finallygotmyheresies Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Any recommendations for powering 5 Fortes? Should I be looking for a 200 watt 5 channel amp, would 100~140 be enough? Sherbourn, Emotiva, Anthem, Marantz, Parasound, Adcom? $500 is what I'd like to stay below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 I have owned Parasound (220 x 5) and Sherbourn (200 x 7) and both are rock solid amps. You may not "need" 200 watts/ch but there is nothing wrong with having extra headroom. IMO, the Adcom would be my last choice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 is adcom a bad match for fortes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 Not necessarily. I just felt the Adcom amps I owned were of lower build quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I would prefer some other amps over the adcom in that price range. An Acurus 5 channel amp would do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I disagree with previous statements about Adcom amplifiers, while not every Adcom amp is great they do have some great products that i would choose over all others though Anthem amps are great also. The GFA 5500 coupled with the 5503 is a great pick for 5 channel or the GFA 7705 5 channel amp would be another good one though its a newer model and would probably be above your bidget on the used market. Not an Emotiva or Parasound fan myself but do like the newer Marantz amps and reference integrated is very nice but its big bucks even on the used market. Never heard any Sherbourn products that i can recall so can't comment on that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 This is for a home theater setup, right? Guys may not like this but I'm partial to Yamaha receivers. The YPAO auto eq works fabulously, the user interface for the surround modes etc is pretty easy to get through, lots of inputs and such. The newer stuff can be controlled by iPad or iPhone app also. Depending on how loud you listen you don't need a lot of watts, but a lot depends on size of the room. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BE36 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Before selling my Forte IIs hooked them up to my McIntosh Pre-amp & Amps plenty loud on 40 watts in my smallish room and really good sound, very close to LaScalas. A Yamaha or similar with room correction used as a pre coupled with a used Mc-7106 amp, less than $1,200, should be a killer set-up. Amp could be added later. Just make sure receiver model has Pre-outs, need to be high enough in model lineup to get them in some brands. Started out with Fortes and Higher end Pioneer receiver, coupling Adcom amps to it was an improvement especially for bass. Mc-Intosh was a big step-up for vocals without a drop-off in bass. (Sub handled 80hz and below) Sorry did notice budget at first, still I would get receiver with room correction that has an amp then upgrade to a Mc-7106 or similar later after saving up if Watching Concerts or listening to music. FYI - Fortes are sensitive to distance from both side wall and wall behind speaker. Would recommend getting placement optimized before running room correction. Edited February 25, 2015 by BE36 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldred Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I also think Adcom is a nice amp. Been running them for years. Going to be hard to find a 200 X 5 in your price range. I think for A $ 500.00 range you are in the 125 X 5 range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 Best bet is to go and listen to as many amps as you can. I've owned several and couldn't tell a difference in sound in a blind test. I agree, with a $500 budget, it will be hard to find a 200x5 but not impossible. I paid $400 for one a few years ago. Average is probably $600-$750 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheric Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 the Adcom would be my last choice. I disagree with this statement... while not every Adcom amp is great they do have some great products that i would choose over all others though Anthem amps are great also. ........ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 One mans opinion, nothing more. YMMv Lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I have always liked Rotel amps and used them for years with my Epic's. Check out the Rotel RMB 1075- 120 watts x 5. They can be had at your price point and there are some up on EBay at this time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Not necessarily. I just felt the Adcom amps I owned were of lower build quality was just curious why you had that opinion. most people like adcom, especiallly in the "budget" price range. i have owned/own many different adcoms over the years, mainly the gfa-5xx & 2nd series 5xx. i currently have 2 555ii & short of going to much higher end stuff at a much higher price, i cant see how the "build quality" can get much better. adcoms are tanks & have some pretty good parts internally & for