Best budget (used) POWER amp for Polk SDA's; under $1000 new

tat

Hey Now,
I am wondering what people feel the best seperate power amp is to drive Polk SDA speakers. Lotsa talk of needing decent one to make em sound right, so I am looking for suggestions. I am on a very tight budget, so I am likely looking to the used market. So how about BEST POWER AMP under $800-1000. new? I have an Adcom GTP-400 preamp (1980's) that will be paired with it. I am hoping to find something good for under $400. used if I wait long enough. Lastly, I hope to upgrade to a tube preamp eventually, so a power amp that matched well with tube pre is also a plus. I LOVE tubes just cant afford them for both home audio and pro audio.

I pulled my Carvin Class D power amp I use for performing music to power the Adcom and SDA CRS speakers now. While it has around a hefty 600 watt output, I noticed some background noise with no preamp input when the output pots are turned up to -4 dB or more. *EDIT: scratch that, seems to be the 1/4" to RCA adaptor that introduced the noise. The Carvin/Adcom combination gave noticeably better bass response than a Yamaha 120wpc surround reciever I got for my father. But I suspect Class D technology is not best suited for accurate home audio.

Faustin

I have an Adcom GFA 555 that I bought used that I paired with a Dared tube pre and my SDA 1c's. I had the Adcom gone through to make sure everything was up to spec. It was a great combination. Tight bass, great highs and great detail. I have since sold the Dared pre and moved the 1c's over to a Rogue Cronus Magnum II integrated tube amp, Really liking that. I have the Adcom paired with an Adcom GTP 555 II pre and a pair of RTA 12c's. Another very good combination but a bit bright in some instances. Keeping my eyes open for another tube pre to pair with that rig.

[Deleted User]

have you tried Emotiva?

MrBuhl

At that price point, Parasound would be where I'd look. Or a B&K Reference or Sonata.

[Deleted User]

A Threshold S300 can be found had around $1k or under in good shape. This early example is going for $885US. I've seen Threshold amps setup up with ARC tube amps driving Infinity speakers like the IRS Beta. There is a video floating around Youtube somewhere I think.

gmcman

Does it have to be new? I would recommend a used B&K 200.2 or if you need more channels then a 200.3, 200.5, 200.7 etc. These amps have have a good supply of current which SDA's like. I have the 200.2 and it's a stellar amp for the $$ on the used market...but all of them are.

tat

great thanks guys. Actually I am looking for USED almost definitely gmcman. My ear is much more refined than my bank account can serve properly. I have been out of the home stereo/hi-fi loop for many years now as I travel/move alot and been concentrating on live production rigs since college. 2 channel is fine by me, pretty sure I prefer 2 ch if quality for music, the multiple channels are neat for special effects/movies though.

I have been eyeing vintage solid state Mac's MC's which work great for guitar rigs (Grateful Dead used them e.g.) so i could get 2 bases covered with that route. They are usually too heavy to haul around but I could park it at home in hi-fi and pull it out for special occassions. Not sure how well they match up to modern hi-fi equiptment 40 years younger though. So I am looking into:

B&K; Parasound; Emotiva; Threshold, Adcom, Sonata; McIntosh

I am willing to bring a vintage amp up to speed, esp. Mac's which have plenty of reliable folks to do the work. Thanks for opinions.

Listening to Vivaldi's Sacred Music 2 (Hyperion; London) through the SDA CRS now and it is sounding huge. Thank goodness 2 of the 4 tweets work well! Put them in stereo spots and the low output ones in Dimensional spot (or fuse pulled). Claim check can cover upgrades and possible XO work.

nooshinjohn

Look for a Sunfire 300/2 and you should be in great shape.

Stew

I bought a refurbished NAD C275bee from Spearit Sound a couple of years ago. They still have them for $949. Sounds great with a Dared pre and 2BTL's.

soundfreak1

Tat, the b&k's, parasound (hca1200) are a good match for the polks. Have had both and they work very well. However I must say the high freq. issue you mentioned is most likely the pre. Have had most of the adcom pre's and found almost all of them had issues with muddy bass and harsh highs. I would deff upgrade the pre no matter what else you do. Adcom GFA 555ii is also a good amp for your needs but I prefer the parasound followed by the B&K, then all others.

muncybob

I am running a Parasound HCA1000 with an updated Dynaco PAS4 tube pre to my modded 2B's and am happy with the sound. I've read many times that the Parasounds(and some other ss amps) paired with a tube pre are a good match with the SDA's.

soundfreak1

Parasound and the Dared tube pre is an excelent combo. Great bang for the buck.

george daniel

Belles 350a

muncybob

A VERY nice amp indeed if it's in your budget.

tat

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Tat, the b&k's, parasound (hca1200) are a good match for the polks. Have had both and they work very well. However I must say the high freq. issue you mentioned is most likely the pre. Have had most of the adcom pre's and found almost all of them had issues with muddy bass and harsh highs. I would deff upgrade the pre no matter what else you do. Adcom GFA 555ii is also a good amp for your needs but I prefer the parasound followed by the B&K, then all others.

Okay thanks. I picked up the Adcom for $50.00, I wanted one back when they came out but couldn't afford it, so I couldnt resist for $50. couple weeks ago. Paired with a Class D power amp it sounds better than the Yamaha 2400 receiver anyway. The B&K's look like they are bargains, and price is really the major factor unfortunately.

tonyb

tat wrote: »

soundfreak1 wrote: »

The B&K's look like they are bargains, and price is really the major factor unfortunately.

HUH ?? You said the budget was under 1000. You can find many used amps from B&K or Parasound for half that.

tat

Exactly...under $1000. new and I would be looking at good deals on used models for half that or even less with some luck. I should have an insurance check coming in but not approved yet, and amp isn't first priority now but Id like to develop an eye for when it is.

tat

Yeah but Parasound a23 sure does look interesting thanks. Would no cap's in signal path mean no caps to go bad in 10 years?

