Jump to content

Suggestions for amp/pre-amp?


mamacmil

Recommended Posts

My wife and I just recently sold our house, and as part of the deal, the buyers purchased my Reference 3 system, SVS sub, and Onkyo receiver. (I was sick for a week!) However, we will be putting a theater room in the basement of our new house that we are buiding, and this makes room for upgrades!

My plan for the new room is 7.1 made up of 2 RFf-7s, an RC-7, a pair of RS-7s for the surrounds, and a pair of RB-35s for the rears. The RB-75s are tempting, but the price of this is already going to get a little out of control. I plan on a new SVS...probably the PB2+ or maybe the new PB2-ISD. The room will be 21x16 with 8 foot ceilings.

Where I'm having some difficulty is with power. I am taking a serious look at the Outlaw 950/7100 combo. The B-stocks are $1500. Given the efficiency of these speakers, I question whether I would need anymore than the 100 watts the 7100 has to offer. So, given that $1500 is my ceiling for amp and pre/pro, what would you recommend instead of this combo? I think I'm set on separates, but I want the best bang for my buck I can find that will be a great match for the big References.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the math I have, the RF-7's will do:

0.5 watts = 99 dB.

1 watt = 102 dB.

2 watts = 105 dB.

4 watts = 108 dB.

8 watts = 111 dB.

16 watts = 114 dB.

32 watts = 117 dB.

64 watts = 120 dB.

128 watts = 123 dB.

Anything over 110 dB. will be painful and NOT enjoyable. So, I would go with a ~100 watt per channel amp knowing you will have a TON of headroom for peaks in the sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

krb laid it out: you just don't need (and generally can't use) a lot of power with big klipsch speakers. and i don't think it will be easy to top the outlaw duo when talking bang for the buck. so, i'd say you're on the right track. i think you'll have one killer system when you're done!

if you just want to have some other set-up's to ponder, you might look at Adcom and NAD. they too, have some seriously good values.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

KRB-Thanks for those numbers--that's great data. So, from a power perspective, it looks like the 7100 would be fine. Now, how about from a quality of sound perspective? How do the Outlaws sound with the big References compared to other amps and pre/pros for equal or less $$ ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just had a chance to listen to some outlaw gear. The amps sounded very good for the price. If I had the money I would get a nice pre to go with these amps. I would stay away from there mono block amp, not that it is bad but the other multichannel amps they have are better. I would not recomand a reciver unless you can't come up with the funds. I have not read the post here word for word so sorry if this was already stated. I am a big believer in power. Get as much and as clean as power you can afford. I have heard the rf7's with decent receivers and have heard them with 100 wpc and 250wpc external amps and let me tell you the one with the 250wpc sounded a lot better and I mean alot.

I have a lot of people tell me that I am full of $hit intill they come over and I do a AB test with my reciever and the external amps. Then they become believers as well.

These are my opions and that is it. Please take what I say with a grain of salt, because many people disagree with what I have just said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The conversions listed for watts to decibals do not describe which tones are being reproduced at that sound pressure level. My point is that, and especially with cone woofers like the Reference series speakers sport, it takes more power to accurately reproduce a nice bass slam. I discovered this after powering my Fortes with a 120-watt Carver amp for years. Going to a 185-watt McCormack amp was like a revelation... I had no idea that these speakers were capable of that much bass.

Of course, if you have that SVS, you are not going to be so reliant on your mains to deliver that kind of slam; you should just be aware that, at least when driving speakers with cone woofers, more power is generally better than less, especially if it's quality power.

For fully horn-loaded Klipsch (K-Horn, Belle, LaScala), less (but still high-quality) power is generally recommended by all onBoard.

Best of luck... these decisions can be very frustrating, and the opinions you receive from people here, while being helpful, will not determine what your ears will like from your speakers in your listening environment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are looking for outstanding performance for a rock-bottom price, it is extremely hard to beat the Outlaw Audio products. The construction, components, and features versus the price of admission, are all first- rate.

Outlaw has been highly recommended by some of the most critical reviewers, and has a 30 day trial policy.

Also, Outlaw has a B-stock sale on most of their popular products, for an even more impressive price-performance.

