What amp to power SDA SRS?

tratliff

Hi Polk Audio enthusiast. I am new to the forum but have found it to be a great site with a wealth of information and knowledge.

I have recently acquired a pair of SDA SRS's from my father. He owned them since 85. Very well taken care of and perform as expected. Since obtaining them I have been powering them with a vintage pioneer sx-1250, rated at 160wpc. Although it sounds relatively good the power capabilities of the receiver are not enough. I am starting my search for a decent amp to drive these to their full capacities. I am fairly knowledgeable in the audio industry but would like to hear what others are using to drive these monsters. My budget is not unlimited but I am willing to spend a decent amount to supply them with the needed power. Please give me some ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Schurkey

Please search this forum. Your question has been answered many times.

Short story: Any common-ground amp rated for a 4-ohm (2-ohms would be even better) nominal load, and with enough volts to provide the volume level you desire. 160 watts or more into 4 ohms would be sufficient for most folks, in a small-to-medium room--although deteriorated power-supply capacitors in vintage equipment can make a formerly-powerful amp sound thin. Julian Hirsh's review suggests 200 watts minimum into 4-ohms. I thought Polk implied a thousand-watt maximum for amplifier power, but I can't find that in the actual owner's manual.

http://polksda.com/srsreview.shtml

http://polksda.com/pdfs/SRSManual.pdf

My choice for powering SDA 1Bs (same 4-ohm nominal load, same requirement for common-ground) was/is an Aragon 8008BB, although I have to strap the negative terminals together to provide "true" common-grounding, the Aragon otherwise has ~20 ohms resistance between the two channels, and it makes the speakers sound terrible when the jumper wire is removed. The Aragon provides 400 watts into a 4-ohm load. Prior to the Aragon line of amps, I used an ancient JVC receiver, rated at 120 watts into 8 ohms, and never had a problem with insufficient power in the small listening room--but it would shut down occasionally; a fault within the receiver, not with the speakers.

tratliff

Schurkey

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I am settling in on the Parasound Halo A21. Trying it out now and system performance is much better. Amp seems to provide much more detail and has a wealth of power.