Good Amp/Reciever for Monitor 10B?

saleenman

I have a nice pair of Monitor 10B's and I am currently driving them with a Sherwood RX-4109. The 4109 can put out 105 Watts RMS @ 8 Ohms per channel. My 10B's can accept up to 200 Watts RMS @ 6 Ohms. So, my 4109 is technically only able to provide 78.75 Watts RMS @ 6 Ohms, less than half of what my 10B's are rated for. Therefore, since most receivers/amps are rated based on 8 Ohms, I would need a receiver able to provide 266.66 Watts RMS @ 8 Ohms to fully power my 10B's. Basically, I am have in very difficult time finding a receiver that can provide 250+ Watts that is within my budget (~$100-300). Do any of you have any recommendations for a receiver/amp?

Thanks!

heiney9

Specs never tell you how something will sound, so I wouldn't rack your brain trying to the math. Why do you need 250 watts?

Impedance varies with frequency so all the math in the world doesn't equal "real world" listening. The specs you are quoting are nominal with a single test tone. Do you often listen to single test tones?

How come you have less wattage when the impedance is lower? You should have more unless your receiver uses a current limiter which is less than ideal.

I have SDA 1C's.........I run them with 30 wpc, it's not about the wattage, it;s about quality watts.

H9

saleenman

Less impedance = less resistance = less watts need to power it
P = Watts
I = Amps
R = Ohms
P=(I^2)R
I need ~250 Watts at 8 Ohms impedance.

heiney9

You've got a lot of this backwards. Have you taken into account the efficiency rating of the speaker? You can present two speakers with different efficiencies the same wattage and get a different level of measured output, so you would need MORE watts to power the less efficient speaker to match the same output level of the more efficient speaker. Even though the max wattage for each speaker is rated the same.

You can't choose gear by simply using OHMS law.

A speakers impedance varies with frequency so it's never exactly 8 ohms at any given time (and it varies with the musical content) so OHMS law doesn;t take that into account. It assumes all values are constant, they aren't.

H9

cfrizz

With the exception of the Sunfire, you won't find a receiver that puts out that much power. So if you want to power your speakers to their full potential, you will have to purchase a separate amplifier, you will find many that run 200+wpc @ 8ohms. However, it is highly unlikely that you will find one for $100-300. And you will have to get a receiver that has preouts to hook the amplifier into, yours doesn't have them.

The higher the wattage, the more money it costs to purchase.

So up your budget and start hunting on www.audiogon.com for a used amp and receiver. Brands to look at: Sunfire, Rotel, Adcom, Nad, Parasound B&K etc.

Welcome to Club Polk.

cnh

All good suggestions, but as said. I can drive myself out of the room with a vintage Marantz 65 watts x 2 on my Monitor 10As!

cnh

saleenman

Thanks I will look around!

Mystery

PA amplifiers are another option.
For example, QSC RMX 1450 puts out 260 W/ch at 8 ohms and 400 W/ch at 4 ohms and goes for around $200 in fleabay.
The issue with those is you have to get a separate unit like preamp or sound processor to input all the devices and also fan noise.
But if you are looking for high watts, fan noise won't be heard anyways when music is playing.

heiney9

PA amps and commercial amps should not be used in a 'real' audio rig. They are not the best sounding amps if high fidelity is your goal. If you want lots of useless power and don't care what it sounds like, then sure, they would be fine.

People need to learn watts are the least important part of the equation, especially the manufacturer's ratings. It doesn't mean anything beyond acheiving very high SPL's and even then there are other factors involved besides a pure wattage rating.

H9

Mystery

Smallies wrote: »

This guy's having a terrible time selling this. Just dropped down from $100. Maybe you could sweeten the deal a bit and he'd ship it. no affiliationhttp://capecod.craigslist.org/ele/2889365313.html

Now dropped to $50.

mhardy6647

You don't need that kind of power for Monitor 10s. Find a 1970s Yamaha integrated amplifier or receiver in good working order and you'll be set for life. Vintage Yamaha and vintage Polk Audio monitors have always complemented each other extremely well.

I'd suggest a CA-800, CA-1000, CA-1010, or CA-2010 as ideal.

Here's a CA-800 for reference; a fine sounding amplifier by any era's standards:



(CA-800 is on the bottom of the short stack)

The CR-800, CR-1000 (if you can get past its disco-era cosmetics and ergonomics!), CR-1020 or CR-2020 (pictured below) would all be excellent receiver choices for Monitor 10s.




Yamaha docs a-plenty at:
http://www.kallhovde.com/Njord%20Noatun%27s%20Vintage%20Audio%20Resources.html

transmaster

No you don't need anywhere near 250 watts to drive a Monitor 10B. My pair which I purchased new around 1989 have been driven by anything from a puny 12watt per channel Sony, it was all I had at the time, it worked in a way. Next I drove them with a JVC integrate amp, at, I think, around 100 watts per channel. I am here to tell you it was like the Speaker God's had come to visit me. Those 10B's where a force of nature. I just purchased a Onkyo TX-NR709 115 watts X 7. My old 10B's are in need of a rebuild of their crossovers, one of them is not sounding to well. I fully expect to resurrect those Speaker Gods again. The real way to think of output power is to measure it in db (decibel) using the db scale you will understand how little your really gain as you go up the power ramp. The single most important thing to consider in any audio amp is it's power supply it needs to have enough headroom to dish out anything the finals need.