I just ran across this post in a search for amps. It's so old, it's probably not being tracked anymore, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents for posterity if nothing else.
I'm using a QSC RMX 2450 pro amp with my SongTowers. I love the sound, although I've never tried anything more expensive.
This AVSForum thread basically convinced me to go the pro audio route. I know there is some debate about the sound quality of pro amps, but (at least for me) ignorance is bliss.
Sound quality arguments aside, looking purely at the numbers (assuming manufacturer quotes are correct), you can't beat the value.
For example, compare the
Parasound 2250 specs to the
QSC RMX1450. They both do about 400 Watts per channel continuous at 4 Ohms, and the rest of the published specs are more or less the same. The Parasound is about $1400 and QSC about $500. Even the physical weight of the two units is comparable, if that's any indication of build quality. (Also, FWIW, the Behringer EuroPower series is supposedly a complete knock-off of the QSC RMX series; the EP2000 has nearly the same specs as the RMX1450 at about $300.)
My RMX2450 will do 650 WPC continuous at 4 Ohms, which would certainly destroy my SongTowers if I ever got near that (and now that I'm looking at the specs, I don't know why I didn't buy a step down or two!). I keep the gain knobs at the 11 o'clock position (presumably less than half the possible output).
Also, for what it's worth, I hooked a
Kill-A-Watt power meter up to my QSC, just to see what kind of power it pulls. At normal listening levels, it averages around 50 to 60 Watts. Even if these amps were 100% efficient (they're probably closer to 50%), that's a tiny amount of actual power going to the speakers. And I have an enormous room (
details here). Perhaps my typical listening levels are moderate, but I can't imagine anyone going much louder for any length of time.
One simple modification I did to the QSC was replace the stock fan. The stock fan
is loud. If you have a dedicated closet, it probably won't be a problem. But that's not my situation. So I bought a low-speed $12 fan to replace it. The new fan is very quiet, and since the amp sits behind the entertainment center (in a corner), it's completely silent for all practical purposes. Note that the amp's heatsinks directly attach to the chassis; even with the low-flow fan, the chassis isn't even warm to the touch. And given my analysis of how little power I'm actually using, I think I could quite easily get away without any fan at all. These things are designed to push obscene amounts of current through 2 Ohm loads; my usage of the product is like driving a Ferrari to get groceries. (And by the way: if I hadn't done the fan mod, the QSC would have a full
seven year warranty.)
Some might complain about the looks of pro amps, but that's a purely subjective matter. Mine sits out of view, so it doesn't matter, but to be honest, I'm partial to matte black, utilitarian looking devices. So I'm biased in that regard.
Anyway, I'm obviously an advocate of using pro amps for home music/theater applications. But take all this with a grain of salt: I've never heard a non-pro amp of comparable power. As I said, ignorance is bliss. But from a rational perspective, I spent about $2k on the speakers, so it seems wrong to spend $1.5k or more on the amp alone. Pretty much everyone agrees on the notion that most of your budget should go to the speakers, rather than the electronics.
Also, since there is no 12V trigger on my amp, I use a
$25 smart power strip as a poor man's trigger. The master device is my DAC-preamp (Emotiva XDA-1), and the power amp is a slave. So when I turn on the preamp, the power amp turns on, and when I turn the preamp off, the power amp shuts down. Works great!
