Perreaux pmf 5150b and SDA
MAD
Posts: 105
Hello again everyone,
There's a perreaus pmf 5150b for sale in my area.
Which seems like a total power house 500wpc at 8ohms...
Regardless I believe it's a mosfet design....
Anyone have experience with Perreaux and SDA speakers (I have sda 2.3)
How would you describe the characteristics of the amp (I love my hitachi hma 8500)
Does anyone know if it is a common ground amp?
I offered a straight across trade for my pioneer sx 1980 does that seem fair?
Thanks for the support.
Mike
There's a perreaus pmf 5150b for sale in my area.
Which seems like a total power house 500wpc at 8ohms...
Regardless I believe it's a mosfet design....
Anyone have experience with Perreaux and SDA speakers (I have sda 2.3)
How would you describe the characteristics of the amp (I love my hitachi hma 8500)
Does anyone know if it is a common ground amp?
I offered a straight across trade for my pioneer sx 1980 does that seem fair?
Thanks for the support.
Mike
Post edited by MAD on
Comments
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MooseBash86 I think has that setup...."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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Thanks,
I just sent him a message... seriously falling in love with these SDA 2.3 more and more... I think my entire audio collection is going to be sold to fund the upgrades. -
Have a perreaux sa33pre and love it (got it from moose) thier equip. is very fine and very well made audio gear.what are they asking for the amp? It wont be cheep, but from what i have read it is prob a monster. I would love to try one of there amps.Main Rig:
Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
MIT exp 1 ic's
Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
AQ kingcobra ic's
OPPO 83 CDP
Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
ADS L1590/2 Biamped
MIT exps2 speaker cable -
Hello again everyone,
There's a perreaus pmf 5150b for sale in my area.
Which seems like a total power house 500wpc at 8ohms...
Regardless I believe it's a mosfet design....
Anyone have experience with Perreaux and SDA speakers (I have sda 2.3)
How would you describe the characteristics of the amp (I love my hitachi hma 8500)
Does anyone know if it is a common ground amp?
I offered a straight across trade for my pioneer sx 1980 does that seem fair?
Thanks for the support.
Mike
Mike,
I have three Perreaux amps -- a pair of Prisma 750 monoblocks driving modded SDA SRS 1.2s, a PMF 3150 driving modded SDA 1Cs, and a PMF 2350 driving a pair of modded Allison 6s. All are controlled by Perreaux preamps -- respectively, SM6 MKII, SM6P, and SA 33. (All crossovers, by the way, modded by VR3 Mods!)
Not having had a lot of experience with alternative amps, I am not qualified to compare Perreaux products to alternatives.
However, I will say that I bought my first Perreaux amp/preamp rig in 1989, and I have never been very tempted to switch to another brand because I have been satisfied with their sound and reliability for well over 20 years. They are, as they say, "built like tanks." The folks at Perreaux provide great after-sale service and support.
I would describe the sound as clear, accurate, and tight. Even with the 200 wpc into 8 ohms from the PMF 2350, I've never been short on power driving the 1Cs. Of course, the Prisma 750s at 750 wpc into 8 ohms drive the SRS 1.2s with plenty of power, and they are fast, accurate, and throw an incredibly wide, tall and deep sound stage. The PMF 3150 at 300 wpc into 8 ohms drives the 1Cs beautifully. I heard the PMF 5150 driving SDA SRSs in 1989, and my recollection is that it produced an extraordinary sound, which "hooked" me on the Perreaux/Polk SDA combination that I have not abandoned since that original experience. (If you refer to some of the posts I have put on the Forum, you can read some of my descriptions of the sound I get from my systems.)
I do not know much about the PMF 5150b, except that I believe it was the model produced for professional use and that, therefore, it includes a fan. (I believe the "b" indicates this characteristic of the amp.) I have never heard one of these amps in use, but I would expect it to have the same build quality characteristic of all Perreaux products of that (1980s) vintage.
While all these products have extraordinary build quality, they have a couple of "weak" points: 1) the on/off switches tend to wear out (after 20+ years). This was not much of a problem till the last couple of years, when replacement switches became obsolete and no longer available. To me this was a minor problem: I built a 10 AWG power cord with Wattgate connectors and a three-pole motor controller in the cord to use as an on/off switch. It works great, and I shall not have to worry about another switch in my lifetime! 2) Most of the Perreaux products of this vintage have a blue indicator light that eventually burns out. Replacements are no longer available, but a technician can easily replace the light with an LED that provides the same function and appearance as the OEM part -- if you feel the need to have the light functioning. I had mine replaced when the technician wired the stock switch in the permanently "on" state for me.
As to the price of the PMF 5150b, I would say that recently on eBay a PMF 5150 (the consumer model of essentially the same amp) sold for, as I recall, over $1,500. You don't see them often, and Perreaux amps are highly valued by those who know them, but this is a sadly small community.
Another eBayer put two PMF 3150s up for sale. He had "found" them, and they had never been unpacked from their original cartons. He was originally asking, as I recall, $2,200 per amp. They later appeared on Audiogon with an asking price of $1,900. I have no idea whether they sold. I actually called him and offered him $1,600 for one, if I could drive to his location and audition it. He agreed to the audition, but not the price.
Bottom line on the price: It's what the market will bear, but I would say that anything in the range of $1,000 for the PMF 5150b -- if it checks out as in full operating condition -- would not be out of reason. By the way, I believe there is currently a PMF 3150 on eBay for $800. If this amp is fully functional and cosmetically acceptable, it is a reasonable deal, IMHO.
Common ground? I believe -- you should certainly test my belief before connecting it to any SDA speaker -- all the PMF series amps are common ground. I used my PMF series amps with both the SDA SRSs and 1Cs without any problems. I did have problems when I first connected the Prisma 750 monoblocks, which are not common ground amps, to the SDA SRSs (this experience, by the way, led me to this Forum by way of advice of the technical folks at Perreaux, and my life has not been the same since!
) Even if the Perreaux amp were not common-ground, a Dreadnought interface would likely solve the problem.
I hope this helps, and I'll be happy to tell you anything else that I can, if you have more questions.Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Moose68Bash,
Just wanted to say I am very appreciative in the thought you put into your response... you definitely took some time to help me out and I hope to repay the favour back one day.
The fellow is asking $2100 originally which seems a bit high (or more than double what he should be).
The amp I would be potentially trading would probably sell for around $1750ish.
I'm sure it will sound insane. My only concern is that it will also sound great at lower levels as I have found some higher power amps need to be "turned up" and I do often listen around 1 wpc.
I am a bass head so it sounds like my type of amp.
I'm not too worried about the light but the power switch is a bit more of a concern.
Decisions Decisions... if I only didn't see that amp, I would be fine.
Thanks again for the reply -
MAD,
You are welcome.
I checked some documentation I have about the PMF 5550 and PMF 5150b Perreaux amps. For what it is worth, the specs in the brochures are virtually identical.
$2,100 seems high, and a trade for a $1,750 amp sounds more than fair.
I've attached a couple of files with information about the PMF 5550 and PMF 5150b in case you haven't found them.
Good luck with your decision. Make it and never look back; just dive deeper into the rabbit hole!
PMF5550 Manual.pdf
PMF5150B User Brochure.pdfFamily Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.
