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Amplification for Heresy IV's, how much is too much to spend?


DJEditor

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    I have Heresy IV's and have held off from upgrading my Yamaha R-N500 receiver.  How much do you think I should need to spend for a quality SS integrated before "The Law of Diminishing Returns" kicks in big time? 

     I've looked as the new Yamaha line and Schiit gear and wonder if $3K is about as much as one needs to spend to get the most out of the speakers amplification wise.  Room treatment is a whole other story.  Hey, I'd love a Pass Labs XA-25 but budget doesn't permit that at this time. The  Benchmark AHB2 would be high on my list too for that matter.  Would the Heresy's be up to the task ?

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I don't know prices but I'd suspect using dollars might not be the best metric?

 

Example:  Certainly you can spend multiple thousands on the newest fanciest (enter newest and fanciest)

 

However, you can also spend quite a bit less for something like a HK *30 series which get rave reviews (I think it's 430, 730 and 930??)

 

I was ready to buy one of those once on a lark....but was too late.  Do some reading on them.

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Yeah, the money metric is probably not the best limitation.  I wonder if a new SS integrated such as the Yamaha A-S 1200 or something equivalent to that is as much upscaling as the Heresy IV's could benefit from. I am looking at new and not used.

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6 hours ago, DJEditor said:

Yeah, the money metric is probably not the best limitation.  I wonder if a new SS integrated such as the Yamaha A-S 1200 or something equivalent to that is as much upscaling as the Heresy IV's could benefit from. I am looking at new and not used.

That Yamaha 1200 would likely be fantastic with the Heresy IV. I have to tell you though, I picked up a 50wpc Audiolab 6000a Play for my Cornwall IVs and it's a fantastic pair. This amp has grunt. Though I could have saved $300 and got the non-Play version, and I would suggest you do too. The streaming sounds fantastic, but for whatever reason it uses your phone as a go-between. Plus there's a ridiculous gap between tracks. I mean like 3-5 seconds. So no gapless playback when streaming. 

 

The Audiollab 6000a Play is $1300 and the 6000a is $1000. I was prepared to spend up to $5000 on an integrated amp and it was something I thought about literally all summer. But I was recommended the 6000a Play and I'm glad I was. 

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Also: look into the Topping PA5! It has a matching balanced DAC and the pair is less than $600! ASR just measured it and it was the second best measuring amp they've ever measured. Right behind the Benchmark AH2B! 

 

It's a 50wpc Class D amp and it's one of the best measuring amps in the world. I intend to get a stack eventually myself. 

Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

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7 hours ago, DJEditor said:

 I wonder if a new SS integrated such as the Yamaha A-S 1200 or something equivalent to that is as much upscaling as the Heresy IV's could benefit from. I am looking at new and not used.

the A-S 1200- is  perfect for the Heresy IV ,it's both  an excellent preamp and an excellent amplifier -

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43 minutes ago, CoryGillmore said:

Also: look into the Topping PA5! It has a matching balanced DAC and the pair is less than $600! ASR just measured it and it was the second best measuring amp they've ever measured. Right behind the Benchmark AH2B! 

 

It's a 50wpc Class D amp and it's one of the best measuring amps in the world. I intend to get a stack eventually myself. 

Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum


If it was my money I would start there. The beauty of an efficient speaker like the H4 is that you don’t need to spend a ton to get a great sound. 

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7 hours ago, DJEditor said:

I wonder if a new SS integrated such as the Yamaha A-S 1200 or something equivalent to that is as much upscaling as the Heresy IV's could benefit from. I am looking at new and not used.

Though my Yamaha A-S1000 was bought to drive my RB-75s, I have on occasion hooked it up to my Heresy IIs and the pairing was incredible.  I could bet my last dime that the A-S1200/Heresy IVs combo would be that much better.

 

Bill

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I'm pretty much with the rest.  The cost of the amp/preamp is set by your checkbook. 

 

Pick an amp setup that does what you want and sounds good.  You want phono? Streaming built in?  Plays digital music?  FM? 

 

I'm powering my H IVs with a refurbished Technics SA-300 receiver (35 watts).  It works great and sounds good if you don't clip it.  I have a Yamaha CR-820 (55 watts) on the shelf waiting to be refreshed.  (I detest black components.)  I'd suggest you look in the 50 to 100 watt range, with an emphasis on quality, low noise, high-ish damping factor and a relatively large power supply (high 4 ohm ratings).  That should net a good sounding set that will comfortably drive your Heresies. 

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On 12/8/2021 at 11:43 AM, JohnA said:

I'd suggest you look in the 50 to 100 watt range, with an emphasis on quality, low noise, high-ish damping factor and a relatively large power supply (high 4 ohm ratings).  That should net a good sounding set that will comfortably drive your Heresies.

 

Just curious, how high would you consider high-ish when it comes to damping factor?

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2 hours ago, Invidiosulus said:

Just curious, how high would you consider high-ish when it comes to damping factor?

I would say 300 would be the start of "high-ish".  My Acurus amps have a spec'd damping factor of 500 which is pretty high.  They are sure fast and really thump the woofers.

 

Bill

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While I could spend much more if I chose to I seek for the best bang for the buck. Setting a certain dollar level as being the minimum for quality is what overpriced audio equipment makers trick you into on places like Audiogon. I am very happy with plain old Crown XLI800 amps at less than $300 each. No one that hears my setup complains about sound quality or poor amps.

 

 

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