Monitor recommendations for under $1000 - Page 5

I have gone ahead and demoed the Totem Rainmaker. I really liked the soundstage and the bass sounded quite solid. The midrange was quite good as well. Only the highs were not the best - not bad, really, but not too great, although the speakers were right out of the box when I listened to them. I think as of now, The NHT is my top pick, so long as a subwoofer works with my setup. I think what I will do is first purchase an amp, then ask one of the stores to let me buy a subwoofer on a non-conditional return policy, and then try it out in my setup.

So for amps I would like to get something used to maximize my value. Here are my options that I know of so far: something from Harman Kardon, something from Denon, an Adcom amp, or punk_guy's little dot amp, which he is willing to sell me for 600 shipped.

Integrated amps are a preamp and power amp in one, but what exactly is a preamp? Can I use my DAC as the preamp in my system and then just buy a power amp?

That's right. I need something to work with 2.1 only.

Well I guess an integrated amp is the thing for me, unless I end up buying a combo power amp and preamp.

Here are a couple of things I found on craigslist:

An Adcom GFA 545 II power amp with an Adcom surround sound preamp/tuner combination GTP 550 for $625.

A Rotel RB981 Amplifier with RC995 Control Amp for $700

A Rotel RA 1412 integrated amp for $325

All three of these look good for me. What do you think? And what about punk_guy's amp?

@punk_guy: although your amp seems like a good deal to me, I really have no way of knowing how good it sounds, seeing as there doesn't seem to be a single review available on the internet. EDIT: from looking at some pictures of it, I suspect that I would need to input subwoofers into a preamp, as I don't see any inputs for one. This could mean trouble, seeing as I don't really want to buy a separate preamp if I'm already spending a lot on the amplifier itself.

Great! I will demo these two amps tomorrow, and will purchase immediately if I like them, which I gather I will based on a fantastic review by what hi-fi.

By the way, how do I audition an amplifier. As in, I don't have a good pair of speakers right now to try them with, and if I use theirs I won't really know how good the amp itself is. Should I bring a pair of headphones....?

Ok, I have officially made my first speaker related purchase....ever! I went to the store today and demoed the 640A V2 against some $1700 amp they had on display over some $1800 speakers. After auditioning the two, there was quite a noticeable difference, especially in sound stage and midrange with the 640A sounding way better. The only issue, which was small, was that the highs were a tiny bit grainy and bright, but this is supposed to mellow out after burn-in. Anyways, I picked it up for $600 Canadian plus tax after being quite impressed with the performance.

I now have it set up with a pair of old Sony speakers where I obviously notice almost no difference, but when plugging in my headphones the difference is huge. The amp is so much warmer and more detailed than my DAC. It makes the DAC, which I was originally amazed with (versus a stock sound card) sound thin and overly bright. (Also when you change the volume on the remote the volume knob on the unit turns on its own!! )

So right now I'm going from PC to DAC to amp. Is this how I should be doing it, or is there some way to do a line-out type thing and go directly to the amp from my PC without having to go through the onboard sound card or the DAC?

That aside, I now need to make a decision as to what subwoofer to get, as I am already 90% sure that I'm getting the NHT's as my speakers (unless anything better appears). I have been recommended something from SVS, which would be the PB10-NSD. What are general opinions on the cylindrical tower subs from SVS (i.e. the PC12-NSD if I can get it used)? I have also been recommended the HSU STF-2 or VTF-1. Opinions and other suggestions?