietly seems not to be such an issue- it can go very quiet, and if you are using streaming inputs you may well have other ways to adjust the volume. It can also go loud enough to fill a small house with sound!There does however appear to be a finer control over volume steps, using the remote control, though still nowhere near as fine as an analogue or more expensive digital control would be.To be honest given a choice between this digital volume control which is at least silent in operation, and the possible alternative at this price-point of a cheap analogue knob which crackles after a few months use, I'll take this one.Everything feels well-made and solid too. Really no complaints at all at this price, though the volume control won't be for everyone. Happily downsized my kitchen sounds without any significant aural compromise !

Great sound quality for the price. Small form factor means it fits on top of our kitchen cabinets and drivers some decent speakers giving good sound even from a Bluetooth connected phone streaming radio or music app. Remote receiver on a cable means it is positioned to work from anywhere in the kitchen and you don't have to point the remote at the main box. Keeps the work surfaces clear and gives full control from the remote (music selection from the phone in our case). Does exactly what we wanted and great sound quality for the money.