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Help Getting Started in 2 Channel Audio


captjoe

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I current have been primary a Home Theater guy and getting the bug to get into a 2 channel set up for my living room.I need help to choose a amp to get started  that won't break the bank. $1000 range

My home theater consist of 7.2.4 and has a blend of RF-7 III , RF-7 , Hersey , RC 64III , SPL 120 and SPL 150..etc..

I'm in the process of building a pair of Cornscala to be my speakers. I'm a classic rock guy and most music will be player from Amazon HD or form SACD thru my Pioneer UHD 500 . Thank in advance.

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What are you driving your current HT setup with?  You have so many choices and will get all kinds of opinions and recommendations.  I would consider reading through a lot of the solid state information on the forum prior to just getting specific models thrown out to you.  If you are considering used, then you have a lot more choices and if you purchase knowing the market well, you can try different amps to see what you like and buy and sell without losing much or anything, until you settle in on the amp that's right for you and your speakers.  

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Tube or Solid State ?  with cornscalas you can literally use about any amp from flea watt to skys the limit in power.  High power= more headroom and usually harder hitting bass as well as  better 15" bass driver control.  Low power usually means more intimate I'm at a small venue feeling.

 

What volume do you like to listen at,  rock concert or save my ears / hearing ?  How concerned with detail retrieval are you, Most rock is not recorded well and overly analytical can get strident & dry.  There is alot of info needed to know about your preferences and tastes before any real suggestions can be made

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35 minutes ago, joessportster said:

Tube or Solid State ?  with cornscalas you can literally use about any amp from flea watt to skys the limit in power.  High power= more headroom and usually harder hitting bass as well as  better 15" bass driver control.  Low power usually means more intimate I'm at a small venue feeling.

 

What volume do you like to listen at,  rock concert or save my ears / hearing ?  How concerned with detail retrieval are you, Most rock is not recorded well and overly analytical can get strident & dry.  There is alot of info needed to know about your preferences and tastes before any real suggestions can be made

 

I'd look for a good tube amp with those efficient speakers. There are both commercial models available at that price (usually with Non-Western Made Tubes) as well as vintage and newer used integrated  amps that contain used NOS era tubes.

 

I have a few amps in each category and would start with a low wattage amp of 18WPC or less. I can easily drive my Belles with 1.5 WPC. Also get the neighbors complaining with 18 WPC amp turned up high.

 

Wb

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56 minutes ago, joessportster said:

Tube or Solid State ?  with cornscalas you can literally use about any amp from flea watt to skys the limit in power.  High power= more headroom and usually harder hitting bass as well as  better 15" bass driver control.  Low power usually means more intimate I'm at a small venue feeling.

 

What volume do you like to listen at,  rock concert or save my ears / hearing ?  How concerned with detail retrieval are you, Most rock is not recorded well and overly analytical can get strident & dry.  There is alot of info needed to know about your preferences and tastes before any real suggestions can be made

Tube is where I would like to go.I listen at around 60-75 decibels mostly, except when I drink a lot of beer..LOL. I'm looking for good detail and able to drive the cornscalas well enough to be happy.I'm in no way over the top in what I'm looking for as I've been using my home theater receiver A Denon 6400 in one room the other has the Denon 6500 which was a recent upgrade from the Denon 4500.

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1 hour ago, Pete H said:

What are you driving your current HT setup with?  You have so many choices and will get all kinds of opinions and recommendations.  I would consider reading through a lot of the solid state information on the forum prior to just getting specific models thrown out to you.  If you are considering used, then you have a lot more choices and if you purchase knowing the market well, you can try different amps to see what you like and buy and sell without losing much or anything, until you settle in on the amp that's right for you and your speakers.  

I'm driving my 11.2.4 with my Denon 6500 and a Monolith 7 x 200 amp and in my other room  I have a denon 6400 driving a 5.2. setup.

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45 minutes ago, captjoe said:

I'm driving my 11.2.4 with my Denon 6500 and a Monolith 7 x 200 amp and in my other room  I have a denon 6400 driving a 5.2. setup.

Personally I would start by running them with the monolith you have and see what you think.  Plenty of power and if you're going down the tube path, it will give you a reference to compare against whatever you end up with.  

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1 hour ago, captjoe said:

Tube is where I would like to go.I listen at around 60-75 decibels mostly, except when I drink a lot of beer..LOL. I'm looking for good detail and able to drive the cornscalas well enough to be happy.I'm in no way over the top in what I'm looking for as I've been using my home theater receiver A Denon 6400 in one room the other has the Denon 6500 which was a recent upgrade from the Denon 4500.

