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Best 3 channel amp under $1,000


Devinlm

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I have the Yamaha RX-V1800 and I'm looking at the Rotel RMB-1085 which uses the Class D ICE Power. It's 100 x 5 and my dealer quoted me a price just over $1,000. There a couple of reviews for the 1085, and a couple for the 1077 which is similar but with 7 channels. Both are very well received and supposedly much better than their class A/B predecessors the 1075 and 1095. I've heard the 1085 drive a pair of relatively inefficient B&Ws and felt it was not lacking power one bit. The digital amps have gained praise by some members here for their sound with Klipsch.

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The Emotiva and the Rotel stuff get high marks all around. You are definitely on the right track going with a 3 channel outboard to run the fronts and the center. SMART MOVE!!!! Receiver amps are the weak link in lots of HT systems IMO. You will be very happy with the results regardless of which brand you choose. This is the biggest(and the cheapest) single thing you can do to realize a dramatic improvement in your system without changing speakers.Honestly- I have listened to a ton of different outboard amps- all price ranges- and I do not think that you have to spend a ton of cash on a top shelf brand to get good results for the HT application. I picked up a lightly used mint cond Carver A 753 3 channel from e-bay for a lousy 500 bucks and I could not be happier.

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Well under your price mentioned, you might want to try to find a used (there are no more new ones) dbx BX3. It's a 2 or 3 or 4 channel amp. I've got one and have always liked it.

pictures of: http://www.audiokarma.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=4140

One for sale (no affiliation) http://www.domesticsale.com/Classifieds/243780.html

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Always be alert on Craigslist too...

I recently found a diesel ZTR mower (zero turn). Listing said $3,000 and it was local. I immediately had my caution flag go up, but sent a message. "She" got back to me... the machine was local however... her husband died a year ago, she is 67 years old, had some sickness and as of a year ago, her right side is paralized so her nephew is going to deal with everyone... she's had the machine and all her husbands equipment checked out and all is ok.... she's been FLOODED with contacts because of her good price... because of her illness, she's going to move to her sisters in Europe and needs to move things quickly, this is why the cheap price ($3,000 for a $10,000 machine?... I'm not sure of retail on a Kubota ZD18 but it's more than 3K)

Finally.... because of all the phone calls she's getting, she does NOT want to turn her home into a showroom so not only is her nephew going to take care of these details, she's wanting a 10% deposit UP FRONT to even LOOK at the items (hmmmmm....smells like a fish to me!!)

I've been playing along for a bit since the more "she" talks the more clear it is that it's a setup for a scam. I finally made a mention after she got indignant with me wanting her phone number so we could chat... "I told you I'm paralized on one side of my body and I CAN BARELY hold a phone"

To which I made a calm statement that it not only sounded like she had her panties in a wad for a 67 year old 1/2 paralized lady... and I was VERY impressed with how much she was able to type, given that she was not able to hold a telephone in her hand....

Not heard back yet

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Glad to hear more people talking about Emotiva because I am going to get the Xpa 5 and the 2 Ch preamp from them soon. The way they are built looks good but the price appeared to be to good to be true compared to all other companies, 1/2 to 3/4 the price of everything I compared it to, and I could not find any bad reviews.

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Hello,

I want to buy an amp to power my 3 Forte II's (fronts and center). 3 Channel amp, 200 watts per channel. My AV receiver is a Yamaha 3900.

What would you recommend?

Thanks,

Devin

I don't know if it is the best but I sure like my B&K Ref. 4430(200w) with my Forte's. It sounds sweeet.

http://cgi.videogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?amps30ch&1242499792

Bill

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+ 1 on the B&K stuff- I have running a 4420 to power my rear industrial lascalas. Top quality high end used stuff to kick a lagging HT system into overdrive.if not buying new- this is definitely the way to go. Put together 5 or 7 channels of this type stuff for outboard power for dirt cheap... you will never ever again run you speakers off receiver amps. Not al least with klipsch!!!!!!

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Well, they're pretty old. I almost bought one, and did a little bit of research. I found a few reviews from the early 90's. But around here, older gear is sort of like aged wine! There's nothing wrong with older gear. And the price seems decent. The one I was supposed to get was priced at 200, then he got a lot of hits, and raised the price to 400.

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thanks tommyboy. i've been keeping my eyes on CL like flies sticking to the wall. hopefully, i might be able to pick up something nice. there's a listing for an entire Klipsch system for $1000, but I only want the RC3. hopefully i can pick that up.

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