Outlaw can only be purchased factory direct, via www.outlawaudio.com

You will not be disappointed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some people will perhaps disagree, but, I think the Yamaha RXV-3300 is a greta deal and can be had for around $1,150. I used to have (bedroom system now) Onkyo TX-DS 797 with a AMC 150 watt x 5 channel amp and the Yamaha at 130 watts was as good. The only problem is they are only 6.1. I undersatnd that Yamaha is producing a RZ-X8 that will be 175 watts per channel and 7.1. They are touting it as good as seperates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm with Chuckears on this one. The sensitivity readings are typically taken at 1000hz. YMWV with actual use. I used to have my 105 wpc Denon driving a pair of Forte's, and they sounded great. I bought a 200 wpc Acurus amp and they bloomed!! Better control over the woofer, and just a generally better sound overall. Part of it may be due to the power, but just as much may be due to the higher quality components in a 200 wpc amp than you MAY find in a lower powered amp (exceptions exist, of course -- just speaking in general).

DD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I posted this same question over on HTF, and there was a response to look for a Rotel RSP-1066 and RMD-1075 used. The poster seemed to think you could find this pair, used, for ~$1500. Does anyone have experience with the Rotels with the big References? Also, the one problem I see with this idea is that the 1075 is only a 5 channel amp. I would need to find something else to power the other 2 speakers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the 1st piece of the puzzle fell into place today. I purchased a used Parasound 1205a amp. It is only a 5 channel amp, so I'm going to need to find a stereo amp (or monoblocks) to power the other 2 speakers. I'm going to look at Parasound stereo amps first, I think, because it seems like it would be a good idea to keep the amps as similar as possible.

The two front runners for the pre/pro are still the Outlaw 950 and the Rotel 1066. Any thoughts given my choice in amplifer(s)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

----------------

On 9/11/2003 11:33:50 PM mamacmil wrote:

Well, the 1st piece of the puzzle fell into place today. I purchased a used Parasound 1205a amp. It is only a 5 channel amp, so I'm going to need to find a stereo amp (or monoblocks) to power the other 2 speakers. I'm going to look at Parasound stereo amps first, I think, because it seems like it would be a good idea to keep the amps as similar as possible.

The two front runners for the pre/pro are still the Outlaw 950 and the Rotel 1066. Any thoughts given my choice in amplifer(s)?

----------------

Over at hometheaterforum.com I just saw someone selling 3 Parasound HCA1201's.

At only $799 for the Outlaw, I'd choose that and put the saved money towards buying those other amps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like I had suggested on HTF, I think the Parasound HCA 1000A would be a very nice compliment to your HCA 120 amp. However in my post over there, I didn't consider Outlaw as a preamp. I should have. Good on ya Frankie. Solid performance and the price may very well fit into your budget cap markmac.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mamacmil-

I would suggest to hold off on the 2-channel amp until you test in in your system with the pre/pro that you are getting. Here is my logic, if you will use your system for more then HT use, ie 2-channel CDs/SACDs/DVDA, you can determine if you like the sound of the parasound under those conditions. If you do then you can get two parasound monoblocks for the RF-7s, I strongly recommend that you run the 2 channel amp on the Front speakers for 2 channel enjoyment. Or if you don't like the sound, you can get a better amp for the front and just use the parasound for the surround speakers.

I really like the Parasound 1205A, its a good performer with the Reference series. I run the Ref3's with the 1205A and have never really pushed the amp to drive the speakers. I'll warn you now, depending on the age of the Amp, Parasound had some trouble with some relay switches on the early version of the 1205A amps so you might hear something the akin to major "static". If you do you must send the amp in for repair to Parasound (California, IIRC). It happened to me, they will know exactly what the problem is and are quick to fix it, in my case it was under warranty.

As for the pre/pro, the outlaw is a good unit very competativly priced. However, they have had some dificulities with the units, ground noise amoung others. So I would almost shy away from them. Rotel also makes a great product, the company definately has much more experience building pre/pros then outlaw, so they will potentially have less issues. However, I have never heard either unit on klipsch speakers so I can't say how they sound.

-Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Parasound is a very well built amp. It will definately supply all the power you would want out of an amp. I think they are a cut above the Outlaws(I own a 2205AT so I'm biased) and I have A/B'd them with a B&K with the same processor and liked the Parasound more. They also don't run as hot as the B&K. I believe it was marksdad that returned his Rotel separates for a B&K receiver and he owns nice equipment. Congrats on the purchase. Good luck on the pre.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...