Lets Beat This To Death: Cheap Power for the LSis

trees · February 2005

Have upgraditis and going for my first love: LSi9s fronts & LSi7 surrounds + LSiC. My Dayton Mighty Mite seems to fill the room fine, so I'll probably keep it.

I know that the 4 ohm needs of the LSi series has been beat to death here. But I'm interested in getting the most out of the LSi's while minimizing costs. My current plan is to go with a NAD T753 receiver, $700 or less refurbished or used. Any advice on a cheaper/better plan to get where I need to go would be greatly appreciated.

Note that the room is relatively small 14X14X9 and 80% home theater/20% music use.

My Onk 501 doesn't have pre-outs, so not an option. The buyer of my R system wants the Onk anyway.

Thanks

danger boy · February 2005

how much moo la you wanna spend?

for cheap power.. you can usually pick up a powerful Adcom for not much money. yeah not exactly in the same league as Carver, Parasound or Krell. but if you want cheap.. that might be an option for a decent used amp.

since you i think are only talking two amps.. also check out Marantz mono blocks the MA500 might be an option as well. those THX amps are on ebay all the dang time. they will do 4ohms. at 180 watts i believe. each run about $140 - $170 or so. buy in pairs for the best deal.

trees · February 2005

Thanks for the info, DB.

I'm looking to spend up to a G for the receiver/amps.

I've always had receivers, never amps. I'm not sure how the amps would power the 6 speakers plus sub, how many amps I would have to buy, or if I would have to buy a separate FM tuner, or even what to plug the DVD player into, but this is something I can research. You gave me something to chew on, a place to start.

danger boy · February 2005

you won't need an amp for your subwoofer. they are most always built into the subwoofer.

here's more to digest.

some people only buy an external amp for their fronts.. then letting their receiver power the center and surround. that way you only need a two channel amp instead of a 5,6,or 7 channel one.

Whadyasay · February 2005

The NAD is actually a pretty good choice, in that the NADs have good amp sections and have a way of stabilizing the same rated power output into 4 or 8 ohms. The 753 with 70 honest watts per ch should be enough power for a small room, but see it you can swing the 763.

unc2701 · February 2005

The Adcom 555 stereo amp and the 565 monoblocks are possibly the best value out to be had in this expensive hobby of ours. For $200-$300 the 555 will put 325 watts into 4 ohms cleaner than a NAD, Rotel, sunfire, b&k, you name it. It's deffintely a SS sound, but if you get the chance, give one a listen. A pair of 565 monoblocks will run you about $800, but they'll go toe-to-toe with a bryston 4b - has a similiar sound, too. The 565 puts 450 watts into 4 ohm and you can even load them down to something like 1600 watts into 1 ohm with a fan option. Both of these hold their value like you wouldn't believe- I sold mine for $10 more than i paid for 'em after 2 years of use.

Anyhow, my recommendation would be to get a solid AVR with pre-outs and a 555 for your mains, then save up for a multi-channel power amp, and resell the adcom once you can afford a better one.

trees · February 2005

Good info. I'll probably go with a NAD and a 2 channel amp for the mains. One question: going with the 2 channel amp, would I be buying anything significant by going with the T763 or would I be better off saving the cash and going with the T753?

Whadyasay · February 2005

Really...most quality external power amplifiers will offer better performance/headroom/reliability than alll but the upper echelon of self-contained receiver amp sections...we're talking recievers costing upwards into multi-4-figures. When it comes to the super-receivers...like the Denon 5805s and the Sony STR-DA9000ES...when you figure cost and the sheer size of these things, it's really not that different (save the cost of more interconnect cables) than getting separate components..which will still probably outperform the receivers. So you have to figure what will suit your needs the best in a given price range, the 753 and three-channel amp (highly recommended, in terms of center channel performance on HT), or a slightly more powerful receiver that will take up less space and will still provide good performance, with possibly less headroom and guts at louder levels than separates.

trees · February 2005

Precise answer. Now I'm on to pricing. Some recommendations re amps are posted above. Any 3 channel amps that you would recommend with the 753. I'm hoping to keep the receiver/amp to under a G but could go $1,500 if forced. I'll do used or refurbished.

Thanks

Whadyasay · February 2005

At a budget of $1500, your best bet would be an Outlaw 950/7100 Pre-pro/7-ch Power Amp combo at just under said price (maybe a bit less if there are B-stock models available)...in a way, you could look at this as a big savings because you can get top performance in one shot and never look back, at least for a good long while, saving you the time and effort/price of looking into upgrades in the near future...and all with complete warranty coverage/return policy and outstanding customer support. I would highly recommend this, as the LSi-series really sound their best with solid amplifier power pushing them. Otherwise, you might want to look into a used Adcom GFA 5503, Rotel RB 976, B&K 200.3 or ST 125.3, and others through various searches in ebay and Audiogon.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/mofcart/electronics.html

Toxis · February 2005

I just got a Denon 3805 (can be found for $850ish online) and got a Myryad MA-500 amp (100w 5ch) for $1500 combined. The deals are there... be patient, research and it'll come.

bigsexy1 · February 2005

Originally posted by trees
Good info. I'll probably go with a NAD and a 2 channel amp for the mains. One question: going with the 2 channel amp, would I be buying anything significant by going with the T763 or would I be better off saving the cash and going with the T753?

If you can swing the extra $$$, get the T763. It has a torriadal power transformer for the amp section (the 753 has an EI core transformer), plus the 763 has a better analog preamp section.

Not to knock the 753 as it is a damned fine machine on it's on, but the fact is the 763 is a signifigant upgrade over it, and it would be all you need as you simply would not even need an extra power amp since the 763 is more than powerful enough on it's on.

trees · February 2005

All great comments. Lots to chew on. I'm off to research, price, and put something together. Going from the R/Onk 501 system to the LSis will be quite the improvement.

Interesting that even the R system sounds much better than the Paradigm/Yamaha system that a sound company installed in my living room a few years back (when I was married and had money). The acoustics suck, the system is not timber matched, absolutely no imaging, etc., in the "professionally installed" system. They did about everything wrong and you could tell that something was not right from day one. Amazing what a SPL meter and a little bit of knowledge can do. I actually have several friends that want to buy the R/Onk system as a package.

Thanks all,

Trees out

mantis · February 2005

Doesn't sound like a professional Install to me.

A professional install would go as follows,

You would shop in the stire for your system , pick everything out with the guidence of a In Home Specialist. Then someone would come out to the house for a walk down and talk aboout where things are going to go and why. If changes in the system need to take place , they will happen here first then on the final . the Installers will point out any other loose ends. After the system is installed , it should be completely calibrated including video. Audio gets SPL metered and a good Installer will also after that listen to the system for tweaking. SPL is a great starting point but sometimes in a not so perfect room , the Installer needs to adjust for multible listening points. SPL only does one point.

Customer gets a full lesson on how to use there system and a follow up on how things are going and if anything needs to be re calibrated.

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience from whoever did your Install.

Dan

trees · February 2005

Sorry if my post sounded like a shot at professional HT/Sound installation folks. That was not meant to be the case. I'm sure that there are professionals and hacks doing sales and installation, just like in any other line of work.

However, I find it interesting that I and some of my friends would drive a mile to save a nickel on a gallon of gas, but would not take a few hours to research a $2,000 HT purchase. This and other HT/Sound forums are wonderful sources of information and a couple of hours online would give folks enough information to at least ask the right questions.

Trees

Lets Beat This To Death: Cheap Power for the LSis

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