streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 I am looking at using my current receiver, HK DPR1001 as a pre/pro and buying a used amp somewhere....I had been looking at Outlaw 7100 amps, but I'm looking for anything used that would be an upgrade over my HK (50w/channel)..... My setup is currently 7.1 RF-35, RC-35, RS-3, RB-35, SVS Pci........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 how many channels do you plan to power with this used amp? for $500 you could get a decent two channel amp, but your won't get much in a 5 or 7 channel amp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 well, I'd like to get 5 channels....I've seen Rotel RB-985 for $500 and also considering an Outlaw 7100...... If I go for a new one, Id most likely go for the Outlaw 7100 at $899........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 i doubt that the outlaw will be much of an upgrade from your receiver.... a better suggestion might be to spend the $500 on a two channel amp to power your mains and let your receiver power the center and surrounds for now.... and then as funds allow - add additional amps to power the rest of your channels.... i am doing that right now... see my profile for details... you get a much better sounding and more powerful amp for your mains and your two channel listening is greatly improved... just a thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 any suggestions then for a 2 channel amp? I'll continue to do some research, but if I can get a deal on something used, that would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 tubed would be twice for the center channels, 2 WAVE 10s, for example, a vintage one perhaps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 what is your music/movie mix and how large is your room? if you like your movies loud and your room is medium to large size-wise then i would recommend getting an amp with at least 200 watts per channel... your best bang for the buck is a brand new crown XLS402 amp... under $400 brand new with a 5 year warranty - 260 watts per channel... in the used market there are many very good choices out there.... do some browsing on audiogon for rotel, nad, carver, bryston, aragon, b&k, etc... if you are in a smaller room and your mix might be more music focused, then perhaps some 60 watt tube amps would do the trick.... (i'm not that familiar with tube amp pricing so i hesitate to recommend any specific brand names) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 I'd say I'm about 70/30 in favor of movies....I have a fairly small room, maybe 14x10....something along those lines.... I'm not too worried about needing a lot of power.....but I was trying to find something that would help improve my quality..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 how expensive are the digital tri-path amplifiers going for nowadays? If 30 watts per channel is enough, I think you can get the TEAC 3 channel digital amps for under $100 shipped. Two for $200 and you've got yourself 30x6. TBrennan from the forum has one and he says it sounds very good. The only downside to it is that the volume controls are small and in the back, but if you use a reciever for a preamp, then you won't have to worry about it. I have a crown XLS 402 right now and it sounds very very good for the price. The only downside is the noisy fan (i got an email from crown tech people saying that you can't remove the fan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 ---------------- On 3/11/2005 2:43:09 PM streyle wrote: I'd say I'm about 70/30 in favor of movies....I have a fairly small room, maybe 14x10....something along those lines.... I'm not too worried about needing a lot of power.....but I was trying to find something that would help improve my quality..... ---------------- quality does come into play with the power issue.... all of the amps i listed will definitely sound better than a 50 watt receiver... movies and some music can contain very sudden and high transient demands which can instantly require 10 to 30 times the power level of your average listening level.... with very efficient klipsch speakers - the average level might vary from 1 watt to 3 watts or so.... if at 3 watts - you get a 30 times the power demand from the soundtrack and you have a 50 watt per channel receiver, the signal will clip.... in many instances this clipped signal is so quick that you might not hear the distortion.... but if you listen to the same passage again with a 200 watt amplifier, you WILL hear the improvement because now you are getting the full musical waveform and hearing all of the sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 ---------------- On 3/11/2005 2:48:42 PM DrWho wrote: how expensive are the digital tri-path amplifiers going for nowadays? If 30 watts per channel is enough, I think you can get the TEAC 3 channel digital amps for under $100 shipped. Two for $200 and you've got yourself 30x6. TBrennan from the forum has one and he says it sounds very good. The only downside to it is that the volume controls are small and in the back, but if you use a reciever for a preamp, then you won't have to worry about it. ---------------- but how much of an improvement is that over an HK with digital amps? I'm new at this and want to be understand fully what the benefits are..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 ---------------- On 3/11/2005 2:48:42 PM DrWho wrote: how expensive are the digital tri-path amplifiers going for nowadays? If 30 watts per channel is enough, I think you can get the TEAC 3 channel digital amps for under $100 shipped. Two for $200 and you've got yourself 30x6. TBrennan from the forum has one and he says it sounds very good. The only downside to it is that the volume controls are small and in the back, but if you use a reciever for a preamp, then you won't have to worry about it. ---------------- no offense... but 30 watts per channel is going backwards from what he has right now (50 watts per channel).... and as for power needs - see my post above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Well I'm just passing along info saying how good those TEACs sounded. I know they make digital amps for cheap that put out more watts, but I have no clue what they are. There is also a bunch of DIY stuff happening too. TBrennan mentioned a friend of his that built some amps off the tri-path chip that put out 150watts and cost him I think $200. The only reason I bring up the digital amp option is because so many people are talking about how good they sound...I've got a small 5watter that I'm borrowing right now that I've yet to plug in and try out for myself (gotta find me some batteries). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 quality does come into play with the power issue.... all of the amps i listed will definitely sound better than a 50 watt receiver... movies and some music can contain very sudden and high transient demands which can instantly require 10 to 30 times the power level of your average listening level.... with very efficient klipsch speakers - the average level might vary from 1 watt to 3 watts or so.... if at 3 watts - you get a 30 times the power demand from the soundtrack and you have a 50 watt per channel receiver, the signal will clip.... in many instances this clipped signal is so quick that you might not hear the distortion.... but if you listen to the same passage again with a 200 watt amplifier, you WILL hear the improvement because now you are getting the full musical waveform and hearing all of the sound... ---------------- I've looked and there are some Rotel and NAD in my pricerange.... I also think it makes sense to take care of the front 3 channels first and then worry about the rest...... I've looked at the Crowns and have heard very good things about them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 as streyle mentioned... he already has digital amps in his h/k receiver.... and i am very familiar with the sound of digital amps... i've been running a carver professional ZR1000 digital amp for the last year and a half.... 225 watts per side of great sound on my KLF-30's.... but they do sell for about $800 online.... a little out of streyle's price range... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 Alright, I've read about Crown XLS 402 overt at avsforum and I think I'm sold...... Where are the Crown amps sold? I'd prefer to buy from a local dealer so I can demo it with my setup...... if not, there are tons of places on Ebay I can cheap..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 check for any pro audio shops in your area.... crown is one of the most well-known pro brands out there.... musicians friend and djmart are two authorized internet resellers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 found a local guitar center with it....so i will be going to look shortly.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streyle Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 one more stupid question.....what kind of cables are used to connect the processor to the amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 ---------------- On 3/11/2005 4:07:56 PM streyle wrote: one more stupid question.....what kind of cables are used to connect the processor to the amp? ---------------- here ya go! http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=2029&sku=40046 guitar center should have this type of cable on the shelf... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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