Erik Mandaville Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 For some reason or another (?) I find myself looking for a reasonably-priced, highly efficient, and powerful amplifier, and was wondering if any have seen, heard, or might be familiar with the following: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120121220640&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:us Apparently also associated with Carver products. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Have no clue how it sounds but the meters look handsome.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 It'll cost a bit more but see if you can find a used McIntosh MC7200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 From what I have seen those AudioSource amps basically never made it to market. They had EMI/RFI interference problems and never passed FCC testing. As such they had sat around in a warehouse for like 7 years or so and are now finally surfacing. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 The price looks good, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 top notch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Now why are you looking at these all of the sudden Erik? [] Anyway - no idea how these sound. The best of the high power digital amps appears to be the Yamaha that I have (MX-D1) which can be bought boxed for about $2,000 - someone else on the forum has just done this (to run with La Scalas!!!! - heaven knows). If that is a bit steep (and I know it aint cheap) I would suggest a Rotel 1080 (also 200 wpc) as an alternative. Cheap used, very reliable and readily re-sellable should the need arise. I used to have this amp - and it has the best power button of any amp I ever owned (odd but true - it just felt great powering it on). The guy I sold it to still uses it to this day - I dont think he has ever switched it off in fact. Just a thought..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 True, the meters do look kind of nifty; sort of Carver-esque. RFI/EMI issues? Where did you learn about that? I heard the same once or twice about the Teacs, and the two I'm using now have been the least problematic of just about any amp I have owned. Thanks for letting me know, though. The last thing I want is a $200 box of noise. I remember the summer I tore apart a preamp to hunt down a noise problem, which I only heard was I was near it. For some reason, I didn't consider the correlation there -- and didn't know at the time that cell phones can generate noise when close to audio/video equipment! I was searching around last night for another approach, and see that it's possible to go a DIY route for something similar. Max: $2K is in fact a little out of my range right now. We are trying to get some other home improvement things taken care of so audio expenditures have to take a seat further back. I have loved the look and build of McIntosh components for a long time, but they are kind of on the high side right now. I remember what you said about the Yamaha, though, and read some positive reviews of it, too. And, I understand about a power switch with a good feel. I can't stand components that are so light-weight that I have to hold them down with one hand while I push in the switch with the other. The Teacs are almost like that, but I cut them a little slack because of how good they sound for what they cost. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 For some reason, I didn't consider the correlation there -- and didn't know at the time that cell phones can generate noise when close to audio/video equipment! Erik, Your mention of Cell phone interference made me chuckle. This is a little off topic but for a few months I've had on/off problem with my cordless mouse on my main PC some times it would just have a mind of its own. It took me until recently to realize the problem was always when I was on my cell phone trying to look something up for customer. Sure enough the cell phone signal was messing with the cordless mouse........ Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Erik, The Crown PS400 is a heck of a SS amp. 190wpc @8 on paper very conservative, last forever, super quiet, brute bass, and can be picked up for a song. $200-$300 in excellent condition. Just a thought. HarryO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Erik, You might want to look at these or their big brothers: http://cgi.ebay.com/MURANO-AUDIO-P-200S-ICEpower-MONOBLOCK-AMPLIFIER-SUPER_W0QQitemZ180113665257QQihZ008QQcategoryZ67786QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem They are ICEPower'd, the same internals as the Bel Cantos. I have the Bel Canto REF1000 which is the same as their larger amp - 1000 Watts into 4 ohms and I have never heard an amp take such control of the bottom end of a Khorn. Very clean also. The Bel Cantos 1000Watter, FWIW made Stereophile's Class A list this year and the similar amp to what I listed made Class B. Leave them on all the time because they take next to no juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Erik, "RFI/EMI issues? Where did you learn about that?" Read it first on AVS years ago and have seen it mentioned a few times now. Something was up with these amps as they never made it to market till now. AudioSource basically announced them in October of 2000 but there were never available to purchase at retail. Here is an AudioSource page on the amp from 2000 for example:http://web.archive.org/web/20010419141435/www.audiosource.net/00_ampseven.html Apparently the warehouse these were in is getting cleaned out or something. Still, they are interesting and could be a good deal. "The last thing I want is a $200 box of noise. " It may not be audible. It just might be spitting out too much RF hash so that it could interefer with other equipment. "I was searching around last night for another approach, and see that it's possible to go a DIY route for something similar." Lots of Tripath stuff out there. Check out 41hz.com for example for modules to DIY. DIY could of course also end up with RFI/EMI problems.... DIY just doesn't have to pass FCC. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Here are some user reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Great -- thank you for mentioning some other ideas and possibilities. And for the owner reviews and other links, too. I'm kind of walking around with my eyes closed when it comes to this amount of power, and just have much less of an idea about non-tube equipment of decent quality that can be found for reasonable prices. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 bottom notch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 From what I have seen those AudioSource amps basically never made it to market. They had EMI/RFI interference problems and never passed FCC testing. As such they had sat around in a warehouse for like 7 years or so and are now finally surfacing. Shawn I wonder how they sound driving a pair of Bose 901s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Shawn: "It may not be audible. It just might be spitting out too much RF hash so that it could interefer with other equipment." Maybe that's what the problem was, or just some isolated cases, maybe? It's a nice looking amplifier for the money, and is just what I was looking for in terms of power. You're right, there's Tripath stuff all over the place, and of course right too about interference problems with DIY. I've had that many times in the past, and in some instances could solve the problem, others times not. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Oops. Let me make that a BIN of $299. I looked at the auction again, this time with my glasses on! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 "I wonder how they sound driving a pair of Bose 901s" What are 901s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 "Maybe that's what the problem was, or just some isolated cases, maybe? " Considering AudioSource never sold these I would think whatever it was was something common to them all. And likely something that prevented them from selling them. Not too many companies will make a run of amplifiers then voluntarily just stick them in a warehouse and not sell them. Even if it was a possible warranty issue most companies would still take the sale and then just repair them as needed since in the end they still made the money from the sale. Stuffing them in a warehouse doesn't even give them the sale and costs them money to store them. Some sort of missing approval fits IMO. Anyhow, that may not be an issue in actual use. Most of the reviews on it are positive and if it works out it is pretty inexpensive. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=99408 Shawn Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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