me have been very reliable. plus they are brutes when it comes to power & bass output at 200wpc & 600w bridged @ 8 ohms, 800 @ 4ohms. while they may not be the most musical amps there are they do pretty darn good compared to some higher end stuff i have heard. & the smaller 535 & 545 actually sound "better" than the bigger 555 & 565 IMO at "normal" listening levels. but for concert level volumes on speakers that can take or need the power the 555ii is hard to beat... for the price of course. i own a 200wpc rotel rb990 & an onkyo m-504 @ 165wpc. the adcom 555ii looks much beefier inside & kicks their butts in the bass & volume category but the rotel & onkyo do have a "smoother" more musical sound at lower listening levels. but as with everything in this hobby there are too many factors that come into play, other gear in the system, speakers, room etc. but personally i would not put adcoms build quality or sound at the bottom of any list. Edited February 25, 2015 by klipschfancf4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finallygotmyheresies Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 I guess I should just ask if 100~140wpc is enough for a Forte HT setup or should I be looking for more power? A budget of $1,000 would be better but I don't wanna overspend if I can avoid it. My current setup is a Marantz PM8004 which gets used in HT bypass mode with a TASCAM PA-R200 (Onkyo),which is basically used as a HDMI switcher, whenever I use a HDMI source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 100 watts is plenty but nothing wrong with more power if you listen at high volumes, Any good external amplifier will be an upgrade to what your receiver puts out. $1000 on the used market will get you where you want to be with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 absolutey 100-140wpc is enough for almost any klipsch speaker. unless you want real concert level sound or trying to fill a movie theater sized room. im sure you know but fortes & other heritage speakers are VERY efficient & do not need big power. shoot, my fortes sound amazing on my 90wpc onkyo 605 AVR in a decent sized living room. unless you are truely unhappy with your current setup i dont see any need to spend 500-1000 to add ~60 watts. while extra headroom on an amp is a good thing, you probably are more than fine with 100-140 watts for teh fortes or any heritage speaker. IMO of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for. Do you have a pre-amp and you are looking for a 5.0 amplifier? Your current Marantz is a stereo receiver with 4 outputs. Are you going to use the Tascam as a pre-out? I may suggest an alternative. The Onkyo TX-NR818 is an outstanding value selling used now at $450-500. There seems to be a lot of them coming on the used market right now. They were $1200 new and street value new was around $900 if I remember correctly. It can do 7.2 and can be used as a pre-out. It has a strong 135 wpc and has an advanced version of Audyssey, the MultEQ XT32. The only caveat (and this is a big deal, and may be a deal breaker) is this model had the HDMI daughter board problem. Onk has extended the warranty on that problem to 2018, so you do have some protection. I have the Onk 717 and I can't say enough good things about it. I run my power hungry CF-4's L/R in a 5.1 configuration and my 110 wpc runs my setup as loud as you want. The sound quality is outstanding with that AVR. I think it will do a good job of running your 5 Fortes all day long for music or movies. Accessories for Less.com has an 818 for $600, but I think that price is high, I've seen them on AVS.com market place for less than $500. +++ Edit: Fellow Klipschites, if my advice on this ^^^ is bad or if I am looking at this wrong, please feel free to say so. It won't hurt my feelings. Edited February 25, 2015 by wvu80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) I guess I should just ask if 100~140wpc is enough for a Forte HT setup or should I be looking for more power? Absolutely enough. Here are a few amp suggestions that you might find on the used market near your price: Parasound 5125 NAD T955 B&K Reference 125.5 or 5125 Acurus A125x5 Anthem PVA 5 Bill Edited February 25, 2015 by willland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finallygotmyheresies Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 I had been focused on only having a 2-channel setup for a couple of years. I bought the PM8004 to have a good quality integrated and I added the TASCAM so that I could have HDMI hookups. My recent Forte finds as well as my pending home purchase are affording me the opportunity to go back to a HT setup. So now I plan on using the TASCAM as a preamp and want to add a 5-channel amp for the 5 Fortes. I know Fortes are sensitive but in a HT environment I just wanted to be sure to get a amp that will be sufficient for that purpose. My tv room is about 18'x24. I move in 6 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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