What stereo amplifier to buy with RF-7 MKII?

[david.dgc]

2 minutes ago, oldred said:

Both....you will love them...MX 1000....CX 1000 in that condition...

Buy them.

Here Are mine.

 

George,

Actually, I'm waiting an answer from the seller!
They look great! 

[david.dgc]

The German seller just answered:

 

"Dear David,

Thanks a lot for your message.
bias current has been adjusted, and some soldering joints have been refreshes, all other measurements were fine
The Yamaha combo is working fine!

You get 12 month warranty on all you purchases placed through our company.

In case if further questions feel free to contact us.

Have a nice evening and bet regards,
Constantin Müller"

 

 

What do you think about the repairs?

[teaman]

Hi David, I see you are in Switzerland so that may be tough to see a lot of suppliers local to you. To me I think the Yamaha amp/preamp combo linked to you is fairly decent. I am not sure as far as the repairs but since the seller is willing to offer a warranty that sounds okay to me. I am not a big Yamaha fan although at one time I was. I find the treble a bit too bright and almost tinny for my taste.

 

I don't know if you can find older Technics Solid State integrated amps or power amp/preamp combos around you (Technics was big in Europe) but if you can find anything from their SU- or SE- series amps, they sound fantastic with Klipsch and they are built like tanks. Personally I am a big fan of Emotiva but the costs associated with international shipping may not be a good deal. If you see anything on your local market I would advise you to check it out. 

[Alpha Lima]

You might want to try this Rega:

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/REGA-BRIO-R-INTEGRATED-AMPLIFIER-CONDITION-GREAT-WITH-PACKAGING-/282425581240?hash=item41c1e05eb8:g:vOgAAOSwpkFY58gD

[J M O N]

I'm not sure if anyone answered your question but if you buy a power amplifier, you will also need to get a pre-amplifier.  An integrated amplifier contains both a power amp and a pre-amp in one chasis, so you get that if you prefer to have just one box.  As for amplifier recommendations, I would suggest you also look at Classé Audio (on the used market).  They are one of my favorite solid state amps.  Used can be a great value when you are buying the higher end stuff (such as Classé, among others) as they are built better than the mass-market gear so they are more likely to last and because they were fairly expensive when new, they tend to be better taken care of by their original owners.  Buying used means you want to buy from reputable sellers.  Places like Audiogon and US Audio Mart / Canuck Audio Mart / Europe Audio Mart (?), can be good places to shop for used gear as you get come confidence with seller's feedback.

[J M O N]

If this one is in your price range (the ad isn't in English so I can't tell if this is a starting auction price of it is is the actual sale price), I seriously suggest you take a look at it.  You may be hard pressed to find a better solid state amp in your local area for the money.

 

https://www.ricardo.ch/kaufen/audio-tv-und-video/hifi-komponenten/verstaerker/endstufen/jeff-rowland-102/v/an890109288/

 

[BlueHusky79]

A company receiving quite a bit of positive press and reviews, both from professional/independent reviewers; Emotiva.

Many forum members have had positive experiences with their selection of products and very competitive pricing. Great reviews on Audio/Video Processers, powerfull amplifiers in many different forms.

Recently they announced that they market in addition to the USA & Canada, an additional 125 Countries.

Web site: WWW.EMOTIVA.COM They are setup for transactions in over 100 countries and they accept credit cards, handle conversion, and shipping.

I personally have had great experiences doing business with the past four plus years.

Good luck, feel free to ask any questions.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[david.dgc]

10 hours ago, teaman said:

Hi David, I see you are in Switzerland so that may be tough to see a lot of suppliers local to you. To me I think the Yamaha amp/preamp combo linked to you is fairly decent. I am not sure as far as the repairs but since the seller is willing to offer a warranty that sounds okay to me. I am not a big Yamaha fan although at one time I was. I find the treble a bit too bright and almost tinny for my taste.

 

I don't know if you can find older Technics Solid State integrated amps or power amp/preamp combos around you (Technics was big in Europe) but if you can find anything from their SU- or SE- series amps, they sound fantastic with Klipsch and they are built like tanks. Personally I am a big fan of Emotiva but the costs associated with international shipping may not be a good deal. If you see anything on your local market I would advise you to check it out. 

