Monster Amplifiers

Laura Palmer

I'm starting to consider (dare I say) Monster Amplifiers.

I know everyone here HATES Monster (with good reason) and could probably recommend DOZENS of better & cheaper manufacturers, BUT putting that aside... has anyone heard one? Are they any good?

Cause I can get a great deal, and I'm seriously considering one since everyone has told me that the RTi12s require serious power.

Now my question is:

If I own the RTi12's hooked up to the pre-amp outs on a Pioneer Receiver to a Monster Signature Power 2-Channel Amp will I be doing them justice then?

And if I'm COMPLETELY insane and get a FIVE channel amp would I be OVER powering my CSi5 and my RTi6s? Cause I wouldn't want to do that.

The only thing is, am I best to get a 5-channel amp to drive all my speakers the same way? Or can I use my receiver for my center & rear while using a 2-Channel Monster Amp for my RTi12s?

Thanks!
*** I'm still trying to understand how amplifiers work with receivers and pre-amps and stuff

Laura Palmer

Anyone have any rough budgets on dividing up your home theater budget?

If I'm spending $2000 on speakers should I be spending $3000 on my amplifier?

Or less? Are speakers the most important pricey purchase?

$2000 - Speakers
$1000 - Amplifier
$500 - Pre-Amplifier/Receiver?

PolkThug

Speakers will effect the sound the most, IMO.

Bill H.

Laura,
I have heard the Monster Amps, and IMO.....you can do much better. If you have the chance, listen to NAD, B K, or whatever is avaliable in your area............

Basically buying an Amp is two fold. 1. whats your budget...(you can always sell, and buy more later).

2. How does the product sound to you, and is it easy for you to understand its operation.............

Good Luck.

McLoki

Originally posted by Laura Palmer
Anyone have any rough budgets on dividing up your home theater budget?

If I'm spending $2000 on speakers should I be spending $3000 on my amplifier?

The rule of thumb that I have heard is: your electronics (amp, pre-amp, source) should be close to your speaker price.

if you go ultra cheap or expensive on speakers or electronics, (or purchase used) that rule of thumb will make less and less sense.

For the $500 - $4,000 range most of us purchase in, it is probably close.

In the end it's you money. I would purchase the speakers you like and then audition amps with those speakers hooked up. An amplifier that sounds great with one speaker, may not shine at all with another brand or model.

All IMHO of course,

Michael

Frank Z

http://www.polkaudio.com/justin/Monster_Adcom_Shootout.pdf

Toxis

well well well... look who got to play with one. Liked it that much huh? Impressive.

unc2701

Couple comments:
1)Never worry about overpowering speakers- You are always better off & less likely to blow speakers with a more powerful amp.

2)A lot of people hate monster and these amps are getting into the audiophile cost range... Never mind how good they are, if you try to sell this amp in a year or two, you will lose a LOT of money. Oh, and their 2 year warranty is the shortest I've heard of for a high-end power amp.

3)Compare to what else you could get for the same cost- a Rotel 1090 has a lower MSRP, a 5 year warranty and better specs. Or for about the same cost, get a Bryston 4b, with a 20 year fully transferable warranty and specs that'll make that monster cry. Without hearing them side by side, hooked up to your speakers it's impossible to say which is better, but if you took a poll of $2000-$3000 MSRP amps that that people would buy used for, say, $1200, the monster will never win.

4)I've never been impressed with the Adcom Mosfets- their bipolar amps sounded way better and can be had for cheap on Ebay these days. So yeah, the monster probably did stack up nicely against it.

So, go find one, listen to it on your speakers, but don't buy it till you've heard at least 3-4 other power amps in the same price range and if any of them sound as good to you, go with it instead of monster.

Note:I've never heard a Monster amp... not that it would matter, since I don't have the same speakers & components as you, but I should add that as a disclaimer.

nadams

Yeah, but those blue displays are just too damn cool!

bknauss

Originally posted by unc2701
Couple comments:
1)Never worry about overpowering speakers- You are always better off & less likely to blow speakers with a more powerful amp.

I think you're confusing clean low power and heavily distorted low power. You can use a lower powered amp with no problems at all (assuming proper use), but what some people do is crank up the volume, can't hear all the distortion that is going on, and that kills the drivers.

Laura Palmer

Well I'm looking at the Five-Channel Monster Amp right now and it says it does 150 Watts per Channel using MOSFET.

