TonyB.. Need your opinion :)

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Alton T
Alton T Posts: 73
in Technical/Setup
"There's a reason why Parasound or B&k amps get pushed more than others. They seem to mate well with Polk speakers, isn't that what everyone is after ? Certainly not the only brands though." tonyb.

Hello Guys,
TonyB. :)
I liked your statement. :)
Also,
When you did the Big Block Chevy in the Corvette** analogy, I changed my thoughts on Watts per Channel.
What B&K Amps wee you referring too, in your recommendation?
Was it the 200 watts/Ch.. or more needed?

I notice the trade off, between buying older High-powered Amplifiers, vs. a newer $$ model.
The trade-off, is the risk of internal components in the older models might need replacing and adds $$ ( Components and Labor/shipping for reworking) .
and, just spending that "repair/refurbish" money toward a new Amp..
Those B&K Amps ( I've read) runs really hot.
And, had a negative "Distant to Fail" connotation :(

** In that analogy, that Big Block was really a Horse Power for Volume, AND, was it really to say that the gobs of low end Torque would make low level performance ( low RPM) effortless? o:)
I was a Big Block Chevy guy. :)
Thanks for viewing guys.. Thanks TonyB.

Alton T. :)





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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
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    B&K amps, or Parasound do not run hot, and if they do it's most likely the bias is off and they need some work done. Some class A/B amps are purposely biased a bit more heavily on the class A side, so they may run warmer, but never hot. Pure class A amps, yeah, they can get hot.

    Look for any amp that has a good 150 watts plus into 8 ohms and has good current. Current is usually specified in specs by "amperes peak to peak". The more the merrier in that department. Usually 35 + is pretty good.

    Other brands that work well, Threshhold, Belles, Rotel, Adcom, Musical fidelity, McCormack, Outlaw, Marantz, and countless more. Too many to name them all. Depends on your budget. If you want to keep it under 500 bucks, the Adcoms, B&K, Parasound, older Rotels is a good place to start. Even some outlaw monoblocks can be had fairly cheap. You want a warmer sounding amp to offset the brightness of the speakers. Unless you like icepicks in your ears, they we can expand the search.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • Alton T
    Alton T Posts: 73
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    Hi all, TonyB,
    I just bought a used B&K ST202..
    Hope to get it by this weekend..
    In the mean time, i got this "Living Room" setup to try the Pink Noise Response Test..
    I am curious to see the RTiA9's "Look" like ( Graph/chart wise) in this room.
    And, the Martin Logans, too.

    For just under a 100 dollars, you can get the UMIK-1 Microphone to fuss around your listening space.
    Free REW DSP Software download.
    Something that might create some fun and interest in your Hi Fi life..

    Thanks Tony.. :)
    Alton
    Note: This is not an advertisement, This is to get the mike and learn the software.
    Here is Joe M.'s YOU TUBE VIDEO that tells you how to do the test with the UMIK-1 and REW software: ( Link to Amazon UMIK-1 DSP Microphone in the description)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1aYsjPc2m4


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