under $1000 amp suggestion for HT1's

savefarris · « **on:** 5 Jul 2009, 09:13 pm »

i just placed an order for a pair of HT1's and an HTC. i have a fairly large room, like to listen at high levels, use it primarily for rock music and home theater.

i have a denon 3808 which puts out about 120 wpc for 5 channels. im worried about the 4ohm HTC with the denon and would like an amp for the front 3.

i have been looking at

Van Alstine Insight 240/3 with the double die upgrades, but im worried that the 120 wpc it is rated for will not really give me much of an upgrade for my room.

Emotiva XPA-3
Outlaw 7500

I only have room for one amp so i cant do a stereo and a mono block.
have no problem going used to get under the roughly $1000 budget.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

mdfoy · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 12:38 am »

savefarris,

I use an Odyssey Khartago with my HT1's and highly recommend it

My room is 18 x 12, and can run myself out of there wih no strain from the amp. The music just gets louder, but remains very clean.

savefarris · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 12:54 am »

Quote from: mdfoy on 6 Jul 2009, 12:38 am

savefarris,

I use an Odyssey Khartago with my HT1's and highly recommend it My room is 18 x 12, and can run myself out of there wih no strain from the amp. The music just gets louder, but remains very clean.

that does look nice. the price is right too. do you use odyssey's pre-amp with that?
also the khartago is only rated at 110 wpc. so you arent having any problem driving them with 110 watts?

ArthurDent · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 01:04 am »

savefarris -

Good to hear you are joining the Salk family, you'll not be disappointed. I'm driving a Song Center, and Song Surround Is with a regular Omega 240/3, and haven't had any issues though I don't drive things to ear bleeding levels. Room is about same as mdfoy, but only using roughly half for the stereo/HT. I think you'll find Frank's ratings are very conservative in general, and from a conversation with him some time back that 120 wpc into 4 ohms will be closer to 200 wpc if I remember correctly. You should give him a call, he'll be happy to give you the correct numbers.

Good hunting, and listening.

zybar · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 02:28 am »

I use a Denon 3808ci in my HT and an ATI 1506 to power five SongTower speakers in a pretty large space in my basement.

I think the ATI does a great job in driving the SpngTowers with authority, while producing a sound that is non-fatiguing and allows me to watch movies, concerts, or tv for hours.

You can pick up an used 1506 for well under $1k.

When running all channels normally on the 1506, each channel produces 150 watts. However, you can bridge two channels to produce 450 watts per channel!!

Highly recommended.

George

floresjc · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 02:46 am »

Franks ratings are conservative, and are listed for 8 ohms. So a 240/3 into 4 ohms will make almost double the power, maybe something like 200wpc.

For some reason, I can't respond to PM's at the moment. But no, I will not be using the double 240/3 with HT3's. I'll be using a double 440. The double 240/3 is going to be hooked up to a pair of Songtowers and a Song center.

savefarris · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 03:10 am »

thank you for all the replies guys. how about any of the ICE amps? wyred 4 sound or d-sonic? anyone had experience with them?

Nuance · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 05:05 am »

Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack

I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.

Happy hunting!

floresjc · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 08:43 am »

Quote from: savefarris on 6 Jul 2009, 03:10 am

thank you for all the replies guys. how about any of the ICE amps? wyred 4 sound or d-sonic? anyone had experience with them?

When I started looking at amps, I was choosing between maily AVA and Wyred4Sound. They are both solid price/performance amps for guys not looking to spend 5K on a single amp. The Wyred's had a couple advantages, mainly they could be smaller, use less power, and have auto on/off depending on receiving a signal from the preamp/processor (I'm a lazy bastard). The AVA's had the advantage of being extremely solid performers with Salk systems (just check this forum), a smooth natural sound, and extremely reliable build quality with upgrade paths (guys have owned his stuff for 30 years). I had many personal conversations with Frank, and his knowledge of Salk systems and his gear, and great persona convinced me personally that was what I wanted to get, although I hear the guys over at Wyred have great customer service as well.

The advice I eventually took was that the digital amps are love it or hate it. After I heard one of Frank's rebuilt amps at Denni Murphy's' I didn't care what Wyred's sounded like, although I did get to hear a couple of other ICE amps. I'll stick with AVA.

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 10:46 am »

Quote from: Nuance on 6 Jul 2009, 05:05 am

Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack

I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.

Happy hunting!

I don't believe Outlaw owns ATI.

ATI is big enough that they bought Theta a year plus ago.

As for sonic signatures...not sure about that since I haven't ever directly compared an Outlaw and ATI amp.

