superedge88 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 A little background on where I have come from in my home theater amplification. I had marantz MA-700 monoblocks for my front three (KLF-30's) I had to sell them to help with funds for our house. I found some Dayton APA-150 amplifiers that seemed to be a great match with what I needed. Then I heard it a couple nights ago, and confirmed it today when cleaning up the house and cranking some tunes...distortion. I tested different sources as well, I checked gain settings, the Dayton monoblocks were giving up at high volumes/demanding playback. The marantz monoblocks didn't give up at high volumes, but it always bothered me that they had no way to cool themselves down during lengthy use. So I reluctantly start my quest for a monoblock that meets my criteria, or a 3 channel amplifier. My criteria 1.Must have a cooling fan. I'd prefer one that cools when needed instead of just being on all the time. I buy my gear to last for the long haul, I don't need components heating up without the ability to cool down. 2.Must be able to do ~300 watts into 8ohms (if it is a 3 channel amplifier then 300 watts into 8 ohms X3) As far as price, well lets see if we can keep it close to $700 with either 3 monoblocks or One 3 channel amp. I am excited to see what suggestions are thrown around, thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 300 WPC???? Fans?????? You're describing pro-amps (my favorite!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I don't think I can help but fans are a no-go in my listening room, just too loud, they ruin the music, although, it was never a problem until digital music came out. Anyway, a 700 dollar budget is really tough. You are saying you want Ferrari performance but you have Yugo budget. 300 quality watts is up there with the big boys. I don't have anything to recommend in that budget/power range. P.S. Be careful with your hearing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 you are definitly in pro amp territory, something i am not too familiar with. I do know though that with pro amps, you generally needs to drop some coin to get good, clean high wattage power. There is something to be said about purchasing actualy home theater amps versus pro amps. Pro amps can sound as good or better than home theater amps it just depends on what you get. All i can suggest to you is that you becopme alittle bit of a DIYer and add fans to your setup. There are also cooling modules that you can get that sit atop the chassis of your amp. I too dont like heat and this is something that i was considering doing as well. Why dont you bi-wire all of your speakers, do they have the option? I dont know if they do since they are a little bit older, possibly before klipsch started offering bi-wire options. Are you willing to buy used or are you looking for brand new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-man Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Powerful enough for you here: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/msg/2760156703.html http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/msg/2760832230.html I would consider an Emotiva XPA-3 unless you really need the cooling fans and extra power (KLF 30s only rated to 200 RMS). I'd be very curious to try/borrow those existing mono amps you are using in my setup when you are ready to move them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nezff Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 http://www.reddragonaudio.com/products/m-500-monoblocks/ http://www.reddragonaudio.com/products/m-1000-monoblocks/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitedemo Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 an xpa3 or 3 upa1s, im pretty sure your never going to drive either at max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 those red dragon amps look kool!!! i know they are ICE amps and use class D but it would be interesting to try out if i had money to blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 1.Must have a cooling fan. I'd prefer one that cools when needed instead of just being on all the time. I buy my gear to last for the long haul, I don't need components heating up without the ability to cool down. 2.Must be able to do ~300 watts into 8ohms (if it is a 3 channel amplifier then 300 watts into 8 ohms X3) As far as price, well lets see if we can keep it close to $700 with either 3 monoblocks or One 3 channel amp. I am excited to see what suggestions are thrown around, thanks guys! Tall order so here is my suggestion. This amp is rated at 200w/channel but has bench tested at 300w/ch. Super value for a powerful amp. This amp is basically the same as my Acurus A250 but with a 3rd channel. http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1328942498&/Acurus-200-x3-power-amplifier- Audio Magazine reviewed the Acurus 200X3 Amp. Conclusion: Absolutely Outstanding measurements in every aspect (FR, Crosstalk, THD, etc.). This amp was rated at 200 WPC @8 ohms & 250 WPC @ 4 ohms w/ 110 dB SNR. However, the measurements came out to be 315 WPC @ 8 ohms & 515 WPC @ 4 ohms w/ 122 dB SNR. And the 250A amp actually has more WPC than the 200X3! Add this and you are good to go. http://www.buyextras.com/evavcoblfanf.html I own two of these and they work great. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'd recommend http://qscaudio.com/products/amps/gx/. I have two GX5s in my theater for subs. (Way too much power for Klipschs, IMO). Anyhow, powerful and clean with RCA/XLR inputs and the fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superedge88 Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Looks like we have a winner, I'll be picking up 2 qsc gx3 amplifiers. I found that a simple 50 ohm resistor makes the fan silent. So I figure that I'll power the tuba with the extra channel I'll have, and sell my fan modded behringer 2500 that has been powering the tuba along with 2 of the Dayton amplifiers I'll end up not spending much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Looks like we have a winner, I'll be picking up 2 qsc gx3 amplifiers. I found that a simple 50 ohm resistor makes the fan silent. So I figure that I'll power the tuba with the extra channel I'll have, and sell my fan modded behringer 2500 that has been powering the tuba along with 2 of the Dayton amplifiers I'll end up not spending much at all. [Y] I've got a GX-3 pushing my KP-250's. It's a nice little amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Tell me more about this 50 ohm resistor. One of mine is near silent, but the other kinda makes a whirring noise. Been contemplating opening it up to investigate.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Just put the resistor inline on the power feed to the amp. It slows the fan speed down. I normally just replace the fan with a quieter one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Put a resistor inline with 120V? Or the power feed to the fan? I do have plently of 80mm computer fans laying around. Will investigate. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superedge88 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Allright, let this be a lesson to all. I was so focused on what I thought was the correct solution and lost sight of seeking all possible culprits. Turns out through a lot of testing I realized that I was not hearing amplifier distortion, but instead am hearing distortion form the tweets and mids of the KLFs that I just purchased locally. I compared them to one of my original KLF's and I hear no distortion in it, only the ones I acquired recently. So I will instead focus my efforts on first getting some new titanium tweet diaphragms from Crites, and titanium mid diaphragms from Klipsch. I will let you all know how things sound after the repairs. I apologize to Dayton Audio for dragging their name through the mud in my brief but maddening quest for a solution to the distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-man Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Ehh, that sucks. Crites is still out of the diaphragms (backordered). The "perfect/mint" KLF 20s i recently found locally are also now apart - the front and back panels were totally loose on both and I'm also awaiting my rebuilt crossovers from Crites. I keep contemplating building them up on the inside with internal bracing, but I can't convince myself it's totally necessary yet. I'm regretting selling off my KLF 30s, which were sonically wonderful (no rattles, excellent solid cabinets and drivers). However, I am still hoping that I can get these beautiful 20s to be nearly just as good....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Put a resistor inline with 120V? Or the power feed to the fan? I do have plently of 80mm computer fans laying around. Will investigate. Thanks. Power feed to the fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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