And thanks for the offer jd. The Adcoms are on my radar so I will keep it in mind. I am considering soundfreak's advice to upgrade pre 1st too, still a ways away from any moves. Good tone is a never ending process for musicians, and hi-fi seems to share that endless journey for the serious enthusiast to some degree.

pkquat

Others may know better, but I think ~100-150 wpc should be fine for the CRS.

I'll recommend the Parasound Model 2125. I have the Model 2250 (250wpc) for my 1C's. I find it to be very "musical". I also have a Parasound P5 preamp.

In that budget range, NAD is also good although I am not versed on the models.

On a super budget, as long as it is in good shape, a Hafler DH-220, or XL280 for ~$100, would be fine. I have a DH-220 that I find to be very musical and should power the CRS just fine. I think the 9270 would also be acceptable for around ~$200. As I recall it was the latest in incarnation of the 220. There were other 9XXX that had different architecture, and were not as well regarded. The DH-200 is also an option, but has slightly less resale.

Keep searching ads for amps, and search and ask here for thoughts what comes up. I found my Parasound setup on Craigslist for a nice price. I missed out on a Bryston for a steal. I have yet to see a Mac in your price range unless its in need of serious repair which would blow the budget. It may take a little while, but something may show up.

jdjohn

No problem, tat. I'll go ahead and throw two more options out there for you that I have available. A B&K EX-442 and a PS Audio Delta 100. These will still be WELL below your budget, although I need to check the service invoices to find out exactly how much I have in each of them before giving you prices.

I went through a phase where I tried several mid-fi power amps. I kept all of them in my bullpen, but they deserve to be played and go to good homes. These are all SDA-friendly being common ground amps.

soundfreak1

Not sure if it's the same for SDA'S but the RTA'S need 200 w or more to truly open up and dance. SDA guys should chime in on that.

dkfreebird

I have a McCormack DNA Deluxe 0.5 running my 1.2tl's and they love it.It is rated at 100 watts but the current is where it is at for them.I also have the Parasound HCA 1200ii but it was bested by the McCormack for control and pace.I hope to some day up my game with the McCormack brand.

tat

I think the CRS can generally be okay with less than the other SDA's, its curve is a little more forgiving perhaps.

tat

DSkip wrote: »

NAD is a fine brand but I find them a little veiled. The same can be said about B&K. They do sound great and are great values at what you can buy them for. Parasound and Polk just work so well together that its hard for me to recommend anything else in the budget realm. That relationship is one of the biggest reasons I picked up Parasound to round out my products.

Actually, you may consider that Bryston for sale in the FM for $450. I haven't heard it but I could see that pairing fairly well with the CRS. kharp states that it can be used as a standalone pre or amp, or as an integrated, so it has all bases covered for you.

Well the Mac would serve 2 functions so I could kill 2 birds with one stone there. Havent heard any reports on sound of older Mac's and CRS though. The possibility of major work and knowing nobody I can trust to do the work having just moved across the country is intimidating to me though.

codycatalist

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Not sure if it's the same for SDA'S but the RTA'S need 200 w or more to truly open up and dance. SDA guys should chime in on that.

I've found current more important to SDAs than wattage. I had a kenwood amplifier (meh) that had 200 watts per channel but not many amps of current, compare it to my Yammy with 100 watts but a good amount of current and I take the Yammy all day. Better more rounded out bass, more effortless in pushing out music.

leftwinger57

TAT, I'm also an owner of an Adcom GFA-555 and it pushes my modded Polk2Bs w/ ease and every other set of speakers I have. They are all over E-Bay and generally range @ $300/350. I have a rack face model for $300 from Audio Classics and came seriously detailed. Some say the Adcoms are bright but to me if so I can adjust the pre/amp tone controls to my liking. Quite a few forumites here use various models of used Adcom power amps.
Not connected to the store just a happy customer. My amp also was bench specd at 205 wpc.

kharp1

If you decide to go the Hafler route I have a pair that I would unload for next to nothing. It's been a while (3-4 years) since they've been hooked up, but, if memory serves they were working fine. One has XLR connections and the other is RCA.

tat

k thanks. A drummer I play with has a Hafler, Ill have to check what model.

DollarDave

Consider Luxman amps or integrateds. I've recently picked up a Luxman integrated and won't be going back to B&K or NAD. I prefer it to my parasound halo, as well. So, I'll have some stuff in the flea market soon...

motorhead43026

I just bought a Hafler XL600 to try out. Man this thing is a beast and is amazing as far as musicality goes. It is the only Hafler I have ever owned and it will be a permanent fixture around here. My 2BTL's have never sounded better. Not sure how other Hafler models would compare to it though.

pkquat

motorhead43026 wrote: »

I just bought a Hafler XL600 to try out. Man this thing is a beast and is amazing as far as musicality goes. It is the only Hafler I have ever owned and it will be a permanent fixture around here. My 2BTL's have never sounded better. Not sure how other Hafler models would compare to it though.

This was the next gen of the DH-500. AFAIK it is still happy with just about any load given its age, and definitely is a beast. Make sure there is adequate cooling and the inside and fan area has been cleaned of dust. The main complaint of these series was that some people could hear the fan. Another thing to check with an amp if this age is the DC offset. It should be less than 50mV and both sides should be close in value. Ideally you want to get the offset as low as possible.

I was thinking further about the Hafler models over the weekend. If I recall correctly the 92XX series were the last versions of the original DH models, and still musical with a warm sound for a SS amp. People were less of a fan of the 93XX and 95XX series, although some still praise them.