Max2 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Looking at older 2 channel SS amps for K-horns. I will be using a Denon 4311 as the preamp and to power the other 3 speakers for rare surround use. Im looking at a Denon POA-1500 and a Onkyo M-504. My uncle had a 504 several years ago that I was really impressed with. After doing some reading, it appears the Denon and the Onk are very close in sound. Maybe Im just spinning my wheels trying to pair them with an AVR as the pre. Any thought's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I had a POA-1500 driving a pair of fortes for a year or so and it sounded wonderful. I used a Luxman R-115 stereo receiver for a while as a preamp and then a Denon PRA-1500. Meters are very cool. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) i have owned a 504 for almost 20 years & for what it is & its price, it is a very good amp. its been hooked up to my kg5.5 & fortes in the past & it sounds excellent. but then again, almost any amp will sound good on fortes! i just bought my first pair of k-horns about a week ago & hooked them to the onkyo first for only a few hours, they sounded good but i am not used to the k-horns sound yet, they are a totally different animal than any other speaker. i plan to hook the onkyo back up asap for a better testing. i have used an adcom 555ii & rotel rb990 on them for a few hours each just to get a comparison on first impressions, the rotel sounds best so far but the onkyo would be a close second in initial sound quality. the adcom has power up loud but doesnt have the same sound quality to me with my system in the mid-high range. just not as clear, almost cheaper sounding. i will say that i first used an onkyo 805 avr as a preamp & while it sounded "ok." i swapped in a basic adcom 500 preamp & it was a night & day difference, all amps sounded better, more bass mainly but better all around compared to the receiver as a pre. the 805 is a very nice AVR & has great reviews, just not as good of a preamp as the oldschool adcom. with the right gear i think the onkyo m504 would be a great budget friendly s/s amp for k-horns. they go for about $400-$500 on ebay. but im sure for that price you could find an equal or better used amp... like the rotel. but the big green meters of the onkyo cant be beat at this price range.. Edited February 8, 2014 by klipschfancf4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 The Onkyo is a classic amp and looks really cool with the meters. It has plenty of power. I have not owned that but, I think it would be a lot of fun to try if the price is right. Good ones go for $350-400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) One thing I noticed on both of these amps, among the great reviews, are the stellar bench numbers. I have never been a big spec peeper, but the Denon shows .002% distortion and an SNR of 123db. Now I know my ears couldn't hear or pick out a lower THD, but I guess it never hurts that the numbers are that good. I wonder if they measured things a little different back then. Edited February 13, 2014 by Max2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 One of those Onkyo amps just came up for sale on my local craigslist for $325.00, with the matching pre for $125.00. I thought about buying it because I've always liked the looks of those big meters. I wouldn't use solid state with my K-Horns, but I might try it out on one of my other systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I wouldn't use solid state with my K-Horns, what if it was a McIntosh SS amp with the meters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I wouldn't use solid state with my K-Horns, what if it was a McIntosh SS amp with the meters? I used to run a Mac 2125 amp with my Khorns. Love the look of Mac blue meters, but I prefer tubes with the K-Horns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I had a feeling you would say that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 One of those Onkyo amps just came up for sale on my local craigslist for $325.00, with the matching pre for $125.00. I thought about buying it because I've always liked the looks of those big meters. I wouldn't use solid state with my K-Horns, but I might try it out on one of my other systems. thats an excellent price for a good working 504. they consistantly hit $450-$500 on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 One of those Onkyo amps just came up for sale on my local craigslist for $325.00, with the matching pre for $125.00. I thought about buying it because I've always liked the looks of those big meters. I wouldn't use solid state with my K-Horns, but I might try it out on one of my other systems. thats an excellent price for a good working 504. they consistantly hit $450-$500 on ebay. I thought it sounded like a good deal also. I just bought a reel to reel deck, so I might not be able to pick up the amp right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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