Advice on Next Upgrade

Early B.

Looking at upgrading my 2-channel system. I have the following:

1. Parasound PHP/850 pre-amp
2. Harman Kardon PA 2000 amp
3. Cambridge Audio 640 CD player
4. Polk Lsi7's
5. Bluejeans cables interconnects

My music tastes are jazz and female vocals. I don't play music at loud volumes. Room size is 17' x 12'.

Where will I get the most improvement in sound quality?

Thanks.

venomclan

Hi Early,
I think that your weakness is the Harman Kardon PA 2000 amp.
Your Cambridge CD player and Parasound Preamp are of a higher caliber than your H/K. I have used some H/K seperate amps made in the last 8-9 years and though I think they are very good quality and excellent for home theater, they tend to lack in the 2-channel area IMHO.

See if you can demo a better 2-channel amp in your system. Try Audioadvisor.com, they have a 30 day return policy and also carry Parasound, which should match well with your preamp synergy. I would also suggest Outlaw amps, very musical.
Good Luck,
Jeremy

steveinaz

Speakers will always provide the most noticable change, but if you already like your speakers, I agree that a better amp should be next on your list....I would recommend the HCA-1500A, its an excellent match to the PHP.

kingkip

I agree about the amp. Just had a chance to listen to an amp that absolutely blew me away at my local hifi. If you can check out Primare's A30.2 (they also have multichannel amps) 120 watts of push-pull power, each channel with it's own capacitors and transformer. The detail was incredible, and I thought it was noticibly better than a much higher powered McIntosh, for less money.

Kip

Early B.

Thanks, fellas. I wasn't aware that an amp made such a big difference. What do you think about the NAD C270 amp?

AsSiMiLaTeD

The NAD is a fine amp...but I think the HCA1500 would be the best match for your setup...

I've recently done A LOT of research on the Parasound amps and the 1500A is a great amp with MOSFETs in the driver stage...an excellent amp?

LuSh

I have no idea what you are lookin to spend, but perhaps replace both the amp and pre with an intergrated unit? Amps make a big difference, pre-amps are closer to the source and would probably make a bigger difference. A true high end Intergrated will beat out mid separates everytime.

PolkWannabie

Although I'm sure the LSi7's are nice ... they don't go very low ...

Overall Frequency Response 45Hz - 27kHz
Lower -3dB Limit 53Hz

Early B.

Although I'm sure the LSi7's are nice ... they don't go very low ...

Oh, I'm definitely gonna get a subwoofer.

Early B.

I took venomclan's suggestion and bought two Outlaw monoblocks off audiogon for $200 each. I like the idea of using monoblocks to power each speaker.

I hope I made the right decision.

steveinaz

Early--your preamp is solid. You'd have to spend well over a grand to out do it....I'm proof, as I "upgraded" from a PHP850 to a MF A3CR, I could go back to the PHP tommorrow and wouldn't miss a thing.

venomclan

Hi Early,
I think you will enjoy the M200's. They should really kick the LSi7's in the pants and bring out the best of that speaker. Remember, thsy will be feeding your 7's 300 watts at 4ohms. More thank plenty for them, but also enough if you decide to go into a larger speaker later on.

Early B.

Thanks. They arrive Friday and I'm gonna hook 'em up, sit back and enjoy the ride. I'll write a quick review of them next week.

hamzahsh

Originally posted by Early B.
Thanks, fellas. I wasn't aware that an amp made such a big difference. What do you think about the NAD C270 amp?

I love my NAD C272 2-ch AMP that drives my Polk RT800i fronts. I also love my Adcom GFA 7605 5-ch AMP that drives rest of my other speakers. Both AMPs are very powerful and solid. NAD C272 is the new model of NAD C270. It is a very solid amp 150w x 2 both channels driven. It produces very clean sound with sweet warmness. Mids and highs are transparent with accurate detail. At louder volume for e.g., -15db my Polk RT800i produces loud bass which is clean and accurate. I don't use my sub for music anymore. I highly recommend NAD products.

Check out the reviews of NAD C270 2-ch AMP at
http://www.audioreview.com/Amplifiers/NAD,C,270/PRD_125423_1583crx.aspx

I'd definitely go with NAD for 2-ch music.
Period.

My 2 cents!

organ

I have the NAD C270. Amazing amp, especially if you're planning to drive the LSi. It sounded great driving my 800i, Klipsch RF-35 and is now powering the LSi9. Like Hamzahsh mentioned, it has been replaced by the new C272 but if you could get a great deal on the 270, go for it.

Maurice

Early B.

Got the Outlaws today and hooked them up. One word -- AWESOME!!!. The HK PA 2000 that I replaced ain't even in the same league. There are three traits about it that make it better than what I had:

1. Much more slam
2. More detail
3. More "musical"

Musical is the only way I can describe it. It even makes commercial quality CDs (i.e., Celine Dion) sound good.

I plan on keeping these. Heavy suckers, though. Don't be fooled by their small size. They weigh 18 pounds each. I really like the auto music sensing circuitry. No need to turn the amp on and off.

venomclan

Hi Early,
Good to hear that you like the Outlaws. I too had that impression of the sound when upgraded. Enjoy.
Jeremy

Dr. Spec

Ditto - a very revealing amp. A bit bright a times with the tri-lams, but a perfect match with the Vifa ring.