Hello All. New to the forum, and a novice in HT. I'm stuck and could really use some help on the next level of my HT. Amp's!
I'm currently running a Marantz 7007 w/ KEF R700 for L/R and R600c for the Center. Polk Audio for the sub and surrounds.
I would really like to get a 3-Channel amp for the LCR KEF's (and continue to let my Marantz run the polk surrounds). ***I'm limited in my budget @ $900. So I am looking at either a brand new EMO XPA-3 or going used with something like a Parasound HCA-2003 or Aragon 80008x3. The Parasound and Aragon are well over 10 years old, but are being sold on AudiogoN for about the same price as a new EMO XPA-3.
So what are some of the AVS opinions out there?
Go brand new with a powerful "budget" amp and warranty or go used with a "higher-end" 10 year old amp?
I would go with the XPA simply because buying 10 year old electronics is a real gamble, all electronics have a certain lifespan and sadly no one really knows what it will be. But 10 years old is certainly getting up in age and nothing that old has any type of warranty so if it dies it's money out of your pocket. Then again, they might last another 10 years. Like I said, it's a gamble.
What do you think you are missing without amps? That marantz seems like a nice receiver. I had a yammie 3010 with paradigm 100s and didn't see much of a difference adding a xpa5 to the mix. I did notice some improvement with the xpa2. That being said - if you want an amp then wait for xpa to go on sale, see if you can get b stock, or buy slightly used with xferable warranty. You will save a few bucks. Also you should be able to recoup nice portion if you sell later.
It is a d@mn nice receiver, I love it. But I assume it still cannot hold a candle to separates. I do notice a little difference when I'm listening to music (2-Channels Driven @ 124 watts) and then powering up the movies (5-Channel driven @ 89 watts). But just recently I added the next two channels (7-Channels driven @ 70 watts) and it seems like the system has really dropped in overall volume and immersion. I'm hoping by bringing in the dedicated 200 watts driven per channel for the front LCR channels, it will help balance out the system and restore what I feel was lost when I expanded my surround channels and installed the less sensitive and more power hungry KEF's up front for the LCR.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie /t/1528376/advice-on-new-or-used-a-...rasound-hca-2003-aragon-80008x3#post_24636246
Forget the amp and put your $900 into upgrading the Polk sub ... SVS, HSU, etc.
Surprisingly my Polk DSW3000 Micropro brings down the house. Well.... it is a little house, but I am very happy with it and it fits next to my Eq cabinet. In retrospect, I probably should have went with the larger HSU that is 2/3 the price of the Polk and SVS. But honestly, I was concerned about the HSU being too big (dimensions) for my room and my room not having enough volume to take advantage of the monster 15" driver..... On that note, I really like the MartinLogan BalancedForce 212. Now that is a bad-a$s amp. Heard one in Pasadena, CA and I was very impressed with the amount of energy it puts out with ZERO vibration.
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