K5SS Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Hey guys, I am about to jump back into the land of separates here in the very near future, to power some Martin Logan speakers. I have always read good things about Acurus amplifiers, especially their $$/performance ratio. I just got a lead on a Acurus 200/3 for a good price but when I read through the reviews, they were less than positive on many of the websites. The majority of the negative comments were due to reliability issues. Just thought I ask for some feedback, from Acurus owners, past and present, before I make a drive to buy it. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Okay my experience. I own and have owned 12 Acurus amps. A100, A100X3, A150, A150, A200, A200, 200X3, A200X3, A250, A250, 200FIVE, 200FIVE Only one(200FIVE) of them had any failures(before I purchased) and it was a single channel that failed because dog bit into speaker wire. I paid $150.00 to have it repaired and it ran like a charm. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedPrince Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Okay my experience. I own and have owned 12 Acurus amps. A100, A100X3, A150, A150, A200, A200, 200X3, A200X3, A250, A250, 200FIVE, 200FIVE Only one(200FIVE) of them had any failures(before I purchased) and it was a single channel that failed because dog bit into speaker wire. I paid $150.00 to have it repaired and it ran like a charm. Bill How do these compare to Adcom amps?Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 16 minutes ago, BlessedPrince said: How do these compare to Adcom amps? I have only owned one Adcom, GFA-6000, so not much experience there. It was a decent amp that seemed more powerful than it's specs. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted March 29, 2018 Author Share Posted March 29, 2018 Thank you for the input willland! I have read so many good things about Acurus so I was quite surprised when I read all the issues. I also understand that many people only make a review when things go wrong, for whatever reason, so the ratings can be a bit skewed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 14 minutes ago, K5SS said: Thank you for the input willland! I have read so many good things about Acurus so I was quite surprised when I read all the issues. I also understand that many people only make a review when things go wrong, for whatever reason, so the ratings can be a bit skewed. The "newest" of the Mondial Acurus amps are nearing 20 years old so even though my Acurus reliability experience has been stellar, you need to keep that in mind. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted March 29, 2018 Author Share Posted March 29, 2018 Yeah. I had a lead on a Proceed HPA3 for $1,400 but I hear that design is very hard to service and only out of state shops are even willing. Decided to pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 1 hour ago, K5SS said: Yeah. I had a lead on a Proceed HPA3 for $1,400 but I hear that design is very hard to service and only out of state shops are even willing. Decided to pass. Yes, those Proceeds are supposedly wonderful amps with trickle down technology from Mark Levinson, but servicing/parts are a chore from what I have read. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Forgive me but where are you located again? Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 I had an original Acurus 200x3 and an A150, both worked great and I ran them for awhile. The 200x3 was an awesome sounding and powerful amp, really liked that one. The A150 had a bit of a different sound to it that I didn't really care for too much but not bad by any means. If you take the cover off they seem to be fairly simple designs, can't imagine having one repaired or updated could cost that much. Any amp 20+ years old will likely need service at some point as the caps dry up just like in crossovers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted March 30, 2018 Author Share Posted March 30, 2018 5 hours ago, willland said: Forgive me but where are you located again? Bill I am in the Seattle area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlthess40 Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 Take Bill words to heart. He k it’s his gear and only speaks on items he has had or hasI trust his knowledge spot onI have had more then 20 of the adcom ampsAnd each and every one later on in life they will need repairs. Bank On That and when they do, kiss your speaker or speakers goodbye. They will drive so much a/c current from the speaker outputs that will fry any speaker unless they have a fuse on the speaker input plugsThe only other amp that I’ve had were some krell class A amps and with those boys you could wield steel lolGood luck and if the seller will let you open the top so you can look at the caps and so on to see if any repairs and been done or if any of the caps are bulging up or leaking And look for burn spots on the boards, that’s a sure sign of problems 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 5 hours ago, carlthess40 said: Take Bill words to heart. He k it’s his gear and only speaks on items he has had or has I trust his knowledge spot on Thanks Carl, I appreciate the kind words. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 I have an A125x5 and 2 A250s. I have had the A125x5 and one of the A250s for at least 15 years and bought them used. I have had the other A250 about 10 years. For the last 7 years they have run 24/7. The A250s run four 4 ohm subwoofers. The first A250 melted all 4 voicecoils in the first pair of subs and survived without damage. Now all 4 subs have the 600 watt Mega-woofer option. All 3 amps have been excellent and have never had any issue. I had to send my Parasound amps back for repairs during the 1st 3 years, one of them twice. Their sound is clean and solid. Bass for days, but not "warm", actually I don't notice any characteristic sound at all, they are invisible. The damping factor is high and they control my woofers without any slop or overhang. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 On 3/29/2018 at 12:30 PM, willland said: I paid $150.00 to have it repaired and it ran like a charm. The dog or the amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 25 minutes ago, Coytee said: The dog or the amp? Not my dog but yes the amp. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.