Carver a500x amp for Lsi15's

Brasiliaflyer

First time poster here!

I recently sold some Klipsch RF-82's and bought a nice used set of Lsi15's with the LsiC. Hopefully I made the right decision, those Klipsches were making my ears bleed though.

Anyway, I know I need some serious power to drive the 15's properly, so I am on the hunt to add a two channel amplifier in the near future. There is a guy selling a Carver a500x amp in great condition for around $300, which seems like a great price considering the power output (400 wpc @ 4 ohms).

The question I have is if anyone is familiar with this amp. . . I am looking for a refined and more laid back sound. Seems like Carver has a group of followers, but not everyone is in love with their sound. I know that the best thing is to listen first, but that's hard thing to do when the manufacturer is out of business and you're doing the craigslist thing!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, and if anyone has done the crossover mod, I'd love to hear your impressions.

chumlie

Never heard them personally but reading the posts in here alot of people say they work well with each other.

tonyb

To my ears Carvers are very neutral sounding but also consider the age of that amp as it may need some work done to it. If you like a warmer sound, look for a use B&k amp or a Parrasound. Check out audiogon.com if your local craigslist is empty.

jbooker82

Carver makes his amps sound like tube amps so they should have a warm sound. My A-753x amp sounds nice with my RTI A7's and CSI A4.

bluecomet

If the Carver is in good shape buy it. You won't regret it.

nooshinjohn

The Carver amps in general are very good matches with Polk Audio speakers, and you cannot go wrong with that choice. I am going to step out of character however(I am one of the biggest Carver fan on the forum), and say I think there are some better choices for pairing with the LSi-15's. I have run the 15's with a variety of Carver/Sunfire amps and ended up running the LSi's as surrounds because they just never sounded right with the Carver products. I would be leaning towards Parasound or Rotel here. The Sunfire 300/2 would be a good call, but again this amp may be too laid back when paired with the already laid back presentaion of the LSi-15's.


The best I can offer beyond that would be to say trust your ears and your wallet.

Brasiliaflyer

Thanks for the responses! I am still considering that Carver, however now I'm leaning into spending an additional $300 and getting a brand new Emotiva XPA-3. It's power would be enough (300W @ 4 ohm), and I would gain an extra channel... plus it would be brand new with warranty.

I will however take nooshinjohn's advice and keep my eyes out for a used Rotel or Parasound. I know that ultimately it is up to my ears, but when you're on a budget and buying used gear you have to rely heavily on the experiences and recommendations of others.

I just want to get the ball rolling... I hooked my lsi15's up to my receiver briefly and, well, lets just say that the potential of the lsi's wasn't met... at all.

nooshinjohn

Brasiliaflyer wrote: »

Thanks for the responses! I am still considering that Carver, however now I'm leaning into spending an additional $300 and getting a brand new Emotiva XPA-3. It's power would be enough (300W @ 4 ohm), and I would gain an extra channel... plus it would be brand new with warranty.

I will however take nooshinjohn's advice and keep my eyes out for a used Rotel or Parasound. I know that ultimately it is up to my ears, but when you're on a budget and buying used gear you have to rely heavily on the experiences and recommendations of others.

I just want to get the ball rolling... I hooked my lsi15's up to my receiver briefly and, well, lets just say that the potential of the lsi's wasn't met... at all.

Better to get the Sunfire 300/2 stereo amp for the same coin as the Emo. It doubles down to 600WPC@4 or the Stereo reference amp which will do 500@4 ohm. They are a better amp than the Emo, and give you a bit more in terms of flexibility.

Monster Jam

Brasiliaflyer wrote: »

I just want to get the ball rolling... I hooked my lsi15's up to my receiver briefly and, well, lets just say that the potential of the lsi's wasn't met... at all.

I must say that this quote doesn't surprise me. I like the LSi line (I own 7 of them), but frankly, I prefer a more forward speaker like the RTi or most Klipsch speakers. And just being perfectly honest, there is a VERY good chance that an amp - any amp - will not help you. Some amps (Sunfire, for example) may even swing the speakers even MORE to your disliking.

If you have a preference for forward speakers, and you must, you've owned Klipsch for a long time, LSi speaker line might not be the speaker for you.

JMHO

Brasiliaflyer

What's funny is that I sold a pair of RF82 with the RC62 center recently because I felt like they were too forward! I'm looking for more refinement, and the Klipsch sound just wasn't for me. I know that lots of guys out there love them, and I gave them a chance with their reference line (I have no idea what the klipschornes or other high dollar Klipsch sound like), but I prefer a more laid back approach at more moderate listening levels. I found with the Klipsch that I just didn't love listening to music. If I was running a stadium, I'd go Klipsch all the way! In fairness, I didn't have them hooked up to a separate amp, but the Pioneer receiver had plenty to give considering their efficiency and 8 ohm loading.
SO, I have the Lsi's, and I'm not looking back! Everyone says that these love power, and will open up with it so I'm going to give it to them!
Right now I am looking at the Rotel RMB 1075 which puts out 200 watts, as well as the Parasound 2205A which is at 300 watts. I know that the Parasound is the superior amp, we'll see if the budget allows! The Carver is still on the table, but I'm a bit cooler towards it, as I'd prefer to have a multichannel HT amp.
I'm also going to make my own cables using the plenum cat5 method that seems to give guys very good results.
Thanks for the advice guys, I'm just now realizing that my time is far too valuable to listen to sub par music!