PDA

View Full Version : I need a damm good solid state power amp



gene
02-20-2006, 02:51 PM
Hello guys .I just took back a rotel rb1090 power amp and a parasound halo p-3 pre amp. The bass was to weak. some one told me to go tube on the mids in high. and go solid state on the lows I am just sick of going back and forth I want my speaker to kick ass when I turn my volume up, and when the volume is low I still want to hear my bass, smooth mids and nice details crips highs. I did have two crown dc 300 but one keeps blowing transistors. I gave up on it. so I need a rump shaking back busting bass amp any info. thanks gene:bouncy:

johnaec
02-20-2006, 03:12 PM
I really like my Crest CA-9, with 550 watts/ch. 8 ohms, 800/ch 4 ohms. It does have a fan, but I rarely hear it, even at low levels. These go for around $500 on eBay. The lower powered CA-6, CA-4, and CA-2 are also nice, as is the higher power CA-12. 'Just my opinion...

John

gene
02-20-2006, 03:26 PM
The tube amp is rated at 100 rms if that helps picking out a sloid state amp

JuniorJBL
02-20-2006, 03:40 PM
Depending on your pre...

I use a crown K2 on my subs (2242's or sub1500's). I am using a Musical Fidelity KW500 for my mains.

As soon as I changed from my Adcom GFP750 to the KW I had a much lower LF output to the crown and was very happy. with that said it did the same thing when I went from an Adcom GTP750 to the GFP750. Each step has provided a better sound to me.

I have also used a Proceed HPA2 and it was good as well but it does not have the output of the crown!

Hope this helps

hapy._.face
02-20-2006, 04:03 PM
Threshold. Nelson Pass STASIS.

speakerdave
02-20-2006, 04:17 PM
Nakamichi PA-7 STASIS amp made under license from Nelson Pass:
200wpc 8 ohms

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/ele/133571989.html

This one is only 100 wpc PA-5, but a lot cheaper:

http://www.craigslist.org/pen/ele/134022821.html

Ian Mackenzie
02-20-2006, 04:30 PM
One of our other members Porcherman has acquired one of these.

Pm him for his review.

http://www.passlabs.com/amplifiers/x150.5.htm

hapy._.face
02-20-2006, 06:34 PM
Nakamichi PA-7 STASIS amp made under license from Nelson Pass:
200wpc 8 ohms

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/ele/133571989.html

This one is only 100 wpc PA-5, but a lot cheaper:

http://www.craigslist.org/pen/ele/134022821.html

Yep. Good thought, Dave. Fly for less- get the same (almost) performance. I have one of these STASIS Nakamichis and I love it!

JuniorJBL
02-20-2006, 07:59 PM
The equipment up-stream will also make a big difference. I also have a 1090 and it performs much better hooked to the MF KW500. But then I only use it for rears in my 7.1.:)

mikebake
02-20-2006, 08:48 PM
Did I miss what speakers you are powering?

JuniorJBL
02-20-2006, 09:03 PM
Did I miss what speakers you are powering?

No we are just babbling over here :blink:

Uhhh..... :banghead:

jimd
02-21-2006, 12:17 AM
Try a QSC CX 302, 200w+/Channel, commercial rated amp, sounds great.

LE15-Thumper
02-21-2006, 03:42 AM
Here ya go, No.436 Levinson mono blocks, and only $5 Large a piece.
http://www.marklevinson.com/image_library/436FP_lo.jpg

Audiobeer
02-21-2006, 08:39 AM
That's hard to believe that a Rotel 1090 cannot deliver on Bass. It has enough headroom and power to drive almost any speaker. I have heard them push Thiels where the the bass was to much to me, and Thiels are not the easiest speakers to drive?

pelly3s
02-21-2006, 09:09 AM
you really cant ever go wrong with a crown k2

JuniorJBL
02-21-2006, 09:24 AM
That's hard to believe that a Rotel 1090 cannot deliver on Bass. It has enough headroom and power to drive almost any speaker. I have heard them push Thiels where the the bass was to much to me, and Thiels are not the easiest speakers to drive?


I think we have a sorce/room issue here. As I said above is that when I hooked up my 1090 to some mains it sounded pretty good with my newer sorce equipment. Also they are not very expensive for what you get so I would look harder at a possible problem upstream.

