help with amplifier

[JAY993]

Looking for advise on a new amp to run my new Forte 3's

I currently have a Moon 250i, it feels underpowered.

Im a NAD fan....

[Ski Bum]

Feels underpowered, eh?  Tell us more about your room size and listening distance.  That's a nice integrated, but it's not exactly a deep breather.

 

I have forte II in a large room over here, and (as evidenced by losing bass and increasing stridency) I've noticed the following:

-I can bring a 50w integrated and a 60w ATI power amp to their limits (the ATI can get marginally louder) 

-the next step up in my amp quiver is good for ~200w, and it's clean and effortless to the ear well beyond any reasonable listening levels. It's really not much more in terms of decibels, but it's more than enough to not audibly clip when blasting it, even with some bass eq boost.

 

So if your room size and listening distance is at all similar to mine, I could see you very easily exceeding capacity of the Simaudio amp.  If, on the other hand, your room is more modest in size, you should probably assess things further before throwing money at amps.  And if it seems more juice is the solution, don't limit yourself to NAD, as there are better values to be found (Monoprice, Outlaw, etc.).   

[Schu]

Which NAD?

[willland]

8 hours ago, Schu said:

Which NAD?

375BEE, 388, etc?

 

You don't "need" 200w/channel😉 because either of the above mentioned 150w/ch NADs will provide enough horsepower to the Forte IIIs that will knock you out of your seat.

 

Bill

[JAY993]

I have a NAD 3155 I use outside, I might hook it up and see if it sounds better....

[Shakeydeal]

Whatever it is you don't like about your amp, power isn't the issue. I have driven forte IIIs in a large room to lease breaking levels with 20 watts.

 

My suggestion to you is to try a moderately powered tube amp. This should give you a more pleasing tonal balance than the moon integrated.

 

Shakey

[Ski Bum]

14 minutes ago, JAY993 said:

I have a NAD 3155 I use outside, I might hook it up and see if it sounds better....

It very well might.  NAD from back in the day really emphasized dynamic power reserves, so if it's more than what the Simaudio can bring to the table...

 

Even with fairly sensitive speakers, the dynamic power demands for music is often overlooked.

3 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

Whatever it is you don't like about your amp, power isn't the issue. I have driven forte IIIs in a large room to lease breaking levels with 20 watts.

 

My suggestion to you is to try a moderately powered tube amp. This should give you a more pleasing tonal balance than the moon integrated.

 

Shakey

Given the OP's present gear, I think power is likely the issue, as you don't want solid state amps to clip, ever.  That Simaudio amp is only 50w w/ a switching supply, so it has no wiggle room whatsoever.  His old NAD probably brings more clean dynamic watts than Moon amp.  He should give it a try.  Agreed regarding lower power tube amps, where dynamic peaks are clipped far more benignly and recovery from clipping conditions generally more ear-friendly.  

[DeanG Crossovers]

I have a small room and sit fairly close. 60 wpc is the minimum I will use with solid state (for reason Ski Bum stated above). There is nothing graceful about even the best solid state when you run it near its limits). 

[Schu]

It gets ugly... that's for sure

[JAY993]

thanks to all for the input.

I am going to hook up the NAD 3155 this weekend, Ill let you know

I purchased the 3155 because at my fraternity in Lincoln, the NAD 3155 powered Klipsch La Scala's and you couldn't get within 3' of them...