Amp for Signature S60's

_mo_
_mo_ Posts: 53
in Electronics
I have a pair of Signature S60's on the way. Currently using a Yamaha rx-v6a to run my system, but plan on upgrading to a Yamaha Aventage rx-a8a down the line. Either way, I'd like to get an amp to power the S60's. I have an opportunity locally to pick up either a Parasound HCA-1000 A or an Acarus A250 slightly used and in my budget. Any thoughts on either? I know the Acarus is closer to the top wattage range of the S60's but I've read better things in general about the Parasound. Would love some thoughts.
Family Room 7.2.4: S35, S60, S10, MM2104 endtables, TL1
Basement 5.1.2: CS400i, RT55i, RT25, PSW450, MC60
Living Room Stereo: SDA 2a
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,553
    Answer ✓
    Acarus A250 might be a little bright, personally I'd go with the Parasound.

    Under powering kills more speakers than overpowering. If you wanted and had a 5000wpc amp it wouldn't hurt the S60's at all. You are not using 5000wpc just because the amp is on. Could you overpower them with one ? Sure could but I'm betting you would turn it down WAY before you toasted drivers or got anywhere near the amps limits.
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  • _mo_
    _mo_ Posts: 53
    edited September 2021
    Interesting, thanks for the knowledge! I'm guessing a 5000wpc amp would be way past my budget though, and I like my marriage :smile: I'm also guessing that 110wpc of the parasound will be plenty for my family room, and going from the spec sheet is well within the range of the s60, so I assuming I shouldn't worry about underpowering?
    Family Room 7.2.4: S35, S60, S10, MM2104 endtables, TL1
    Basement 5.1.2: CS400i, RT55i, RT25, PSW450, MC60
    Living Room Stereo: SDA 2a
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,553
    _mo_ wrote: »
    Interesting, thanks for the knowledge! I'm guessing a 5000wpc amp would be way past my budget though, and I like my marriage :smile: I'm also guessing that 110wpc of the parasound will be plenty for my family room, and going from the spec sheet is well within the range of the s60, so I assuming I shouldn't worry about underpowering?

    Clipping is what kills speakers, and yes you could easily clip the parasound.
    Clipping occurs with sudden impactful sounds, think gun shots, helicopters and explosions to name a few.
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  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,988
    edited September 2021
    P’sound HCA-1000A is a small upgrade from the 1000 w/12V trigger and 130WPC RMS as it’s has a slightly heftier PS

    The HCA-1000 is good for 110WPC RMS. If a 1000 will do, you may find one on the Polk forum Flea mkt reasonably $d plus shipping.

    Approximately sq footage of your space and listening/volume taste?
    My &0.01 Tony
    Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
    8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
    *soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
    Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    _mo_ wrote: »
    Interesting, thanks for the knowledge! I'm guessing a 5000wpc amp would be way past my budget though, and I like my marriage :smile: I'm also guessing that 110wpc of the parasound will be plenty for my family room, and going from the spec sheet is well within the range of the s60, so I assuming I shouldn't worry about underpowering?

    The parasound is a great amp, warm, smooth, detailed, and plenty of power for most setups. Eventually I would try to snag an HCA-1500A or perhaps a 2000 WPC B&K, because those speakers have a lot of drivers to push. But the great thing about the 1000A is if you get a solid deal on it you can flip it without loss when you are ready to upgrade. I say jump on it!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,553
    edited September 2021
    rooftop59 wrote: »
    _mo_ wrote: »
    Interesting, thanks for the knowledge! I'm guessing a 5000wpc amp would be way past my budget though, and I like my marriage :smile: I'm also guessing that 110wpc of the parasound will be plenty for my family room, and going from the spec sheet is well within the range of the s60, so I assuming I shouldn't worry about underpowering?

    The parasound is a great amp, warm, smooth, detailed, and plenty of power for most setups. Eventually I would try to snag an HCA-1500A or perhaps a 200 WPC B&K, because those speakers have a lot of drivers to push. But the great thing about the 1000A is if you get a solid deal on it you can flip it without loss when you are ready to upgrade. I say jump on it!

    fixed it :smiley:

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  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 339
    My Parasound 1000A does garage duty.
    A very clinical sound.

    Using a Carver TFM 35x now.
    Sounds much better and non-fatiguing.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    odcics2 wrote: »
    My Parasound 1000A does garage duty.
    A very clinical sound.

    Using a Carver TFM 35x now.
    Sounds much better and non-fatiguing.

    I have literally never heard ANY paramount HCA described as clinical…but we do have different tastes…
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    rooftop59 wrote: »
    _mo_ wrote: »
    Interesting, thanks for the knowledge! I'm guessing a 5000wpc amp would be way past my budget though, and I like my marriage :smile: I'm also guessing that 110wpc of the parasound will be plenty for my family room, and going from the spec sheet is well within the range of the s60, so I assuming I shouldn't worry about underpowering?

    The parasound is a great amp, warm, smooth, detailed, and plenty of power for most setups. Eventually I would try to snag an HCA-1500A or perhaps a 200 WPC B&K, because those speakers have a lot of drivers to push. But the great thing about the 1000A is if you get a solid deal on it you can flip it without loss when you are ready to upgrade. I say jump on it!

    fixed it :smiley:

    Haha thanks Ivan!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 339
    We all have ears with non identical response curves.
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  • _mo_
    _mo_ Posts: 53
    gp4jesus wrote: »
    P’sound HCA-1000A is a small upgrade from the 1000 w/12V trigger and 130WPC RMS as it’s has a slightly heftier PS

    The HCA-1000 is good for 110WPC RMS. If a 1000 will do, you may find one on the Polk forum Flea mkt reasonably $d plus shipping.

    Approximately sq footage of your space and listening/volume taste?
    My &0.01 Tony

    It's going in my 19x14 family room BUT it's a 2 story family room so a lot of sound gets lost. We're finishing redoing it now, I'll post pics when I'm done. I'm really happy with how it is coming.

    It's our main place to watch movies and we tend to listen to those at a moderate level, but we don't crank it too much. As for me I like to listen to music, mostly classic rock and jazz again at a moderate level. I hate crappy setups where the low-mids and high-bass get lost, but I also don't need chest-thumping volumes either.

    The parasound is only about a 30 minute drive from my house and reasonably priced from what I've seen on ebay, so I think I'll pick it up and then as you mentioned I can always flip it later on if I want to.
    Family Room 7.2.4: S35, S60, S10, MM2104 endtables, TL1
    Basement 5.1.2: CS400i, RT55i, RT25, PSW450, MC60
    Living Room Stereo: SDA 2a
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  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,465
    Outlaw monoblocks https://outlawaudio.com/shop/power_amplifiers/45-model-2220.html
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
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  • _mo_
    _mo_ Posts: 53
    Picked up the parasound yesterday, pretty happy so far. Only listened to music and played some video games, but so far it sounds great...fuller sound than before. I'll have to put it through some movie paces later.
    Family Room 7.2.4: S35, S60, S10, MM2104 endtables, TL1
    Basement 5.1.2: CS400i, RT55i, RT25, PSW450, MC60
    Living Room Stereo: SDA 2a
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