easyeyes Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 My system consists of KLF 30s and a Sony HT (DTR 835) receiver to push them. Right now I'm a 90% music listener and 10 percent movie watcher. I'm wanting to upgrade my system but I do not want to go the high-end receiver route to include a 5-channel amp. I like to listen to clean music, the 30s reveal enough but I feel that with a few additions it could do better. I'm thinking more of separates for 2-channel but I want to leave the door open for HT surround just in case I get the itch. I've researched the rotel 1070 and parasound 5-channel amps, some say go for the 200+ wpc range but I do not want all of that weight in my living room if it's not needed. How would the 30s with their 100+ sensitivity sound with an amp in the 120-125 wpc range? Are these a good choice of amps? I'm not looking to play ear-splitting music all of the time but when the need arises, (when wife and kids are gone)I will. I'm looking for something that will sound very good, clean and pure at low levels but it must hold its on when cranked also. I value your inputs. P.S. I'm not looking for a Cadillac at a Chevrolet price. I want the best at the price range I decide to purchase at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 EE- I'm using a Rotel RB-1080 (200wpc and only two-channel) for a pair of 20's and it has yet to run out of gas on me. It's a very fast (slew rate) and musical amp for the money. I think I paid $900(US) for it at a high dollar store. Here, they call that kind of store an "Audio Salon". I did put a meter on the amp one time to see what it was putting out at a given volume. At my absolute limit of safe listening the amp was putting out no more than 2.73 AC/volts. And it was plenty loud! The 200wpc is a good rage for this line of speakers. Not that your 30's will ever see all 120-125wpc (or 200wpc for that matter) it's not a bad idea to have that much in reserve. As far as weight is concerned. The RB-1080 is only about (I think) 38 pounds or so. An amp from McIntosh with 200wpc can easily weigh twice that. There is a question of heat though. Rotel suggests at least 5 inches of open space above the amp if it's put in a closed cabinet. My cabinet is well ventilated from a mesh door, sides and an open back so it's clearance is about 3 1/2 inches. If you have an open rack type storage unit you could get away with probably 3 inches. Good luck!! ------------------ Tom KLF-20 Mahogany (Cornell Hotwired) McIntosh C33 Preamp McIntosh MVP-841 CD/DVD Rotel RB-1080 Amp Yamaha PF-800 Turntable/ Sure V15 Type V Cartridge Ortofon VMS-30 mkII Cartridge Stanton 999SS Cartridge Yamaha K-1020 Cassette dbx 1231 EQ H.H. Scott 830z Analyzer Monster Interlink 400mk II Monster Interlink 300mk II Monster Video 2 (DVD to TV) Monster Power HTS-5000 MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire Speaker cables (and I do mean CABLES) Studio Tech U-48RW Cabinet Enough empty boxes for a fire hazard! This message has been edited by tblasing on 12-01-2001 at 07:21 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 If you want a good sounding amp with power to take the KLF30's to new wall shaking levels then ATI should fit your system quite well. Do notice the two channel ATI 1502 weighs about 35lbs,the five channel 1505 weighs about 73lbs. With ATI you pay where it counts,power solid supply and great output stage.Did I say solid as a rock? The ATI amps match very well with Klipsck(and any good speakers). The 1502 and 1505 are rated at 150W RMS per channel(all channels driven).150W is more then you may ever use,unless you did not buy hearing aid batteries since a long time. Rotel is a great choice too,the 1080 Tom is talking about is also a very good quality amp(I had a few Rotel amps myself).The Rotel will not impress with its solid built like the ATI but does its job darn well. Now if you have a few cents around and a heavy lift crane I am sure a Krell...no forget about this. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 don't forget that if you are buying US goods with British pounds to take the exchange rate into account, a 25% premium to the dollar, for example, makes US good a lot more expensive to buy per pound, so I guess that is a vote for British made Rotels, which The $ensible Sound magazine (#88) just picked as one of the editors' choices ... ------------------ Cornwalls & Klipsch subs; leather couch & feet up; lights out & tubes glowing! This message has been edited by Colin on 12-02-2001 at 06:01 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig6519 Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 easyeyes, did you look at Acurus at all? Come over again with some of your tunes an will demo for awhile, If you want i could probably drag one over to your house hook it up and see what you think. Craig ------------------ Klipsch KLF30 Mains Klipsch KLF-C7 Center Klipsch KSP-S6 Surrounds Dual SVS 20-39CS Sub's Samaon S700 Sub Amp ART 351 Eq. Yamaha DSP-A1 (2)Acurus 200x3 Yamaha MDX-793 Mini disc Yamaha TX-492 Tuner Sony CDP-C701ES 5 disc Player Sony S565D DVD Hitachi MX6080EM Muli-system HI-FI VCR Hitachi 29" T.V. Denon DP-37F Turntable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted December 3, 2001 Share Posted December 3, 2001 I had the Rotel 1080 for a while and loved it (moved on to Accuphase and sold it to a friend who also loves it). In the bang for buck department it certainly seems to deliver to me. If your Sony has main left/right outs it may be a good way to go. ------------------ 2 * Heresy 2 (mains) 2 * Homemade horn speakers (rears) Accuphase E211 amp. Tube monoblocks with separate pre-amp (solid state). Marantz CD6000 player Sony NS900 SACD/DVD player Stax Headphones Humax 5400 digital satellite receiver Sharp Video 32" Sony flat screen 16:9 TV Mogami interconnects Silver Synergistic speaker cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyeyes Posted December 3, 2001 Author Share Posted December 3, 2001 Thanks for the inputs. My sony does not have any preout, that's partly my dilema--auditioning a product w/o bringing it home. I have a friend (Craig6519) who lives around the corner from me who as several acurus 3-channel amps. I will take him up on his offer to listen with his new additions. Colin, though I'm living in England all my purchases are with the mighty dollar. Of course, rotel being british made I can purchase them with pounds from here. But the exchange rate doesn't work out to my advantage. This is the reason that I'm looking at a U.S. supplier. Ear, are you saying that I should look at increasing the wpc to 200-250? The 1080 sounds like an excellent and the reviews aren't bad either. But, I do not want to box myself in just in case I want to pursue the HT area down the road. Please forgive me for my audio ineptness, but I haven't heard alot about ATI. I will investigate a little further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flason Posted December 3, 2001 Share Posted December 3, 2001 Like you, I also have the KLF30's and was looking for a new amp. I opted for the 5 channel Parasound 2205AT. It is rated at 220 wpc and I got a deal/steal on it for $1500. All I can say is WOW. What a great amp for a great price. It makes the KLF's kick some serious butt. Although I did replace my KLF's with a pair of Cornwalls, it would still make your speakers sing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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