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NAD M25 comparisons


ivanhurd

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I was looking at NAD amps, and came across the M25. I was thinking, hmm, this might work very well with my system and then I saw the price and maybe a touch too much power...Does anybody know of any 7 channel amps that have somewhat similar specs that are a bit more affordable? Maybe I'm looking at too much power and I don't really need that much...I'm sure for my space I don't, but I like the idea of future proofing. I'm just getting headaches looking at amps and processors. Before coming to this forum I had decided I was going to go with the Onkyo 818 when it came out, but with all that I've learned about the power ratings from AVRs vs amps, it just seems like you get a lot more for your money by going with separates. There are just so many different brands out there, I'm at a bit of a loss where to start... All of my speakers handle 150RMS according to the specs on the Klipsch website.

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I am starting to feel like a fanboy, but you should check out Emotiva. Not sure about the Marantz, but the specs say it is a 110 wpc with 2 channels driven. I would consider an Emotiva XPA-5 and a UMC-1. It would give you a lot more power to work with (200 wpc with all channels driven), and probably right around the same sound quality, and be a bit more future proof. The only problem is you would only have enough channels for a 5.1 system, though I guess you could also get an a-100 from emotiva for your rear surrounds. Not sure how much power they like (The RB-82ii's), but I would think the a-100 would drive them just as well as the back 2 of the Marantz receiver you are looking at. I also notice that separates tend to hold their value a little better than AVRs, so it would be more economically viable to upgrade in the future as well, not to mention the upgrade card you get for buying the UMC-1 (40% off their upcoming XMC-1 supposedly due out this fall, though I wouldn't hold my breath).

The only thing I would not do is settle on something, because you will always have that "what if" in the back of your mind, not to mention less money in your pocket in the long run.

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Outlaw 7700 is a 7 channel amp at 200 watts/channel for one third less money. If space is a problem an avr with pre- out to drive the front stage with a 3 channel amp. I doubt if the sourround and surround back will need or see much over 100 watts. The used market is great for getting amps, but it seems you are going with new. I am sure others will chime in and help spend your money, lol.[:#] I use amps on my mains and front height with the avr taking care of the rest.

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@tmassey, all the speakers show the same specs on this site and say 150rms/600peak. I've looked at the emotiva as it seems like a lot of people like them, but I'm just not sure I want to go with separates right off the bat. My main reason for upgrading my receiver in the first place is for 3D capability and a bit more power. At this point, I would like to go with an AVR with pre-outs so I can always buy amps in the future and work my way into the separates world. @derrickdj, wouldn't 200 RMS be too much?

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Shopping around for amps, now I know why you guys buy used...What about the outlaw 7125? Looking at that raises a question, what's the difference between balanced and unbalanced amps? I know balanced have XLR and unbalanced use RCA...I would imagine XLR would be a higher quality connection, but other than that, what's the benefit of balanced?

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It's really hard to say. We can help point you in the right direction and find help find some deals, but when it comes down to it, it is what your ears prefer. Outlaw amps apparently tend to be on the bright side, and coupled with Klipsch speakers which can sound bright to a lot of people, it may not be the ideal match. Is there anywhere in your area you can go to try and demo some different amps? Also, it is okay to go over your speakers recommended power as long as you aren't cranking it up too high. Maybe going with that Marantz receiver is your best bet, as you really can't go wrong if it has pre-outs, and Marantz is a proven brand. And actually just looking that up, I learned something new. Apparently Marantz, Denon, and McIntosh are owned by the same company.

In any case, good luck!

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Shopping around for amps, now I know why you guys buy used.

I ended up buying a 10 year old Parasound 220 x 5 amp and still ended up paying $750. They definitely aren't cheap but man, I love having the horsepower of that beast.

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The speaker RMS is not that important since nobody with Klipsch in their home will run the speakers at 150 watts or what ever it is for a long time. Most of the time 20-30 would be high. My surrounds are 50-200 watts peak and I have an amp on the front height with no fear of the RMS watts and can cover the peaks without a problem. I do not know if it is sound reasoning, but the amp on the front height speaker is meant to protect the least able speaker from clipping and provide the best damping that I can provide theorectically, lol. I have driven my speaker at 100 watts for a short amount of time, way, way, to loud to take for long. The surround just never get that type of wattage except in HT.

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Yes, 120 watts is definitely sufficient to power any Klipsch speaker. One thing to keep in mind is by having more "headroom", when driven at high volume or reference level, do greatly reduce the risk of your amp clipping and distorting (which is what damages speakers).

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Saw this tonight, might be another to look at if I can find one for a decent price. B&K Reference 125.7. I like the idea of having a 7 channel amp so it takes up less space. Someone in another thread did make a good point tho if you have an AVR to get a 5 channel amp and use the AVR to power the rears as pushing only 2 channels out of the AVR will actually get you what the AVR amp is rated at. I definitely have a lot of shopping around to do. So many choices and so many opinions. I'm not really in an area where I can go and listen to different amps so I'm having to go off of what I read on different forums. I still think the Marantz amps look awesome tho, I dig their design.

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The speaker RMS is not that important since nobody with Klipsch in their home will run the speakers at 150 watts or what ever it is for a long time. Most of the time 20-30 would be high. My surrounds are 50-200 watts peak and I have an amp on the front height with no fear of the RMS watts and can cover the peaks without a problem. I do not know if it is sound reasoning, but the amp on the front height speaker is meant to protect the least able speaker from clipping and provide the best damping that I can provide theorectically, lol. I have driven my speaker at 100 watts for a short amount of time, way, way, to loud to take for long. The surround just never get that type of wattage except in HT.

I'm trying to understand this post. When you say the RMS isn't important and most of the time 20-30 would be high, are you saying that higher volume = more wattage output? So basically if you only have your volume turned up half way and you have a 200 watt RMS amp, you are only using approximately 100 watts? This may be simplifying the equation quite a bit, but is this the basic idea? Is this why people can get away with using a higher powered amp than what the specs on their speakers say they can handle?
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I have the same front 3 speakers as you and on my way to replacing my surrounds to exactly what you have. Check out outlaws website. They have a discount on the 7700 when you buy a marantz. I have the av7005 with the 7700 and couldn't be happier. There is more power than you'll ever need . The amplifier barely gets warm during loud listening sessions and with t.v. or movies not even warm. The av7005 has xlr outputs and no amps. This keeps the heat out of the processor which is what eventually kills all electronics. The processor stays cool the amp stays cool and you dont have to worry about overworking or damaging anything. This is my opinion of course but its what I came up with when I was in the same spot your in now. Hope this gives you some insight. I know exactly where your at. Good luck.

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Right now I am watching a BD at -20 on my SC 35 avr and my mains and front height speakers are using less than 1 watt 98% of the time. Transient peaks in the movie will increase the wattage up to around 2 watts. This is around an average listening level of 75 db, p[us or minus a few db not counting peaks. Only if the avr is at -10, which I don't use, will the wattage go up to near 20. That is very loud and not my usual listening level. For music the avr is usually between -30 to -50, so I am in no danger of blowing anything.

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