Death of the amp on the Promedia Ultra 5.1s

[natedrashn]

So it's finally happened to me. The highly obnoxious buzzing sound created by the BASH chip has occured and rather then poor money into a crappy product (the amp... love the speakers) I'm considering buying a reciever to run the speakers out of but considering the sub needs to be powered i'm a bit at a loss as to where to start. Does anyone have any suggestions on a reciever to use?

Thanks,

Nathan

[stpete cooling]

Sorry to hear of your problem. The 5.1 speakers are designed for up to 60 watts rms (though I'd feel more comfortable limiting them to 40 watts rms, like on the RSX-3s, which are heavier). I've found Harman Kardon makes some nice receivers, more accurately rated than other common brands when they list their output power. You will have difficulty, though, finding a receiver that includes a subwoofer amplifier. The ProMedia 5.1 subwoofer has a higher impedance than is typical for subwoofers, which will not hurt an amplifier, but means an amplifier rated at 4 ohms will need to have a higher wattage to drive a higher impedance like the ProMedia 5.1's. (Sub amp in the Ultra has a 170 watt rating (each driver was rated for 100 watts). Something like a Sub-10 subwoofer would work to replace your sub, set for frequencies up to 116 Hz.

I've had good success with the ProMedia amplifiers once I've upgraded some weak components and added cooling. (I've made hundreds of internal cooling kits since October 2005). At some point all electronics will die, of course, but it seems that once the internal hot spots are eliminated, the system's reliability falls in line with other electronics. It will also be hard to beat the compact size of the ProMedia 5.1 amplifier package when you try to locate a beefy receiver like an HK.

I have not found a plate amplifier that exactly matches the ProMedia 5.1 sub's plate dimensions.