[infinitesymphony]

I'm just curious what sort of price range, brands, specs I'd be looking at if I'd want to eclipse the quality of the power amplifier section in a typical upper-level home theater receiver.

For example, the Pioneer Elite VSX-56TXi... It has two 27,000 uF capacitors, an E-I laminate ("box") transformer, and some advanced MOSFET chips that result in a total power output of 110 watts per channel RMS @ 8 ohms (0.09% THD), with 101 dB SNR on the line inputs. In other words, pretty good for a home theater receiver, but with room for improvement.

What sort of stuff would I be looking at to improve on this type of built-in power amplifier?

 

[chesebert]

NAD 7xx should kill most if not all hi-end HT receivers; and you can get the NAD for much less than $1k..maybe 325BEE will be sufficient for a cool $350

just for clarification we are not talking about HT stuff from Meridian/Krell/AR/Chord/Mac or companies like that...just consumer-best-buy-grade stuff.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif just for clarification we are not talking about HT stuff from Meridian/Krell/AR/Chord/Mac or companies like that...just consumer-best-buy-grade stuff.

Yes, mainstream "home theater receivers," like the best stuff you might find at a Best Buy with a Magnolia Audio section. I know that some of the regular high-end brands have entered the home theater market, but I wouldn't consider their offerings to be typical.

I'm not sure that the C325BEE would really be an improvement over some of the higher mainstream lines, but I will check out the 7xx power amplifier series. Do you have any specific models to look at?

Are there any good values on the used market for power amplifiers? It seems that the technology for these devices has changed the least over time, versus sources, preamps, etc. Perhaps an older model might still provide better amplification.

I understand that a toroid transformer is preferred vs. E-I laminate, and that capacitor banks are preferred versus two main capacitors, so I imagine that's what I'll see in a power amplifier that can beat the internal ones.

 

[brainsalad]

Used Adcom equipment is readily available on Ebay and Audiogon. In it's day, they were an incredible value. NAD has always offered serious bang for the buck. Both of these are not exotic brands and a very, very good HT system could be built around a used Adcom GTP 865 and Adcom power amps at a cost less than these mid/upper range amps.

Forget the specs, forget whether it's torroid or not or what the caps are or if it has hamsters on a wheel, check out reviews in places like audioasylum.com. Brands like Pioneer, Sony, Yamaha and the likes have built their names on specs and necessarily on real world performance.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainsalad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Used Adcom equipment is readily available on Ebay and Audiogon. In it's day, they were an incredible value. NAD has always offered serious bang for the buck. Both of these are not exotic brands and a very, very good HT system could be built around a used Adcom GTP 865 and Adcom power amps at a cost less than these mid/upper range amps.

Thanks for the recommendation! Adcom added to the list... They seem to be a very underrated brand, maybe because they're sandwiched between the mainstream and exotic brands. I understand that their GDA-600 (Burr-Brown PCM-63PK) and GDA-700 (Burr-Brown PCM1702) DACs are still giant-killers.

I own the VSX-56TXi at the moment, and there's no contest between it and the integrated amplifier / receivers I've used before. But since I find that I'm doing mostly two-channel listening, I figured I could give the front mains a boost.

 

[TheBends]

emotiva is another well regarded and well praised ID (i think) amp company.

There's also the behringer a500 and es2500 which were popular bang for the buck budget amps a year or so ago around the usual forums.

I third NAD.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Browse the used power amps on Audiogon. You'll find many, many excellent ones.

Don't get too hung up on the specs. Match your amp to your speakers. Even a 3W fleawatt amp can sound great matched with efficient speakers. In fact, the lower the power, the lower the distortion, generally speaking. Another reason why headphone amps are special.

Be sure to consider the tube amps, as well. Last year, I picked up a terrific Conrad-Johnson MV-52 for about $800. The mids are sweet and it has a terrific coherency to it. It was made in the 80's, so don't overlook the older stuff, either. You don't have to buy new, and many audiophiles maintain their equipment extremely well.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBends /img/forum/go_quote.gif emotiva is another well regarded and well praised ID (i think) amp company.

Yep, I've been eyeing their amplifiers for a while as well.[/QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't get too hung up on the specs. Match your amp to your speakers. Even a 3W fleawatt amp can sound great matched with efficient speakers. In fact, the lower the power, the lower the distortion, generally speaking. Another reason why headphone amps are special. Be sure to consider the tube amps, as well. Last year, I picked up a terrific Conrad-Johnson MV-52 for about $800. The mids are sweet and it has a terrific coherency to it. It was made in the 80's, so don't overlook the older stuff, either. You don't have to buy new, and many audiophiles maintain their equipment extremely well.

It's true that an amp doesn't need a lot of wattage to sound good, and my speakers aren't difficult to drive, but there are low-wattage amps that sound and measure awfully as well... The only way to know is to ask around.

My guess is that the items the people have for sale on Audiogon tend to be ones they've researched before buying, so that's probably a good idea. Power amplifiers and separates in general aren't often discussed around here, so it's tough to know what to buy on the used market.