What kind of pre are you running now?

gene
02-21-2006, 02:30 PM
I have a 12 cub ft cabinet with 18 inch 2245h -12 inch 2202h midbass- 2425h with a 2344a biradial horn -2404 tweeter. I have a sae amp a202. 100rms that has more bass then the rotel rb 1090 I also have a crown dc300 that has more bass then the rotel. what I am learning is it doesnt matter if its 500 watts rms or a thousand. how well is the amp built.just like 4 years I bought a denon a/v receiver from audio buys . store demo 1800. I have a sansui g7500. 75 watts rms the denon is 5.1 thx dts etc. but in stereo it sound like crap . I mean crap .......the older stuff seem to be built a lot better than the new stuff. if you dont belive me hook up an older amp or receiver at low volume or high level , deeper bass crisper at the high end. Im not trying to burst any body bubble the new amps or receivers arnt worth a damm , unless you spend at least 4.700 starting off that is why I am asking for help on a damm good -solid amp........ to night i have a guy bringing a nakamichi pa-7 power amp . i will try this amp out . I forgot who said to try this amp . thank you I will try it out tonight gene

hapy._.face
02-21-2006, 02:39 PM
I am learning is it doesnt matter if its 500 watts rms or a thousand. how well is the amp built.

Watts can be very misleading from manufacturer to manufacturer. Quite frankly- watts are not a very telling part of an amplifiers ability to perform.



the older stuff seem to be built a lot better than the new stuff.


I generally agree. There are exceptions though, but usually expensive.



hook up an older amp or receiver at low volume or high level , deeper bass crisper at the high end.


A lot of the older amps have all the balls at the 4 and under mark on the volume knob- push beyond that and tell me what you hear. THD baby.




Im not trying to burst any body bubble the new amps or receivers arnt worth a damm , unless you spend at least 4.700 starting off that is why I am asking for help on a damm good -solid amp


I think mine and others' recommendations were just what you asked for: an 'opinion'. The STASIS based amps are 'damn good' for the money IMO. Period.



......... to night i have a guy bringing a nakamichi pa-7 power amp . i will try this amp out . I forgot who said to try this amp . thank you I will try it out tonight gene


That's a classic amplifier. It rocks. If it's working like it should- I'll think you'll dig it. ;)

gene
02-21-2006, 03:32 PM
I have three preamps , this one I took back parasound halo p-3,) technics su-a4 last one denon. belive me I tryed every preamp on the rotel. I wanted the rotel to have a home here. but were is the BASS........ MY SPEAKER HAS 95 DB AT 1 WATT I will not give up intil I find the amp thats goinig to rock my jbl custom speaker:p THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO GUYS

jblnut
02-21-2006, 06:05 PM
I've posted ad nauseum about the merits of old Yamaha Pro amps. Use the search feature and you'll find info on the PC2002, PC4002 and PC5002. They were built in a time when the dollar-yen ratio allowed Yamaha to *way* overbuild them. They come up on craiglist and ebay now and again for about 10 cents on the dollar.

But who needs a 96lb 440 watt/channel amp for home use ?

:D

jblnut

gene
02-21-2006, 07:07 PM
Thanks speaker dave. for turning me on to nakamichi pa-7 power amp. Its awesome my woofers are pumping out madd basssssssssssssssss:applaud: I dont know why the rotel didnt do the job, but any way. thanks

speakerdave
02-21-2006, 07:28 PM
Thanks speaker dave. for turning me on to nakamichi pa-7 power amp. Its awesome my woofers are pumping out madd basssssssssssssssss:applaud: I dont know why the rotel didnt do the job, but any way. thanks
YOU BOUGHT IT? COOL!

hapy._.face
02-21-2006, 07:56 PM
Thanks speaker dave. for turning me on to nakamichi pa-7 power amp. Its awesome my woofers are pumping out madd basssssssssssssssss:applaud: I dont know why the rotel didnt do the job, but any way. thanks

You should thank NELSON PASS, too. he developed the STASIS technology. It rocks, huh!?

