Audiosource Amp 100 or bigger better receiver?

bobblah

Hi All,

I'm hoping on getting some new speakers, (lusting over the rti a1s with maybe some owm3s) to fill out the sound in the rear. My concern is music, home theater not so much, medium sized room, live in an apartment so I don't need to be super loud. Would the amp-100 have enough juice to power all 4? I don't want to under power these things to the point where they don't sound good. Looks like it would just distribute the power among all speakers?

On the other hand if this unit doesn't sound like a good idea, the Yamaha RX-V373 is on sale this weekend for $170 and appears to deliver a full 105 watts per channel (I may be interpreting the specs wrong). I'd be willing to up to that price range if it was worth it and the sound would be much improved. But really I like simplicity and small footprints.

Appreciate any insight, I'm a bit of a neophyte as far as these things go but I do appreciate good sound. Obviously not expecting top tier sound in this price range though.

Thanks

ZLTFUL

The old addage, "You get what you pay for." doesn't ring more true when it comes to Audiosource gear.
They used to have some decent bargain amps but the quality the last 5-7 years has tanked.

The RX-V373 is rated at 80wpc with 2 channels driven. http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v373_black_u/?mode=model
But bear in mind that this number shrinks rapidly the more speakers you drive so that once you reach 5 speakers in a surround environment, you are actually hitting around 50wpc. And this budget level AVR will also begin clipping long before it reaches its rated output.

But the Yamaha will still kick the snot out of the AMP-100 and do it far more reliably too.

Just bear in mind that you are at the lowest common denominator at that price range.

xftman

ShopOnkyo has this 609 refurbished for $239 with coupon.
https://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-NR609&modelid=71&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=1
this will give you more juice compare to Yamaha.

ZLTFUL

It will give you *maybe* 10-15 watts more per channel with only 2 channels driven.
Once you start adding speakers, you will quickly close that gap. The one advantage is that the Onkyo is a 7.2 vs a 5.1 AVR. So the amp section will offer a LITTLE more overhead but you will still greatly reduce output power the more speakers you have hooked up.

bobblah

Thanks for the advice guys. For future reference if anyone is interested. I got the amp 100 It was ok. Even with 4 speakers it had enough power for me although i had to turn it up almost all the way to get loud. Any more than that would have gotten me kicked out of my apartment anyway :cheesygrin:
But there was background / line noise that was annoying although with music playing it would mask it. If you switched the balance to only one channel the silent channel had a hum still. So by that obviously the quality is suspect. If it was $50 id recommend it to those on a budget. But at around 90 it's too much. I wound up selling it and getting a slimline yamaha brx 5.1 on closeout for only $100. Again the yamaha isnt high end but sounds so much better. No line noise or interference. A little louder. I'd definitely recommend searching out a bargain amp from a more reputable brand than going with the audiosource.

Glen B

I run three Audiosource Amp 100s in bridged mode (150W each) in my party system. I've had zero issues and they sound great. I've even received compliments on the sound. I have "better" restored vintage amps in my collection that I can use, but I am wary of having my good stuff anywhere near partygoers. The Amp 100s work just fine for my needs.

zingo

bobblah wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys. For future reference if anyone is interested. I got the amp 100 It was ok. Even with 4 speakers it had enough power for me although i had to turn it up almost all the way to get loud. Any more than that would have gotten me kicked out of my apartment anyway :cheesygrin:
But there was background / line noise that was annoying although with music playing it would mask it. If you switched the balance to only one channel the silent channel had a hum still. So by that obviously the quality is suspect. If it was $50 id recommend it to those on a budget. But at around 90 it's too much. I wound up selling it and getting a slimline yamaha brx 5.1 on closeout for only $100. Again the yamaha isnt high end but sounds so much better. No line noise or interference. A little louder. I'd definitely recommend searching out a bargain amp from a more reputable brand than going with the audiosource.

Nice review, and exactly the same experience I had with some of their equipment; congrats!

ZLTFUL

zingo wrote: »

Nice review, and exactly the same experience I had with some of their equipment; congrats!

Same here which is why I advised against it in the first place.
Glen, I know people who have had good luck like yours but a lot more who didn't.

OP, I think you are going to end up in a similar boat with the low end slimline Yamaha.

Glen B

ZLTFUL wrote: »

Glen, I know people who have had good luck like yours but a lot more who didn't.

This is the first I'm hearing about issues with Amp 100s. I've owned 6 of them in the past three years.

ZLTFUL

I've had 2. Both suffered from bulging/bursting capacitors. One died outright. The other never died but did develop a rather annoying hum.

A friend of mine set up a garage system to watch motorcycle racing projected onto the wall of his shop. He had 3 of them. 2 of them suffered from the same bulging/bursting cap issues that mine did. The third just wouldn't power on one day...no explanation at all.

A friend of a friend had one in a 2 channel system in his home workshop in his basement. One day he was simply working along with music playing moderately in the background. He suddenly got a hum and then a crackle and buzz and saw smoke rising from the unit.

Another buddy had one that was powering a set of old B&W bookies for his PC system. One day he went to turn it on and had no sound. Light came on, could here a very slight hum at the speakers but the input section was non-functioning.

I did have a couple of friends with them in workshop/garage/outdoor systems who have never had a single issue with them at all. Have another fried who has abused the snot out of one running a pair of outdoor speakers and has the amp sitting under the overhang of his deck year round and even plays Christmas music over the system for his big holiday light display. Never a single issue.

I did have one of the original ones that never gave me a single issue but newer versions...well, I have lost a lot of faith in them.