Hello Teaman, 

 

Can you please indicate me some TECHNICS and EMOTIVA models that you are talking about?

Thank you.

 

[david.dgc]

4 hours ago, BlueHusky79 said:

A company receiving quite a bit of positive press and reviews, both from professional/independent reviewers; Emotiva.

Many forum members have had positive experiences with their selection of products and very competitive pricing. Great reviews on Audio/Video Processers, powerfull amplifiers in many different forms.

Recently they announced that they market in addition to the USA & Canada, an additional 125 Countries.

Web site: WWW.EMOTIVA.COM They are setup for transactions in over 100 countries and they accept credit cards, handle conversion, and shipping.

I personally have had great experiences doing business with the past four plus years.

Good luck, feel free to ask any questions.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 

Hello BlueHusky79, 

I will take a look. Thank you.

Which EMOTIVA AMP do you suggest for my speakers?

[david.dgc]

6 hours ago, JMON said:

I'm not sure if anyone answered your question but if you buy a power amplifier, you will also need to get a pre-amplifier.  An integrated amplifier contains both a power amp and a pre-amp in one chasis, so you get that if you prefer to have just one box.  As for amplifier recommendations, I would suggest you also look at Classé Audio (on the used market).  They are one of my favorite solid state amps.  Used can be a great value when you are buying the higher end stuff (such as Classé, among others) as they are built better than the mass-market gear so they are more likely to last and because they were fairly expensive when new, they tend to be better taken care of by their original owners.  Buying used means you want to buy from reputable sellers.  Places like Audiogon and US Audio Mart / Canuck Audio Mart / Europe Audio Mart (?), can be good places to shop for used gear as you get come confidence with seller's feedback.

Hello JMON, 

Which model Classé Audio do you suggest?

[ricktate]

While 100-200 watts are better for your RF-7s......you do not need that much. I took a HK430 with 24 watt receiver to test a set of RF-7s my son was going to buy. It did not lack anything....in fact the guy said dang I may not want to sell these now...lol.    So you could get by with less power for awhile I think.

But my son did say his AVR could not make them work as good as his carver amp did but that's expected. I bet any vintage stereo receiver or amp would be fine.

I use to have a Yamaha 80 watt stereo receiver with 80 watts and it was no match to HK 430 not only in power but quality of sound as well. In the 70s those HK 430s sold new for around 400 bucks.

[Matthews]

24 minutes ago, ricktate said:

While 100-200 watts are better for your RF-7s......you do not need that much

even better, 300-400 watts, and...  yes you do!

...power hungry monsters

[BlueHusky79]

Depending on your needs, if you'll be doing Two Channel listening either of their models. Introductory amplifer, for 2-channel (Stereo) offer:
Basx A-300; 150 watt per channel.

Their reference amplifier, 2 channel (Stereo): XPA-2 at 300 watt per channel. The third generation is available, most recent review called it a "Beast of an AMP".

Personally, I have a 5.1 system (5 Klipsch Speakers & 1 Subwoofer). Currently upgraded to the Emotiva XPA-5 Amplifier generation 3; absolutely love it and high reccomend. While listening to music, hear incredible clarity & depth. During guitar playing, hear clearly finger brushing the strings. Classical music hear various instruments within a song very lifelike & clear.

Note, I just upgraded my XPA, had same amplifier from the first generation. Absolutely no issues with, stumble across opportunity to purchase a 5 month new Amp of same model. With newer design, and was able to trade up.

I prefer separates as my experience has shown I get greater results & quality. I also graduated from just two channel traditional listening to also including movies that require more speakers for action.

Emotiva I have found offers quality products without the middleman, you purchase directly from them. Get better quality and more bang for the buck. Good luck, Jeff

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[teaman]

David, do you have a budget set? If you could let us know what you are looking to spend we can maybe suit your needs better. I have 600 wpc mono block Emotiva XPA-1 Gen 1 amps and they are an amazing pairing with the speakers I own. I am sure the RF-7's can make due with the low powered amps but to me there is nothing better than headroom. I might only use twenty watts  to power the speakers at moderate levels but when I want to rock out the amps and speakers put forth a ton of sound. If you can let us know what your budget is we can point you in a direction!