1000 budget Tubes I would look for a refurbished Dynaco st70 or a pair of dynaco MK 3 monos that were refurbished. At 1K you wont get a better amp and it ticks all your boxes. If you can bump up your budget a bit to say 1300 - 1500 (used)a Primaluna Premium would be very nice on cornscalas those are both higher power than cornscalas would ever need.  A very nice low power  new amp that could drive the cornscalas to your listening levels & beyond would be decware  SE84 wont give you the headroom but sound very sweet & has that VERY GOOD watt that Paul K. Spoke about (They are 2 WPC) used you can get in around 600, new they are close to 1k.  Have fun  Joe

 

PS stay away from the chi-fi stuff till you are aquainted with tubes MANY have given up on tubes because of a bad experience and most of the chi fi stuff is pig in a poke  (im sure there are exceptions but why take the chance)

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My standard advice for anyone looking to get into tubes for the first time--reach out and see if there is someone locally who would be willing to bring a tube amp over to listen to. You may find that you don't like the sound of tubes in your system, and it would save you the trouble of having to resell an amp after you purchased it.

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3 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Oh haha. I honestly didn't. Haven't heard that term used. Ya learn something new every day. 

 

Me neither, but I like it! Chi-fi.

 

You have to be careful with the chi-fi. Some look quite tempting on ebay and other websites but read the buyer reviews, and if you do have problems, return shipping to china can be most costly. I have read of some buyers being very unhappy with their chi-fi purchases after the fact.

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Speaking of chi-fi and slightly off subject, I bought a topping DAC and I have been very very happy with it for what I paid. Big improvement over the DAC included in the parasound Halo integrated and I got it for under 400 out the door brand new.  Model DX7S. Tremendous value and bang-for-the-buck IMO. 

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5 hours ago, kevinmi said:

My standard advice for anyone looking to get into tubes for the first time--reach out and see if there is someone locally who would be willing to bring a tube amp over to listen to. You may find that you don't like the sound of tubes in your system, and it would save you the trouble of having to resell an amp after you purchased it.

MUCH AGREED..............Even if you have to go  visit a forum member to experience tubes it is a good idea

 

I take no responsibility & can not be held liable for any rabbit hole you may be sucked into after hearing Tubes either in your home or via a visit.  I went to a forum members home & heard tubes for the first time back in 2004 or 5 and my Rabbit hole has still not reached its end , some 100 or so tube products later, I still search daily.

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12 hours ago, captjoe said:

Tube is where I would like to go.I listen at around 60-75 decibels mostly, except when I drink a lot of beer..LOL. I'm looking for good detail and able to drive the cornscalas well enough to be happy.I'm in no way over the top in what I'm looking for as I've been using my home theater receiver A Denon 6400 in one room the other has the Denon 6500 which was a recent upgrade from the Denon 4500.

 

I listen in about the same range. Until the door closes behind someone who operates like a walking, talking volume control and then I crank it up; if RnR. 

 

Wb

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14 hours ago, kevinmi said:

My standard advice for anyone looking to get into tubes for the first time--reach out and see if there is someone locally who would be willing to bring a tube amp over to listen to. You may find that you don't like the sound of tubes in your system, and it would save you the trouble of having to resell an amp after you purchased it.

 

It might not be a fair call.  I mean, everyone knows that as far as being "subjective" goes, it could take 30 hours of use for the filaments and whatnot to settle in after moving the equipment.  Not to mention the time for interconnects and speaker wire to readjust, but that would be concurrent.  Hahaha!

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14 hours ago, joessportster said:

1000 budget Tubes I would look for a refurbished Dynaco st70 or a pair of dynaco MK 3 monos that were refurbished. At 1K you wont get a better amp and it ticks all your boxes. If you can bump up your budget a bit to say 1300 - 1500 (used)a Primaluna Premium would be very nice on cornscalas those are both higher power than cornscalas would ever need.  A very nice low power  new amp that could drive the cornscalas to your listening levels & beyond would be decware  SE84 wont give you the headroom but sound very sweet & has that VERY GOOD watt that Paul K. Spoke about (They are 2 WPC) used you can get in around 600, new they are close to 1k.  Have fun  Joe

 

9 hours ago, joessportster said:

MUCH AGREED..............Even if you have to go  visit a forum member to experience tubes it is a good idea

 

I take no responsibility & can not be held liable for any rabbit hole you may be sucked into after hearing Tubes either in your home or via a visit.  I went to a forum members home & heard tubes for the first time back in 2004 or 5 and my Rabbit hole has still not reached its end , some 100 or so tube products later, I still search daily.

Headed into the Rabbit hole I go..LOL 

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