Well, the hum issue is one thing I could've lived with. The issue is so small, that you can't hear it to the listening spot, even when there's no music playing. Fridges, air condition, traffic outside etc are much louder.. not to mention vinyl roar. But, it's like a rotten cherry on the top of a poo cake now.

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If it is just an issue with power, do the math. Compare the headroom of your old amplifier to that of the Rega and to the efficiency of your chosen speakers. Looking at the Rega, it appears to be a moderately small unit at about 50wpc/rms/8, more at 4 ohms. Not knowing at all how it behaves at clipping, my only comment is that this is a rather small amp and may suffer from that smallness into certain speakers. For sure it would not drive either my Maggies or my AR3a speakers very comfortably - but those both are known power-pigs. But the point is if you are replacing a 100 watt amp with a 50-watt amp, all other things being equal you _will_ be disappointed. I note that the NAD you mention is only 40wpc/8. So, given that the KEFs are not particularly efficient, a 10-watt power difference is negligible. You would need at least a 100-watt amp to make a substantial difference. That's about it for now. Thanks for reading my rant, and feel free to disagree. I know many will, and that's completely alright :). I just wanted to bring a differing opinion from a novice user. If you find it useless, then too bad. Maybe I'm wrong. The problem is not with my particular unit I believe, as there are no clearly audible faults, I'm just being extremely critical (and have heard other units too).Onkyo's A-9010 is a fantastic stereo amplifier for the money and owns a area of the market where there's been a real shortage of talent lately. The design is functional rather than flamboyant, but the captivating, energetic sound is what's crucial here. What better way to finish off this budget vinyl hi-fi system than with a brilliant pair of budget standmounters from Q Acoustics? The speakers boast terrifically refined and insightful sound for sensible money, and work seamlessly with the Onkyo and Audio Technica kit in this system. When I first plugged in my Rega, I heard something totally different. The sound was amazingly exciting and with a good drive! I immediately noticed that some "power" was gone, but I thought to myself that maybe it will return after some burn-in. No, it didn't. As for the excitment, well it's always a good thing, right? No. Listening fatigue. The excitment ended up being harshness and shrillness, but more on that later. Second major issue has been a pretty poor stereo image and 3-dimensionality. I know we're talking about cheap speakers here, but let me tell you, KEF Q100's with NAD were trying really hard to convince me that there was a small band playing in my room - they tried so hard that a 300€ amp and 500€ speakers can. It was pretty impressive. What Rega did? Instruments move around the stereo image when different pitches and dynamics occur, with every speaker so far, while the vocalist has a hard time standing still in the middle. The vocalist also sounds like a smurf, or being on his knees. Not to mention the obvious problem of cheap amps - most units have bad volume pots, so that the channel balance is bad on low listening volumes.

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A couple of things right off the bat: If, with no input and at 0-volume you are getting anything other than dead-silence at your speakers, the amp is defective. Full Stop. No well made amplifier (and a great many mediocre amplifiers as it happen) should have any sound/buzz/fuzz/hum at any level under those conditions. And no matter how well things are thought to be, an occasional defect gets past quality-control once in a while. So, if you are accurate in your description of this artifact, return the amp for a *replacement*, NOT a rework. You are entitled to a 100% new, defect-free unit, not one that has been repaired. The Dali Zensor 3s are a great, affordable pair of speakers that punch well above their weight – even with partnering kit, as here, at double the price. They're an easy listen but exciting with it, and will keep you entertained for hours. I went through a stem-to-stern rebuild of the LK-150 as it had a minute 60hz buzz when quiescent. But it also put AC on some of the tube filaments. That partial-cure was as simple as reversing the leads to the filaments - leading me to believe that the buzz was inductive - which it was. So further isolation cured that altogether.To feed off the Rega's infectious sound, we've opted for a slightly left-field but entirely entertaining choice: the Neat Iota Alphas. They’re a fair bit shorter than your average floorstander, but the sound they produce is surprising: large-scale dynamics, excellent timing and heaps of fun. Sure, there are more transparent speakers, but the way these little Neats tie all musical strands together is hugely enjoyable to listen to. Cutting to the chase, amplifiers are not fine wine. They either add artifacts or they do not. They are either straight-wires-with-gain or they are not. To the extent that they are, they are good. To the extent that they are not, they are bad. About covers much (but not all) of the high-end audio industry's attitude towards their customers. Bluntly, I can get noise from my speakers with the volume up, especially in the phono mode. But with the volume at 0, or with no signal other than in phono -not really. If I short the inputs on the power-amps they are dead-quiet. As it should be. Most importantly, the Planer 2 received Rega’s new RB220 tonearm, which features new ultra-low friction ball bearings, a stiffer bearing housing and an automatic bias setting, making it virtually plug ’n’ play.