Nightbrace
02-21-2006, 08:14 PM
Try my Sony GX10ES, the tuner stopped working and as is its a phenomenal integrated amp, plus you can adjust things with the remote. I have tried nearly every amp imaginable, including many of the amps here. I reluctantly gave up my Crown amp to buy this one. I'll guarantee it to be just what the doctor ordered and you can try it if you wish, I'll take $250 for it as is. The tuner can be repaired for $200. If you don't need a tuner, its a steal at this price, they sell for $600-$800 on Ebay. Just would rather see it go to someone who will use it. I need the money badly, otherwise I wouldn't even offer it, I'll donate 10% to this site if you buy it. I'll even refund the shipping if you decide that you don't like it/

majick47
02-21-2006, 11:08 PM
Sounds like your going with the Nak PA7, excellent choice! Along with JBLNUT I'll sing the praises of the Yamaha pro amps, PC2002, PC4002, PC5002 and PC2602. Also the Yamaha home versions, M85, MX1000, MX1000u are nothing to sneeze at.

elshout
03-10-2006, 07:19 PM
I noticed several amps mentioned only have XLR or TRS inputs. Do your preamps have balanced outputs? If you have unbalanced RCA outputs as I do, what method are you using to hook up these balanced amplifiers? Does your method work well and without hums? Thanks in advance.

Portland Mike
03-13-2006, 09:09 AM
I just got turned on to the Hypex UcD400's. I find them very good at all things. They have more of a 3D stage then an Mac MC75, and are very solid in the low end. A bargin too.
I know its always mentioned, but they are very tuby without any of the disadvatages. My 4435's sing with them.

UcD180 180W@4ohms
UcD400 400W@4 ohms
UcD700 700W@4ohms


www.hypex.nl (http://www.hypex.nl)

www.ciaudio.com (http://www.ciaudio.com)

Cheers

Mike

jpb_dk
03-13-2006, 11:13 AM
I have very good resoults with Threshold S/300, SA/3 for bi-amping. I also find Nakamichi good, BUT best of all is Gryphon DM-100 !
The Threshold are wonderfull but thin and "old" sounding comparred to Gryphon amps with all the details and the power you wish.
Good amp-hunting

boputnam
03-13-2006, 11:15 AM
I have a 12 cub ft cabinet with 18 inch 2245h -12 inch 2202h midbass- 2425h with a 2344a biradial horn -2404 tweeter. Glad the Nakamichi pa-7 worked out.

I'm curious about your DIY's - they "sound" incredible!

- What is volume for the 2245H cabinet, and what is tuned to?
- Are you biamping, or...?
- What is the Output Impedance on the Nakamichi pa-7 (maybe Speakerdave knows...)? The Rotel reported "Damping Factor = 1000", which should have been pretty darn good. The QSC CX502 does wonders with my 2245's, and only boasts damping factor ">500".

Thanks.

Tim Rinkerman
03-14-2006, 03:26 PM
BGW 750 A. Inexpensive nowadays, still a nice amp,in my opinion...

jim campbell
03-14-2006, 05:27 PM
bryston 4b sst.lots of current 20 year warranty and the added benefit of us canadian exchange.imho it will out perform the rotel all day

Steve Gonzales
03-14-2006, 11:22 PM
I've posted ad nauseum about the merits of old Yamaha Pro amps. Use the search feature and you'll find info on the PC2002, PC4002 and PC5002. They were built in a time when the dollar-yen ratio allowed Yamaha to *way* overbuild them. They come up on craiglist and ebay now and again for about 10 cents on the dollar.

But who needs a 96lb 440 watt/channel amp for home use ?

:D

jblnut I do:D . Yeah, it's almost better for those "in the know" about these great power amps and their M series cousins to keep prices down. An MX1000u sold for $1246.00 recently on the bay', scary... But for the general forum membership, the greater good would be to find someone willing to take a chance and post their own story. An MX1000u will give you a S/N of better than 125db and approx. 3db's of clean dynamic headroom above it's 260wpc and drive a 2 ohm load all day long with .003 THD. Did I mention class A or almost 1kw at 1ohm?. As they used to say to Mikey, "try it, you'll like it!"

Ian Mackenzie
03-15-2006, 03:33 AM
jbl 2245h
hello. can the 2242h cone be install in the 2245h frame. also I had my crossover custom built from dss sound labs I have 2245h/2202h/2425h/2404h the crossover freq is 200-1200-5000 and has a 95 db at 1 watt . what do I have to change in the crossover to bring every thing up to 99 db at 1 watt. the jbl 2245h is 95 db at 1 watt and the 2242h is 99 db at 1 watt:blink:



Actually ,

I it would male a hell of a lot more sense to biamp the whole mess!

Members who insist on full passive networks with the 2245 have got it wrong! Running through that big choke and capacitor across the woofer will destroy whatever your favourite amp has to offer.



