[kzhtoo]

Hi, any suggestion on a solid punchy power amp (2 monos, 2-ch or tube)? New or used.


- $2k budget (can go up some)

- 150-200 watts if SS

- punchy is the key

- doesn't have to be aesthetically off the charts but I seriously do not want an alien looking box sitting in my room either

Thanks in advance!

 

[fordf250]

Visit "Parasound.com", and review the "Halo Amplifier" offerings.

 

[kzhtoo]

Thanks.

 

[fordf250]

Parasound makes outstanding amplifiers, reasonably priced for excellent quality and reliability-and the Halo series are very nice looking.

You can check out product reviews at their wetb site, or do an internet search.

 

[russ_777]



Quote:
Originally Posted by kzhtoo  /t/1417699/power-amp-suggestion#post_22170661


Hi, any suggestion on a solid punchy power amp (2 monos, 2-ch or tube)? New or used.

- $2k budget (can go up some)

- 150-200 watts if SS

- punchy is the key

- doesn't have to be aesthetically off the charts but I seriously do not want an alien looking box sitting in my room either

Thanks in advance!

A complete no brainer. Get 2 Emotiva XPA-1 500 watt monoblocks.....right at $2k.


BTW, there is no such thing as a punchy PA. What you are implying you want is a dynamic range expander, which is a signal processing box, not a power amplifier. Power amplifiers should be as close to linear as possible, which is to say, non-punchy.

 

[whitey019]

I recommend you include Anthem in your search.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Outlaw and Emotiva are some of the best bang for the buck consumer amps. There are pro amps that are very affordable.


Of course with your budget, you can afford more expensive amps. Whether they are better, is not for me to say.


One choice to make, I think, is whether you want to try a class D amp for better efficiency and much lower weight.

 

[kzhtoo]

Thanks for all the suggestions.


Parasound and Emotiva are on the list. I'm also intrigued by Bryston (used) and Lyndorf. I think Bryston is class A/AB and Lyndorf is D. Any one of them is pretty hard to get a home demo tho except Emotiva with its 30-day trial.


I have Focal speakers and a lot of owners say Focal likes class A flavor. Any suggestion on pure class A amp?

 

[kzhtoo]



Quote:
Originally Posted by whitey019  /t/1417699/power-amp-suggestion#post_22176372


I recommend you include Anthem in your search.

I'm currently using Anthem MRX 500 (100wpc). Used to have Paradigm speakers and had quite a bit of the slam pairing with Anthem. But with Focal I feel it loses a little bit of it (though overall musicality is better) - the reason I'm hoping getting a power amp would bring back some of the punch.

 

[Stereojeff]

Take a look at the ATI AT2002. Fully balanced design, 200W RMS per channel into 8 ohms, 300W RMS into 4. Dead quiet and an AVS forum crowd favorite.


Jeff

 

[Jinjuku]

Crown XLS 1500 Drive Core. Balanced inputs, built in cross over that you can enable, clip limiter etc... Stable to 2 ohm (775 watts) and 4 ohm at 525 watts. Efficient, low noise floor. Bullet proof.


Home demos' are really easy. Just go to Guitar Center and pick one up. They have a 30 day return policy. You don't have to eat shipping. Nothing listed is going to walk away from the Crown or vs-a-versa.

 

[kzhtoo]



Quote:
Originally Posted by fordf250  /t/1417699/power-amp-suggestion#post_22171955


Parasound makes outstanding amplifiers, reasonably priced for excellent quality and reliability-and the Halo series are very nice looking.

You can check out product reviews at their wetb site, or do an internet search.

The guy at the dealer I just called made a suggestion to try out with Halo 23A (125wpc) first because I'm running 8-ohm bookshelves + a sub. Saying I have an option to mono block the 23A for 8 ohm speaker if I decide to add another 23A down the road. Plus two 23A is essentially the same as one 21A (250wpc) with $500 less.


Does it sound legit? Two 23 vs. one 21.

 

[kzhtoo]

I'm currently driving with Anthem MRX 500 AV receiver (100wpc). The dealer said 125wpc Halo 23A would still definitely improves my system despite "only" 25 watts more because of the dedicated current supply that the receivers lack.


I tend to listen to music at a very loud level and often times I notice the drop in quality at high volume. It becomes fatiguing and have to turn it down a notch or two (esp. with EDM and Rock music). Will adding powerful amp solve or at least improve this?

 

[JHAz]

depends on whether your fatigue results from amp distortion. Certainly is possible and AFAIK without pretty sophisticated equipment or very deep experience the only way to know will be to try it. You probably are not looking at any more than 3 dB more clean heardoom, though (this assumes you're getting just over 60 clean watts per channel from the AVR). It could be enough. If that doesn't work, before pursuing more and more power, I'd take some of the stuff that works worst on your system to a shop that has a setup with high efficiency, large speakers and plenty of power, to see if speaker distortion might be adding to the problem or if it's just the particular recordings. Some of the really hot masters these days are sort of okay to me, and some are unlistenable. Frankly, none of them work well for me at really high volume. All that compression makes them sound like they're supposed to be at a lower level somehow, to me. Very obviously, YMMV.

 

[keyboardcat]

why not get crown xls1000? anazon has it on sale under 300 bucks sometimes. I hear nothing but good things about it.

 

[keyboardcat]

amazon I mean sorry. A lot of people say that crown amps make big speakers like cerwin vega ve15 have loud good bass that knocks stuff off shelves.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

My Crown XLS is a bit noisy, or I would have reccomended it. But you can only hear the hiss up close to the speaker drivers. I would guess the XLS 1500 is a bit better in terms of noise (because I think it has a better SNR)

 

[kzhtoo]

I have been reading about Krell KAV 2250 and 250A used. Both 250wpc and class A/B. Seems like both are very well reviewed. Any suggestion?


I'd want an amp that I do not need to change for next 5 years. I plan to change the speakers around once or twice.

 

[Dr_Mark]

The Parasound A21 is a great amp fyi. Plenty of power

 

[dwong]

I have the NHT Power2, 200W/ch ICE module with high current output.

Its feeding a pair Revel M22, which are in-inefficiency that need lots power to get the bass going.


I think its a bargain at ~$400-$500 used, but its kinda ugly.