George

mdfoy · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 02:26 pm »

savefarris,

The Khartago has no problem driving the HT1's. I guess it is the current. I am using an Odyssey Tempest with good results, and have used a Mapletree 2A SE(tube), which was a very good match.

Nuance · « **Reply #11 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 03:45 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 6 Jul 2009, 10:46 am

Quote from: Nuance on 6 Jul 2009, 05:05 am
Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack

I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.

Happy hunting!

I don't believe Outlaw owns ATI.

ATI is big enough that they bought Theta a year plus ago.

As for sonic signatures...not sure about that since I haven't ever directly compared an Outlaw and ATI amp.

George

Maybe it was a different company then, or maybe ATI does own Outlaw. I know we talked about it 6 months back or so...just can't remember who the other manufacturer was. Someone owns someone, or at least supplies the parts or whatever.

edmondwolfman · « **Reply #12 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 04:42 pm »

Quote from: savefarris on 5 Jul 2009, 09:13 pm

i just placed an order for a pair of HT1's and an HTC. i have a fairly large room, like to listen at high levels, use it primarily for rock music and home theater.

i have a denon 3808 which puts out about 120 wpc for 5 channels. im worried about the 4ohm HTC with the denon and would like an amp for the front 3.

i have been looking at

Van Alstine Insight 240/3 with the double die upgrades, but im worried that the 120 wpc it is rated for will not really give me much of an upgrade for my room.

Emotiva XPA-3
Outlaw 7500

I only have room for one amp so i cant do a stereo and a mono block.
have no problem going used to get under the roughly $1000 budget.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

I use an Emotiva RPA-2 that I paid $699 for and I think it is a great amp. Emotiva makes really good products as far as I can tell from experience and others feedback.

Emotiva actually makes amps for other vendors that charge much more. People that have toured the factory have said they were surprised by the presence of the "other" amps on the shelves. Emotiva can't say who they make amps for because of contract restrictions but I understand some are one's that would be considered a "higher end" amp and as such they charge quite a bit more for them

Also since they are a ID company they offer 30 day money back guarantee with you only paying for shipping on the way back

BradJudy · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 04:50 pm »

Quote from: Nuance on 6 Jul 2009, 03:45 pm

Maybe it was a different company then, or maybe ATI does own Outlaw. I know we talked about it 6 months back or so...just can't remember who the other manufacturer was. Someone owns someone, or at least supplies the parts or whatever.

Outlaw contracts ATI to build their amps (or at least they used to, I don't know if they still do). I know the Outlaw 750 and 755 generation amps were built by ATI.

Nuance · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 05:19 pm »

Thanks BradJudy! I knew I wasn't going crazy.

Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.

orientalexpress · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 05:41 pm »

u can get alot use ADCOM amp way under 1k.

savefarris · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 06:08 pm »

Quote from: Nuance on 6 Jul 2009, 05:19 pm

Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.

Emotiva was initially my first choice, but i have heard quite a few issues about them lately, most of them customer service related. but for the price they certainly seem hard to beat.

Im going to try to hear a few of these, i live in washington DC, i think Dennis lives nearby and runs his on a van alstine?

edmondwolfman · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 08:10 pm »

Quote from: savefarris on 6 Jul 2009, 06:08 pm

Quote from: Nuance on 6 Jul 2009, 05:19 pm
Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.

Emotiva was initially my first choice, but i have heard quite a few issues about them lately, most of them customer service related. but for the price they certainly seem hard to beat.

Im going to try to hear a few of these, i live in washington DC, i think Dennis lives nearby and runs his on a van alstine?

Where have you seen Emotiva issues? Are you sure it's not AV123? I'm not aware of any Emotiva issues but if you'll post the links I'll check them out. I certainly don't want to recommend a company if they are having issues. I have dealt with them fairly recently and had a 100% positive experience. I've only purchased a couple of things from them but both have been over the last 6 months.

savefarris · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 08:17 pm »

Where have you seen Emotiva issues? Are you sure it's not AV123? I'm not aware of any Emotiva issues but if you'll post the links I'll check them out. I certainly don't want to recommend a company if they are having issues. I have dealt with them fairly recently and had a 100% positive experience. I've only purchased a couple of things from them but both have been over the last 6 months.
[/quote]

Yep, I know about AV123's issues as well, here is what I was referring to, it happened last November
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1086174

and a couple other issues have arisen that I have seen, a few were mentioned on Nuance's thread looking for an Amp at AVS.
which by the way, Nuance, you and Funkmonkey were the ones who brought me here from AVS, so thank you very much!

Angaria · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Jul 2009, 08:21 pm »

Had both the khartago and various emotiva amps, which had unbelievable bass control, but sonically I preferred the khartago. Both those were trumped in my system by an audiosector gainclone.