[markot86]

Everywhere I've read seems to suggest a 4-5:1 speaker to amplifier ratio when buying a speaker setup. I've pretty much figured out what speakers I'm going to buy, which will cost me about 1k, but now i'm having difficulty finding a suitable amp for them. The cheapest well reviewed amplifier I can find is the NAD 320BEE at 400 dollars, and even that seems to have many reviewers saying "don't waste your time with this; go for something better". While 400 dollars is not unreasonable, at the same time, I'm slightly irked at the fact that amplifying the darn things is going to cost me almost half of what the speakers cost, and this was the component everyone was telling me I should skimp on.

Am I out of luck? What are the other options? I know that the sonic impact t-amp may be one, but since the speakers I'm looking at are rated at 90 db sensitivity, I feel like this little jewel may not be good enough.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Everywhere I've read seems to suggest a 4-5:1 speaker to amplifier ratio when buying a speaker setup.

There are no rules, as long as the electronics have synergy with your transducers.

Quote:

Am I out of luck? What are the other options?

Use the GS-1 that you have coming as a pre-amp, and buy a used good condition power amp.

 

[mulveling]

Yep, that's a silly "rule". I do believe that the transducer is the most important part of the chain, but a 4:1 ratio is far too limiting. Incidentally, the best setup I've heard matched $7K amps (pair of monoblocks) with $5K speakers. If everyone told you to skimp on the amp/preamp, you then didn't get a good range of opinions.

Buy used - check audiogon. You could get a used Parasound Halo A23 for around $500, IIRC. That gets good reviews. As posted above, use the GS1 as a pre. The preamp sections in buget integrateds will suck compared to the GS1.

 

[Zorander]

My Cyrus 8 amp actually costs nearly double my own Quad 12L speakers.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander My Cyrus 8 amp actually costs nearly double my own Quad 12L speakers.

I do like nice two-way bookshelf constructions quite a bit, too (mainly for coherency, slacklessness and imaging, I guess...) - and a lot of these significantly profit from stable high-quality amplification for sure. Especially very inefficient ones like old LS3/5As et cetera.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[BradJudy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markot86 While 400 dollars is not unreasonable, at the same time, I'm slightly irked at the fact that amplifying the darn things is going to cost me almost half of what the speakers cost, and this was the component everyone was telling me I should skimp on.

I don't know who's telling you that ratio or giving you the idea to skimp on power. I wouldn't expect to pay less than half my speaker cost on an amp and, as pointed out, many people pay and equal amount on speakers and amps.

In the $200 range, you're looking at cheap home theater receivers. You can probably find some reasonable used items around $200-300.

At around $370, a good option is a close-out Cambridge 640A (they recently released a v2 model) - http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/pr...ed%20Amplifier

 

[warpdriver]

Not sure where you are hearing "don't bother" comments about the NAD C320. I've heard a lot of decent gear, and the NAD sounds great, even compared to a lot of stuff a lot more expensive.

 

[markot86]

I figured that was just a silly way for salespeople to get me to buy the most expensive speakers first =D. As for the GS-1, I ended up cancelling that, so i guess I'll still need an integrated. Maybe I could DIY a nice headphone amp/preamp, hmmmm, decisions decisions =D

Well, I'll have to see what I can do for my budget then. Perhaps 500-900 dollars would be a good price for an integrated? What about power amplifier only amps?

 

[VicAjax]

if your 90dB speakers are a fairly steady 6-8ohms, you could give the panasonic sa-xr57 digital amp a go. it will daisy chain unused surround channels for dual amping, plus you can wire it to bi-amp. gives unbelievably clean sound as long as the speakers' impedance doesn't dip too low. it should be available in the next month or two at about $230-$250.

 

[cfo]

I wouldn't rule out the NAD because of its low price.
While NAD does not have quite the resolution of higher priced separates, the difference in cost is not indicative of the difference in performance.
NAD does have a distinct "sound". It is a little soft on top and smooth in the midrange. The smoothness comes at the expense of some resolution. Some speakers will benefit from this and some won't.
If the NAD is a good match for your speakers, I would give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised by its headphone jack also.
If you do buy one, please try and replace the pre/amp jumpers that come with it with a decent pair of interconnects or aftermarket jumpers.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfo I wouldn't rule out the NAD because of its low price.

I wouldn't be sure about that. I far preferred the similarly-priced Rotel RA-01 to the NAD C320BEE I auditioned. It might just be me but I really thought little about the NAD (as well as the C370).

Regards.

 

[jjcapurro]

I agree that whoever gave you that ratio was smoking something. In my rigs I've never spent less than 2/3 what my speakers cost on amplification, and in several cases I spent even money or even more on good clean amps.

YMMV obviously, but for my tastes, the systems I tend to gravitate towards are even money across the board. I find the sweet spot price wise for me is around 2500. 2.5k for speakers, 15-1700 each for amp & preamp, and around 1800-2000 for a good source.

And I buy everything used. Always.

Best of luck in your search! Audiogon is your friend!

 

[skyline889]

I have an NAD 3150 that sounds great with both bookshelfs and fullrange, a good condtition one just went for around $250 on eBay, it also has a decent headphone out. I also have a C352 and that is a great amp as well, pricing is around $600 new. NAD's are some of the best deals around, no you don't get all the fancy casing and what not but what you do get is a simple, well built, great sounding amp that'll last forever (The 3150 I have is 30 years old and has only just begin to degrade in SQ).

 

[nayr2]

I second the Rotel RA-01 recomendation, great amp. Engineered and built like a tank, good looks, great sound. It had no problems at all powering my friends $10,000 (circa late 80's) electrostat speakers which impressed the hell out of him, especially since his monoblocks ran him $5k a pop and didn't sound a whole lot better. NAD has a great reputation but I preferred the Rotel by a long shot in this price bracket.

 

[dudlew]

I dont agree with that ratio at all. I have found that speakers in the $500 these days are really good, especially if you buy used. I prefer to buy a decent budget speaker and as good an amp I can afford rather than the other way around if my budget was limited. Good clean power is a great asset and with it you can get the best out of your speakers. Pairing $2000 speakers with a $500 amp makes no sense to me unless you get a seriously good deal on a used piece. I dont see anyway that that amp will beable to get the best sound from those speakers.

I can't see most people here driving their B&W Nautilus 805s with a Cambridge Audio Azur 640 amp. Its possible, and it may sound good, but a better amp, will almost certainly yied better results.

In your price range if you are looking for new, check B&W, Monitor Audio, NHT, Paradigm and Energy bookshelfs. I see these constantly getting good write ups. and have models in the $500 model range new.

As for a matching amp, the same amps mentioned here shouldnt cost you more than $500 new, and as someone said, Audiogon is your friend. I get most of my stuff off of there and they have some incredible deals sometimes, like Bronze B4s for $225, or NHT ST4s for $450 dollars. You can even find the odd Dynaudio Audience 50 in the $500 pricerange. And you can get some good integrated amp deals off of there as well. NAD, Marantz, Creek, Onix, Cambridge Audio, Rega, Music Hall, Arcam, Denon