[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gritzcolin /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I am not mistaken Audio Source is a more affordable of the Bob Carver designed gear, which in every case I have heard Carver made damn fine products especially their amps.

I don't know about that except both Carver and AudioSource shared the same parent company. AudioSource has been around for ages; my first home theater amp/processor, the AudioSource SS-1 (with Dolby Surround), was from this company. AudioSource makes excellent yet inexpensive components.

Btw, Home Theater Direct (HTD) speakers was an AudioSource spinoff. I visited its office, and purchased a pair of their speakers, when they first started.

 

[lmf22]

I just went to Magnolia Hifi and they said they had to special order the Pioneer A-35R and it will take 3 weeks. I decided to try the Denon DRA-297 (Denon USA | DRA-297). Anyone had any experience with the Denon?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmf22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just went to Magnolia Hifi and they said they had to special order the Pioneer A-35R and it will take 3 weeks. I decided to try the Denon DRA-297 (Denon USA | DRA-297). Anyone had any experience with the Denon?

I've had bad luck with Denon's budget gear, but the higher-end stuff has been good.

 

[edguetzow]

I use Audiosource amps in my home theater setup and have been very pleased with the results. I have the AMP-ONE (80 watts) for my center channel speaker and 2 AMP-THREEs (150 watts/ch) for my fronts and surrounds.

They are quiet, well-built and provide ample power while remaining quite neutral (at least in my system).

 

[Pangaea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif I own an A-35R, and it was a big step up from a budget AV receiver I'd been using. It should have no problem driving easy speakers like the Insignias, given its 45 wpc @ 8 ohm rating. It sounds fairly neutral, with a hint of warmth. The built-in headphone amp is pretty good, and it also has a built-in phono preamp for connecting a turntable.

My A-35 is great. Powerful, sounds very good and well rounded. I have a bunch of stuff running thru it: Computer/DAC, CD player, XM, TT and iMod.

I had the exact same audiosource in the OP and it was average and completely died on my after about 7 months. Plus you can hook like 2 things up to it.

 

[lmf22]

Well, it looks like the AudioSource Amp 100 is a good choice, but I have learned here many months ago that there is no better way than to get it and listen to it myself with my system. So, as mentioned before, I went to Magnolia Hifi and got the Denon DRA-297. I also went to Fry's and got the AudioSource Amp 100, and ordered the Pioneer A-35R from SoundPros.net. Both Magnolia and Fry's have a great return policy so I could always return the one I don't like. (might be harder to return the Pioneer though, but Sound Pros seem to have good customer service)

After some initial comparisons of the AudioSource Amp 100 ($150 retail) and Denon DRA-297 ($300 retail), I have found that the Denon is more detailed, have a warmer sound, and wider soundstage. That said, the AudioSource is still very detailed and have a deep soundstage. Given the AudioSource's ~$110 shipped on NewEgg.com, it is definitely a great bargain.

Overall, the Denon is more pleasing to my ears. But it is 3X the price.... and that's a big minus for a guy on a college budget. To me, the sound improvement is not enough to justify 3X price. As of now, I think I am going to keep the AudioSource. The Pioneer should come in the next few days, so we'll see.

 

[Sovkiller]

Not to water your soup, but what you are doing is exactly what is wrong in my book...IMO an abuse of the return policies...
To order a few pieces knowing that you will return them after (at least some of them) is IMO not an honest procedure. Sorry but the same way I understand that everybody is free to do whatever feel is right, I do believe that we are also free to express and criticize what we feel is wrong, and honestly this is wrong...
Do you have an idea of how much a dealer lose for any returned item? B-Stock and open boxes are usually 30% to 50% discounted, if the dealer is an honest one...
This is IMO an abuse of the return policy of them, and that why mainly all dealers are charging now restocking fees, and some of them don;t even offer one, so don't complaint later on, OK?

 

[infinitesymphony]

The DRA-297 has some feature advantages over the Pioneer, including a tuner, subwoofer pre output, and main pre outputs; the latter is a big advantage because you can hook up the Denon to an even better power amplifier later. You might even see how it sounds with the AudioSource or Pioneer amps running in power amplifier mode with the Denon acting as preamp. The DRA-297 can also be turned on via remote, which is an advantage over the Pioneer if you don't feel like getting up.

The advantages of the Pioneer A-35R are the phono stage and the Direct MOSFET Energy amp design taken from the brand's higher-end receivers. The SNR on the A-35R is 106 dB, which is very good--better than a lot of expensive amps I've seen! It should make for an interesting comparison against the Denon.

It looks like a guy on Audioholics recently posted a mini-review of the A-35R.

 

[lmf22]

I received the Pioneer Elite A-35R yesterday. After a few hours of listening last night and today, my impressions are mostly positive. I'm currently listening to it using the Direct mode, which bypasses the bass, treble, and balance controls. The sound is full, smooth, and warm, just like some of the people said on this thread.

At first I was not very comfortable with the warm sound. I think this was because I have the K701 and Gilmore Lite so I'm used to brighter sounds. However, after a few hours with it, my ears/brain seemed to have adjusted to it. The more I listen the more I like it.

The A-35R's bass is deeper and has more impact than both the AudioSource Amp 100 and Denon DRA-297. I could use more treble though. The DRA-297 seems to be better with that. It is definitely a good bargain at $200.

One minor downside of the A-35R is that the speaker connectors do not accept banana-type plugs. It only accepts pins. My speaker cables all have banana plugs, so I had to redo the cables on one side. It's just a minor inconvenience.

So... overall, I like the A-35R better.

By the way, infinitesymphony, thank you for the link to the mini-review of the A-35R.

 

[bigbox_s]

It's others good one amps from audiosource again.

 

[olblueyez]

Your price seems high. http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:AudioSou...217,srch:kw,x:

 

[Mellow Mushroom]

Wrong, Class D amps are not digital and have nothing to do with digital.