I am setting up a nearfield speaker rig- currently PC (ALAC)-> HR Micro DAC -> HR Micro Amp-> amp in Promedia 2.1 -> Infinity Entra Ones.
With $300- $350 to spend, I was looking at used Marantz MA500s to power the infinitys- overkill to be sure, but I may eventually move the amps to my main rig with preouts. Do mono amps of this power sound good at low volumes- I was thinking all of the headroom would be good- the speakers are 89 db efficiency.
Other options are the KingRex amp, which seems to be get a lot of great reviews- Its rated for about 14 watts (the MA500s are 125 watts!).
Other than that, there are the various powered speakers- Mackie MR5s and A5s. I kind of like the idea of separate amps so I can upgrade later.
So real question- does too much power in a nearfield setup a bad thing, if the volume levels are going to be low to medium with decent efficiency speakers, or do more powerful amps like to be played harder to realize their true potential?
With $300- $350 to spend, I was looking at used Marantz MA500s to power the infinitys- overkill to be sure, but I may eventually move the amps to my main rig with preouts. Do mono amps of this power sound good at low volumes- I was thinking all of the headroom would be good- the speakers are 89 db efficiency.
Other options are the KingRex amp, which seems to be get a lot of great reviews- Its rated for about 14 watts (the MA500s are 125 watts!).
Other than that, there are the various powered speakers- Mackie MR5s and A5s. I kind of like the idea of separate amps so I can upgrade later.
So real question- does too much power in a nearfield setup a bad thing, if the volume levels are going to be low to medium with decent efficiency speakers, or do more powerful amps like to be played harder to realize their true potential?