Ian

hmolwitz
03-15-2006, 07:38 AM
I know you guys don't like Bose but the 1800 and 1801 were rock solid amps that put out an honest 250 WPC, and seem to go for remarkably short money and they are bridgeable, 1/4 in inputs so you need adapters for RCA.
Heavy though, just under 90lbs, a massive toroidal power supply and tons of heat sinking.
A friend in college had a four channel version, but I called Bose and they claimed they never made one, anyone else ever seen that?
Harry

Alex Lancaster
03-15-2006, 08:09 AM
:) The 2242 coil is about twice as wide as the 2245, so forget it; I have a couple of 2241's with the wider gaps, 2242 coils and spiders, and 2245 cones and foams, have not tried them yet, hope they do not explode .

boputnam
03-15-2006, 08:18 AM
jbl 2245h
hello. can the 2242h cone be install in the 2245h frame. also I had my crossover custom built from dss sound labs I have 2245h/2202h/2425h/2404h the crossover freq is 200-1200-5000 and has a 95 db at 1 watt . what do I have to change in the crossover to bring every thing up to 99 db at 1 watt. the jbl 2245h is 95 db at 1 watt and the 2242h is 99 db at 1 watt:blink:


I it would make a hell of a lot more sense to biamp the whole mess!

Members who insist on full passive networks with the 2245 have got it wrong! Running through that big choke and capacitor across the woofer will destroy whatever your favourite amp has to offer.So, you got the pm, but my supposition (Post #29) was correct! - although unanswered... :( Thanks for posting it Ian - good advice for any one using or considering same.

Now, a reminder to all us JBL enthusiasts here:

:scold: Don't go recommending gear when clueless on the set-up being used. Doesn't make sense to start diagnosing with so little data, "Dr. Dr..."

In this case, the amp was believed to be underperforming - and maybe it was. But, there now seems to have been some incorrect and unnecessary bashing of gear.

Knowing that this potentially beautiful DIY setup was not biamped was materially important to being able to give "sound" advice.

What gene might consider, is to refer to the 4345 Owner's Manual for their suggestions of how a four-way might be deployed (http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/4345.pdf (http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/4345.pdf)), and then go out and trial an external crossover, biamping these, even using any of his prior amps. I'm certain he will be VERY pleased with the outcome!

Always be thinking "signal path?" and "gain structure?", people... :)

Ian Mackenzie
03-15-2006, 12:48 PM
I didn't recall seeing anyone talking about running a Camco amp either.

I therefore consider the debate incomplete..although it would be out of their price range

Gene might wish to post a pic of his crossovers and his currrent set up and the tuning of the woofers.

Ian

stevem
03-15-2006, 01:06 PM
bryston 4b sst.lots of current 20 year warranty and the added benefit of us canadian exchange.imho it will out perform the rotel all day

I've been a Bryston fan for years. I have three 4BST amps, a 3BST, and a pair of 7BNRB monos. They sound great and are pretty bulletproof. Great warranty, and nice people to deal with.

Tim Rinkerman
03-15-2006, 01:42 PM
hmolwitz, you must be the other guy besides me who thought the 1800's were great amps...I used 2 of them for 10 years in a band's pa. for the bottom of a 4 way system driving two 2225's per channel. They were very conservitively rated..ours made almost 400 wpc. into 4 ohms at 0db.+ nothin'....

gene
03-18-2006, 08:38 AM
Thanks for the info guys.To Ian Mackenzie question I have a nakamichi pa-7 power amp .technics su-a4 preamp samsung-hdmi dvd/cd player and a sony ps1 model scph 1001. my speakers are 12 cub-ft drivers- 2245h.mid bass 2202h- midrange 2425h- tweeter 2404h. ports dim- 5 inches in diam-5 5/6 in lenth. tuned to 25 or 26 hz.crossover is 250hz -1200khz-5000khz. power rated at 600 watts per channel . tv- hd 65 inch with direct tv hd. later I will buy a bigger amp

boputnam
03-18-2006, 11:49 AM
...crossover is 250hz -1200khz-5000khz. ... power rated at 600 watts per channel ... later I will buy a bigger ampgene...

You might try biamping these beauties of yours. Get the 2245H on it's own amp - doesn't need much, but does like something with solid output impedance. You'll appreciate wonderfully improved performance.