Now, my Pioneer VSX-1014 receiver can do 110 Watts per Channel using MOSFET (and if I upgrade to the VSX-1015 in a couple weeks it can do 120 Watts per Channel)

So my question is, will the extra 30 watts really make that much difference? Probably not, eh?

What if I were to use my receiver to power all my other speakers (Center, Rears) except my main speakers (RTi12s)... could I buy a 2-channel amp for my RTi12s and run them through the pre-outs of my receiver. Because Monster's 2-Channel Amp is 250 Watts per Channel. Which is more than double the wattage!

Is it unadvisable to power half of your speakers with your receiver and the rest through a seperate component amplifier? Should I abandon the concept of going to a seperate amplifier at completely?

cfrizz

I started out with just a receiver, then I got my 2 channel amp, for my mains, then I got my monoblock for my center. The only speakers that the receiver is powering are my surrounds.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten a 5 channel amp and been done with it. But what I have now sounds great, so I'm happy.

You can do it either way Laura & it will be fine!

Cathy

unc2701

Oh, there's nothing wrong with mosfets, I just didn't like the ones Adcom put out...

As for adding a 2 channel amp, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that and quite a few people here (myself included) have done that. You'll need a SPL meter to get things balanced out and you might notice a slight difference between the sound of the fronts vs everything else (kind of like using speakers from different lines/ manufacturers, but more subtle), but it's a very economical approach. When you get more money, buy a 5 channel & ditch the two channel, or keep it & go to 7 channel.

ezc

The Monster amps sound good & was designed by Richard Marsh. Im a monster dealer & I feel for the price there is better. If you want an amp that sounds almost exact look at marshsound designs. http://www.marshsounddesign.com You may also want to look at rotel. Do you want more power for HT or for 2ch music? If for music you may want to look at a BAT vk60 or even the vk-75 tube amp for the mains, it will also work very well for ht. We have set a few systems up with a tube amp for the mains. Just my 2 cents!

Frank Z

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/755.html

The most bang for the buck.

bknauss

Originally posted by Laura Palmer
Well I'm looking at the Five-Channel Monster Amp right now and it says it does 150 Watts per Channel using MOSFET.

Now, my Pioneer VSX-1014 receiver can do 110 Watts per Channel using MOSFET (and if I upgrade to the VSX-1015 in a couple weeks it can do 120 Watts per Channel)

So my question is, will the extra 30 watts really make that much difference? Probably not, eh?

This depends on a couple things:
1. Are the amps being rated at the same distortion level? Depending on the numbers used for THD+N, there could be a miniscule or fairly large difference in power (at least number-wise).
2. Receiver amps probably will sound worse. Yes, there are a few receiver amps that sound good, but your best bet is for a preamp/amp setup, assuming cost isn't a big factor.
3. If you're worried about getting lots of power, look for a multi channel amp with switching amps (Class D, Class T). You'll get more power, less current draw (won't dim the lights when you turn the amp on or won't break the breaker if you have too many things running from that outlet), and even though some people don't like the sound of some switching amps, I've seen reviews of some amps which did very well on the sound quality scale.

cfrizz

2nd Frank Z's recommendation! If I had known about it, that's what I would have gotten.

Well maybe someday I will.

RuSsMaN

Get a big Anthem 5 ch, or a couple Brystons or some such.

Forget that overpriced Monster stuff.

jmierzur

Laura,

There are many different methodologies for selecting hardware comprising your audio system. Since you are just starting out, have a look at Richard Hardesty's methodology (starting on page 10). I had posted this in another thread, but think that it applies to your present situation. You may also want to visit the site and read all the free material available.

At this time, my recommendation for you would be to forgo the external amplification purchase. The Pioneer VSX-1014 (or if you upgrade, the VSX-1015) receiver will be a solid core for your system.

I believe in another thread you had decided on using RTi8 speakers as the mains. Direct the additional funds you were planning to allocate to the purchase the RTi12 and Monster amp to purchasing the best subwoofer with the ‘cleanest’ output you can afford. This can be a locally bought product or one from an online retailer such as HSU or SVS. Just my opinion, but I would be looking at the new SVS PB12-Ultra or if you like the cylinder style, the SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer to satisfy your needs.

Once you have the core of a system build (if you go this route, this should be a very good start), then at a future date you have the ability to upgrade specific system areas that you feel are deficient.

This is a link to my system in the forum showcase. I have used this methodology for many years, with great results.

All the best to you in your future decisions.

jmierzur

Not sure if you decided for large towers or smaller towers with sub, but this is a link to a frequency graph of the SVS PB12-Plus. Nice and flat, just the way it should be.