 

Tim

[J M O N]

16 hours ago, david.dgc said:

Hello JMON, 

Which model Classé Audio do you suggest?

With your speakers I would get the most powerful you can get within your budget.  I have owned the Classé Audio Model Seventy and it is a true bargain on the used market and will be 70 WPC which is still a lot with Klipsch speakers.  Others to consider that will go up in price with increases in power output are the CA-100, CA-150, CA-200, etc.

 

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-classe-70-power-amp-priced-drop-2017-04-02-amplifiers-j2m1n8

 

I would also recommend you take a very hard look at the Jeff Rowland amp I linked above.  It appears to be in Switzerland and if it is in your budget, I would jump on it ASAP.  The currency converter I saw said it is at about $850 (U.S.), which is a low, low price for JR gear if that is indeed the asking price. Jeff Rowland is as good as it gets in the solid state world and the prices usually reflect that.  If you are not familiar with the brand, do some research and you will see most of their products sell in the multiple thousands of dollars (and more!) and are highly regarded.

[david.dgc]

Hello everyone, 

 

I'm have some good news for someones (not as good for the others  )

I just confirmed the purchase of the combo Yamaha MX-1000 and CX-1000.

Price 1800eur (shipping costs included)!

 

The bad news are that, to avoid some 300eur (swiss customs), I sent it to a friend's address in Portugal (EU country). Unfortunately I will only put my hands on it in the end of July.

As soon as I get my hands on it, I will come back here to post some photos of it, I give a complete feedback!

 

Thanks to all of you for your several suggestions / opinions! 

I hope I have made a good deal and I will be pleased with his sound!

 

 

 

[Matthews]

WooHoo - congrats, David

I think you are going to be extremely happy with your new toys

 

keep us posted

 

Matt ♪ ♫ ♪

[Keith_M]

Whatever amp you get, I advise that you make sure that it is rated to drive a 4ohm load. You may not need that capability for the RF7's, but it may be necessary if you migrate in the future to any other speaker and don't want you choice to be restricted.

 

There was once a time when all hi-fi amps had such a capability. But in recent years, amplifier makers are applying more disparate methods of rating power in order to conceal design compromises.

 

In a related story, about 25 years ago, I bought a new Yamaha 75W/ch integrated amplifier. I had never considered that amplifiers sold by "serious" manufacturers or outlets would not be capable of driving a 4ohm load, so I didn't check. So I learned the hard way. A few weeks of driving my 6ohm (nominal) Janszen electrostatics, the amplifier literally smoked and died. My hope is that you will be a smarter shopper than I was at that time.

[Keith_M]

Just to expand on my point a bit.

 

Recently, I wanted to upgrade our "classic" Optimus LX5 (Lineaum) speakers on our secondary system. I narrowed the choice of replacement speakers to Klipsch RP-160M's, and a comparably-priced ELAC model. Since I was ordering these over the internet, I would not be able to audition them in person, so I paid close attention to serious reviews. The ELAC speakers are typically more respected for the type of music to which I listen (classical), but the Kipsch ones are close behind. However, the ELAC speakers are rated at 4ohms (nominal), whereas the Klipsch are rated at 8ohm (nominal). The inexpensive Marantz A/V amplifier that I would be using was not rated to drive a 4ohm load, which resulted in my decision to buy the Klipsch pair. I am happy with the Klipsch speakers overall, but the reviews that I read were pretty accurate. They are outstanding in every way except when complex classical material is played; in this case, they shout a bit, but otherwise, particularly for smaller orchestras, quartets, etc., they are excellent.

 

So, this was a case of an inadequate amplifier limiting my choice of speakers.

[david.dgc]

Hello everyone, 

Some further news about the amplifier.

The seller did a last check up on the MX-1000 and it has been found a "issue" on one of the channels of the speakers.

The seller said to me that he will send it to a German Yamaha special technician which is renowned and usually has a waiting list of 6 months minimum.

The selling has been delayed for some months until the issue is fixed.