paulaelliott Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 Receiver: Sony STR-V333ES Speakers: SB-3 monitors Goal: Mid priced stereo amp, driven by my receiver via preouts, to drive my front L&R speakers, for better classical music quality. I've been looking at 100 - 150 wpc stereo amps by Nad, Rotel, Parasound, and Acurus. Most of these are in the $500 - $700 price range... Then yesterday, I come across a $349 amp (called amp3) at J and R from a company called Audiosource...Apparently, this is a Phoenix Gold company, and the reviews on Audioreview are phenomenal....reviewers are regularly saying that this amp sounds every bit as good as amps costing up to $2000! Then, I went to the web site and saw they use Torroidal transformer, and have excellent specs. Then I read a review on the hometheater web site which says about the same thing....Can all these people be wrong? Or, have I found a diamond in the rough?? If anybody knows of it, please advise...Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightcrawler Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 Hey paulaelliott, I have a pair of KLF 20's hooked up to a Monarchy Audio SM 70 amp. The amp is 25 watts in stereo and 75 in mono. Since the 20's have a 100 db rating 25 watts sounds fantastic! I am using a Denon 4800 as a preamp and using the SM 70 to run the KLF 20's and the rest of the Denon's amps for the center, and rear speakers. It is a excellent amp and I plan to buy two more so I can have all three front speakers hooked up to mono amps. I bought the SM 70 at the begaining of July for $521 on sale. The web site is www.monarchyaudio.com or just type in a search for monarchy audio. The normal price is $719 for the regular SM 70 and they have one called the SM 70 pro so if you want a mid priced amp go with the SM 70 and not the pro. Well good luck with your amp search mine is over and I recomend the SM 70. Go to www.audioreview.com and go to the amp section click on M and go down to the SM 70 reviews and read them it will help you with your decision. By the way I also have the SB 3's as my back speakers and used them as my fronts for six months I love them. I'll hook them up to the SM 70 and see how they sound and get back to you in the future. Nightcrawler This message has been edited by nightcrawler on 07-26-2001 at 03:42 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulaelliott Posted July 26, 2001 Author Share Posted July 26, 2001 NIghtcrawler, I went with the Audiosource Amp3, driven by the front r&l preouts on my Sony STR-V333ES receiver, and connected my SB-3s up to the Amp3...The results are sensational...It seems that if anyone has a hometheater receiver, be it a cheaper model, or a Sony ES model like mine, or even a flagship or near flagship receiver like yours, they can all benefit and leverage their receiver at the same time by purchasing an external stereo amp, or monoblocks, to drive the r&l speakers. It just seems that no matter the price, the mfgs compromise somewhere, and that area is musicality. No matter how good their HT sounds, their music can be improved with an external stereo amp. Before I got the amp, I knew that the music I play (mostly classical and very demanding of the hardware) didnt sound as good as it should/could...And I didnt know whether it was the receiver or the speakers....Now I know...it was the receiver...The SB3s sound really excellent now...As you noted, when driven by a good amp, they sound incredible. Their freq response is naturally not as full as your KLFs are, but that's what subwoofers are for...They are rated down to 52 hz though, and I dont think there's too much musical information below that...Cept maybe the 16hz organ note in Zarathustra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 oops! This message has been edited by talktoKeith on 07-26-2001 at 09:57 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 FWIW I also have a Monarchy SM-70 and I can honestly say it is the best sounding amp I have owned. It is the best bang for the buck I have seen. I can't believe it is still "on sale". I bought mine in February and spoke with the owner, Mr. CC Poon, and he offered to sell it to me at the sale price even though he said the sale ended at Dec. 31st. At that time I also bought the Model 33 Line Stage/DAC mainly for volume control as I had sold my pre-amp. He offered it at the previous sale price also ~$700 I beleive. The 2 pieces are a great combo. ------------------ Ed W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightcrawler Posted July 27, 2001 Share Posted July 27, 2001 I agree that SM 70 running the KLF 20's sound better than just the Dennon. I bought the Denon because it makes a great A/V preamp that I can use for the next ten years. I hope that the sale on the 70's continues for three or four more months until I can save up the money for two more. I'm thinking about trying the Monarchy DIP with my NAD C-540 CD player to see if it really does make a difference in the sound but first I'll get the 70's first. If Monarchy had a A/V receiver than I would own it now but they don't so I'm thinking about buying the 33 to run the KLF 20's as just my music only system and just switch the cables from the 33 to the Denon when I want to watch a movie. Of course I'm talking next year before I could afford it, maybe December if I'm lucky. I think we all realized that you can find equipment that sounds fantastic at a great value. For me my Denon is the only piece of my system that I feel was expensive but I listened to other receivers and the Denon had the features and a sound that I wanted and now with the SM 70's added on my home theater just needs a dvd player(probably the toshiba 2700) and the Sony Wega(if I get the 27 inch I can get the other two 70's sooner so I can't decide between the 27 and the 32) for my tv and other than the sub that for right now I don't need will be finished and can work on the music system next. well take care and enjoy your systems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer9911 Posted August 28, 2001 Share Posted August 28, 2001 Adcom..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 Adcom...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulE Posted September 4, 2001 Share Posted September 4, 2001 Deang, Since I posted this thread initially, there's been some change, partially reflecting what you are saying....First, I've gotten a new CD player..Its a Rotel RCD-971, with Dual Burr Brown DAcs, HDCD, and a sweet sound. Then, this past holiday weekend, the Right channel on my Audiosource Amp3 went out...Poof...Just stopped producing sound. When I called them, I learned a little more about them...There tech support dept, such as it is, consists of 1 guy, who was on vacation..He has 2 helpers, but they were at a trade show...Meaning, NOONE could give me an RA to return for srvc at the time I called. UNACCEPTABLE!!! This amp was 40 days old. I prevailed on J&R to accept it as a return on a new one, and they finally agreed. But, I got a new insight into the build quality of the Audiosource, and what $350 will get you...Right You Are! So, I went down to my local Rotel dealer and got a Real amp...That doesnt necessarily mean Expensive. But it does mean Well Built, and sweet sounding...I got a Rotel RB-1070. While I still will not knock the sound of the Audiosource amp3, as it will improve Any av receiver with preouts, the Rotel was more powerful, and more detailed. Its really in a different league, and only twice the price of the Amp3...Anybody considering the Audiosource Amp3 would be much better off in my opinion, buying the Rotel instead. At $700, its still considered mid priced, but its sound is HiFi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted September 4, 2001 Share Posted September 4, 2001 Shoulda got an Acurus 100X3 on U-Bid for ~$450. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_S Posted September 4, 2001 Share Posted September 4, 2001 Muahahaha!! (x 2) This message has been edited by Rob_S on 09-04-2001 at 11:28 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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