Budget power amp setup.

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Mackenzie
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Budget power amp setup.

Post by Mackenzie »

Well I am a few weeks out from getting my martin logan source electrostatics 8) , and I need some power on a budget to get them going. Regular recievers work ok, but these speakers are power hungry, and they need power to get the most out of them.. I was thinking I wanted a nice 5 channel amp, and a crossover, but maybe I can get another amp later for the surround sound... I want to get a nice 2 channel setup going first for a budget.

This will be the first time I have done home audio in a long while, and it is certainly the first seperate amp system I would be doing, so Im not sure about all the components I need to complete it. Im used to recievers having everything I need.

At any rate, can anyone give some budget 2 channel powerful amps to look at, and or crossovers. Thanks
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Eric D
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Post by Eric D »

I highly suggest Parasound for a cheap budget amp. They sound good, and you get a lot of power for the money. Use it for now and then put it in the garage stereo later, or another small room system. Hell, use it on a computer later if you want.

I have one of these as a temporary fix until I get something better on my home stereo...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PARASOUND-HCA-750A- ... 25585b6cdb
Got "schooled" by member shawn k on May 10th, 2011...
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joyride
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Post by joyride »

How do you like the Parasound? I was originally going to go with Emotiva, but didnt hear great things about them lately (could be because I was hearing it from people running BAT and pASS LABS). I have been eyeballing the HCA's because I cant afford the Halos. Im also considering a Rotel 1095 as well.
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Eric D
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Post by Eric D »

Many years ago a friend of mine bought the HCA-1500 (I think that was the model). It was 205W x 2.

A very serious audio guy he met online talked him into it for his new DIY speakers. Well, it rocked, and sounded great as well. Plus we fooled around with it on some car subs in my house and his. It did well powering big car audio subs, which not all home amps can pull off.

I talked my best friend into the HCA-1205 for his home theater 4 or 5 years ago. It works great for him and is very loud on his Klipsch speakers. I can't say much about the overall SQ of it, as I don't personally think Klipsch speakers are really all that revealing. Klipsch is all about efficiency and to get that efficiency you have to give up accuracy.

I have a nice pair of 75W mono Class A amps I used on my home stereo. I ran out of space in my audio rack when I got my HTPC in there, so I bought a HCA-750 to use (one shelf instead of two). It is just as nice as my Class A amps were. I think if I had a better room I might notice the differences in the amps, but I would have to dump thousands of dollars into the room to notice a difference.

The HCA-750 is not all that impressive build wise. It is a sheetmetal case with an aluminum front. Pretty common really. Internally it is pretty overbuilt actually. Plus as a bonus I think it would be very easy to mod the amp for better sound. Many devices are easy to get at and could be upgraded.

I think the main point of these amps is you are getting a designed in USA amp with made in China pricing, which really gets you a lot of performance for the buck.

I have also used Adcom with great luck, but all three of my Adcom amps ran way too hot for me. I was afraid to leave them on when I left the house as I feared they would catch fire.
Got "schooled" by member shawn k on May 10th, 2011...
No longer really "in tune" with the audio industry, and probably have not been for some time.
Hands down the forum's most ignorant member...
Don't even know what Ohm's law is...
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Audiophiliac
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Post by Audiophiliac »

Parasound are solid. Used Anthem PVA series are very good too for the money. The Rotel would be a good match as well...lots of power there. I have read mostly good things about the Emotiva amps. I am sure they sound great. Any of these will make the ML sound good. The Source is not as hard a speaker to drive as some of the older Martin Logans were. They will be fine with 100-150 watts. If you want to crank it up past reasonable levels, 200 would be a step up. High current is the key. And any of the mentioned amps will do that.
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Mackenzie
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Post by Mackenzie »

Is there any way I can turn up the volume by remote or something when I get an amp? Can I do this without having a reciever hooked up to it? I am looking at getting the emotiva upa-2. Its only 300 bux, and it does 185x2. Will be looking for an eq aswell.

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm
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Mackenzie
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Post by Mackenzie »

Nevermind on the last question.. I guess I can just find a cheap preamp that has a remote.
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Ahsmo
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Post by Ahsmo »

Mackenzie wrote:Nevermind on the last question.. I guess I can just find a cheap preamp that has a remote.
ipod and ipod base with a remote
'98 Maxima gone
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