MEH Synergy Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 This is a nice amp as well that is priced pretty high IMO. Should be some wiggle room here... I have owned the two channel version and can couch that is sounds very good, similar to parasound IMO https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649484394-bampk-reference-2007-s2-amplifier-with-obm/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 3 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said: On the cheap that will sound fantastic? BOOM: TWO amps. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis98eaa-b-k-components-st1430-tube Haha thanks for the link! I'll look into it. Any thoughts on the ones I listed above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 4 hours ago, Westcoastdrums said: On the cheap that will sound fantastic? BOOM: TWO amps. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis98eaa-b-k-components-st1430-tube My thoughts also. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 4 hours ago, suboost said: Haha thanks for the link! I'll look into it. Any thoughts on the ones I listed above? Of the choices you linked to, I(ME) would go with the Anthem MCA-50 over any of them. But a bit on the $$$ side. That B&K pair that @Westcoastdrums linked to is a very good buy if functioning properly. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 9 hours ago, suboost said: Any that you would recommend? I was thinking of the Emotiva 5 Channel, since they don't seem to make a 3 channel under $1000. Any advice would be great. Thanks I really like my xpa5, paid a really fair price from another member a couple years ago and it's been great. I've run Carvers, QSC's, Behringers, but there are many members that have a much broader experience with amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Emotiva I don't have much experience with. I have heard the older I think first Gen monster stereo amp thay everyone seems to rave about on a pair of legacy focus speakers that I went to buy used and almost didn't buy the speakers as I hated the way the system sounded and the guy clearly knew his stuff and had spent plenty of time with positioning, cabling and was playing high res source. When I got them home they sounded night and day better. I have stayed away from EMO solely from thay experience. Anthem, I know ZERO about. What I linked you however, are quality affordable amps that are class A/b mosfet, which tend to have a pleasant sound to many from my experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 4 hours ago, Westcoastdrums said: Emotiva I don't have much experience with. I have heard the older I think first Gen monster stereo amp thay everyone seems to rave about on a pair of legacy focus speakers that I went to buy used and almost didn't buy the speakers as I hated the way the system sounded and the guy clearly knew his stuff and had spent plenty of time with positioning, cabling and was playing high res source. When I got them home they sounded night and day better. I have stayed away from EMO solely from thay experience. Anthem, I know ZERO about. What I linked you however, are quality affordable amps that are class A/b mosfet, which tend to have a pleasant sound to many from my experience. Should I have any concerns with the fact that the B&K is probably almost 20 years old? Also, just curious on your thoughts if I were to buy a 5 channel amp should I bother Bi-Wiring 4 channels to the Towers and use the last one for the center? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 1 minute ago, suboost said: Should I have any concerns with the fact that the B&K is probably almost 20 years old? Also, just curious on your thoughts if I were to buy a 5 channel amp should I bother Bi-Wiring 4 channels to the Towers and use the last one for the center? That is a valid point. Personally, I wouldn't. Knowing this amp can be recapped by any number of places locally to me for not much coin would keep me content. You may feel otherwise. There is of course that slight risk I suppose. I have run plenty of amps this age or older without recapping them and have never had any issues. If you budget has plenty of room, why not go newer? There will come a point of diminishing returns for you I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 1 hour ago, suboost said: Should I have any concerns with the fact that the B&K is probably almost 20 years old? This is my experience only so take it with a grain of salt. I have owned close to 30 outboard amps(Acurus, B&K, NAD, Anthem, Adcom, Sunfire, Denon) with an average age of them being about 16 years old and only 2 of them have ever had any type of failure. Total repair bill for those two amps was around $275.00. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 5 minutes ago, willland said: This is my experience only so take it with a grain of salt. I have owned close to 30 outboard amps(Acurus, B&K, NAD, Anthem, Adcom, Sunfire, Denon) with an average age of them being about 16 years old and only 2 of them have ever had any type of failure. Total repair bill for those two amps was around $275.00. Bill Agreed. Exact same experience, except zero failures and purchase recapped amps for $100 to $200 more than the "going" rate. I would only be concerned if the particular vintage amp in question has a known history of smoking drivers without a recap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Westcoastdrums said: Agreed. Exact same experience, except zero failures Actually I am going to drill it down a little more. One of the Acurus 200FIVE amps that I owned had a "failed" channel because the previous owner's dog chewed through that channels speaker wire and sent a ZAP! back to the output transistors. Luckily the dog was okay. The other failure was with a 25 year old Denon POA-1500 that I drove a bit too hard and the protection circuitry triggered and would not reset. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 59 minutes ago, willland said: Actually I am going to drill it down a little more. One of the Acurus 200FIVE amps that I owned had a "failed" channel because the previous owner's dog chewed through that channels speaker wire and sent a ZAP! back to the output transistors. Luckily the dog was okay. The other failure was with a 25 year old Denon POA-1500 that I drove a bit too hard and the protection circuitry triggered and would not reset. Bill Sounds more like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 So I'm leaning towards the 5 channel Emotiva A-500 mainly due to the size. I was thinking about the B&K and others that size but the only room I would have would be on top of the Marantz Receiver, which I assume isn't a good idea. I have maybe 8 inches of height left above the receiver and in the other shelf only 5 inches. Does anyone have any opinions on bi-wiring the 5 channel amp to 3 channels or should I not bother? Would I be missing out on some power by just using 3 of the 5 channels or would the amplifier use all of the power either way? Thanks again for the help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 Also I didn't get any response to my idea of 3 monoblock amps from outlaw. I can get 3 of them for about $900 and they're 200w RMS 8ohms each. Is there any downside to this? I could just line them up side by side under my tv stand. Thanks guys! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 Here's a pic to show you guys what I'm working with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 48 minutes ago, suboost said: Also I didn't get any response to my idea of 3 monoblock amps from outlaw. I can get 3 of them for about $900 and they're 200w RMS 8ohms each. Is there any downside to this? None whatsoever, except for the coin that it takes to get them. Truthfully $300.00 each seems pretty reasonable. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 20 minutes ago, willland said: None whatsoever, except for the coin that it takes to get them. Truthfully $300.00 each seems pretty reasonable. Bill Yup. I had a pair of those at one time I got used. Sounded OK. Wouldn't be my first choice, especially at the cost new. There are much better choices IMO used. Used your money will go twice as far usually with the right deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Westcoastdrums said: Yup. I had a pair of those at one time I got used. Sounded OK. Wouldn't be my first choice, especially at the cost new. There are much better choices IMO used. Used your money will go twice as far usually with the right deals. Gotcha, so power is good, but maybe not the best sound quality? Would that B&K sound better? Or what about this Parasound? I've heard good things about them. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649434711-parasound-hca-2003a-3-channel-power-amp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Yes but that is an older amp as well. Parasound and B&K are similar IMO. I woudk give the knod to parasound. Since you listen to a lot of music, why not get a better two channel amp, newer model or maybe even new from Cory? Let your receive power everything else. You could always give that a try? If you weren't content, you could get a 3 channel for the remaining speakers. You can level match using your receiver. No big deal there. I don't know what your budget or ultimate goal is. I don't know how important movies VS music are to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suboost Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 minute ago, Westcoastdrums said: Yes but that is an older amp as well. Parasound and B&K are similar IMO. I woudk give the knod to parasound. Since you listen to a lot of music, why not get a better two channel amp, newer model or maybe even new from Cory? Let your receive power everything else. You could always give that a try? If you weren't content, you could get a 3 channel for the remaining speakers. You can level match using your receiver. No big deal there. I don't know what your budget or ultimate goal is. I don't know how important movies VS music are to you. Yea I was worried that the center not matching the fronts for the same type of sound might be a problem for movies. Do you think I would even notice? Any opinions on the best 2 channel under $1000? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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