Audiosource Amp One/A refurbs for $65 at Ubid.com

adam2434

Ubid.com is running an auction of Audiosource Amp One/A refurbs for $65 "buy it now" price. This is the 2nd auction. They started at $69 and originally had 25 units. This is a hell of a deal.

2 of these monobridged would be a super cheap power upgrade over most receivers. They are bridgeable to 200 watts and normally go for around $200-250 for A-stock units.

If you decide to upgrade from these, you could probably get what you paid, or more back out of them. Or, they would make a decent little amp for a computer, kid's room, workshop, or any other secondary system. They have volume controls for each channel, so you really don't even need a preamp if you only have one source.

I bought one yesterday for my center channel.

Adam

kingtut

I own one. It's a good neutral sounding amp w/plenty of headroom, better then receiver's amp section. $65 is a very good price. I like it better un-bridged.

nadams

Is the AMP100 any better at 100wrms? It's actually cheaper on ubid.... I'm going to pick one or the other of these up.

EDIT- the AMP100 is NOT 100wrms, it's 50 wpc, total of 100wrms. So the ampOne is a better amp. Damn Christmas!

adam2434

kingtut wrote:

I own one. It's a good neutral sounding amp w/plenty of headroom, better then receiver's amp section. $65 is a very good price. I like it better un-bridged.

Just curious, why do you like it better un-bridged? Ever tried 2 bridged?

I found with my LS90s that I got much more of an improvement to bass depth/control and overall dynamics when I used 2 Amp Threes monobridged vs. one in stereo. However, this could be very speaker dependent and I've always heard that LS90s need a lot of power.

I'm curious, but never got around to trying a biamp config, which I could do since the amps have a line out passthrough (I would use one amp for L/R highs, one amp for L/R lows).

nadams

Damn, I wish this would've shown up before I had my dad buy me two DB104's for christmas

Mazeroth

Does anyone know if these are 4 ohm stable? If so, how much power/channel for them?

Thanks!

louthewiz

Yes they are 4 ohm stable . I have one bridged for my center channel and it is a very good little amp. Lou

adam2434

They are rated at 100 watts/ch RMS at 4 Ohms. Audiosource does not publish monobridged specs at 4 Ohms. I would venture to guess that they are 4 Ohm stable monobridged and would put out at least 250 watts RMS, based on the 2 ch 4 Ohm rating.

Link to specs: http://www.audiosource.net/amponea.html

I inquired about 4 Ohm monobridged rating for my Amp Threes, and they told me approximately 700 watts, although they do not officially publish that spec.

PolkThug

Nice find! I've got the Amp Two with no complaints.

okiepolkie

I've got one of these coming for an install this weekend. I did get it brand new from B&H, just so there wouldn't be any warranty problems. If it were my stuff, I'd get the refurb, but since it someone else's.......

Zach

kingtut

adam2434 wrote:

Just curious, why do you like it better un-bridged? Ever tried 2 bridged?

I found with my LS90s that I got much more of an improvement to bass depth/control and overall dynamics when I used 2 Amp Threes monobridged vs. one in stereo. However, this could be very speaker dependent and I've always heard that LS90s need a lot of power.

I'm curious, but never got around to trying a biamp config, which I could do since the amps have a line out passthrough (I would use one amp for L/R highs, one amp for L/R lows).

Adam2343, I own the Amp 1 and 3. The Amp 3 is currently drives my Polk RTi70 front speakers. I tested the CS40i center channel using the left, bridged, then right channel connection of the Amp3; using the Amp 3 unbridged provided better clarity. Since I already have the Hsu VTF3 mkII than handle the bass, bass handling from my front and center channels is not an issue.

kingtut

Adam2343, I don't know what the efficiency of the LS90s, but the RTi70 and CS40i are 90db efficient, so you're probably right about the need for power of the LS90s.

adam2434

Got the Amp One/A yesterday. Disappointed that it's a little scratched up - looks a little used. May take it up with Ubid and see if it's worth the pain to get a different one. Although, it's a very quiet unit with no transformer hum, so I may just keep it.

Hooked it up to my center preout and recalibrated the speaker levels.

Did a little listening with Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth DTS CD. Didn't notice an obvious improvement vs. using the receiver to power the center. Really didn't play it very loud (kids in bed) and need to do some more listening - maybe the Cream concert DVD tonight with the wife and a stiff Maker's Mark and Coke in hand (TGIF).

As a side note, the power cord only has 2 prongs - don't know if that means anything to the common ground issue with SDAs.

Adam

kingtut

adam, did you try it as bridged or unbridged?
You won't notice the different, until at louder volume (at least that's my case in unbridged mode)

adam2434

kingtut wrote:

adam, did you try it as bridged or unbridged?
You won't notice the different, until at louder volume (at least that's my case in unbridged mode)

I ran it bridged - the single purpose of buying it was to get the higher power (200 watts) to my center.

I definitely need to do more listening and movie watching at higher volume, but I was not wowed with an improvement in my first listening.

I'm sure my center (CS400i) is much easier to drive than my LS90s, so maybe my receiver can do an adequate job (especially with the L and R powered by outboard amps), or maybe the Amp One/A is not enough of an amp upgrade to make a big difference. I'm not jumping to any conclusions this early - just thinking out loud.

audiobliss

Wow, that looks like a great little amp for $70!

adam2434

audiobliss wrote:

Wow, that looks like a great little amp for $70!

Yeah, at that price they're a steal.

Audiosource is at the way low end of separates, but I've read a few professional reviews that elevate them to near "giant killer" status. I don't know if that is BS and I don't have much experience with other separate amps. I do know that 2 Amp Threes monobridged were a very nice upgrade for me.

I've always been curious how much I'd have to spend to get a significant upgrade from them. Although they're 400 watts each monobridged, I've wondered if a 200 watt/ch offering from Outlaw, NAD, Adcom, etc. would be that much better (or maybe not even as good).

With the Amp Threes monobridged I have about 27 lbs of amp per ch with a pretty big power supply - big torroidal transformer and 40,000 mFd of filter capacitance for each ch. I've also wondered if running them monobridged may give inherent advantages for stereo separation and soundstage, making them even more competitive with 2 ch amps from the companies above. They sound effortless running the LS90s and barely get warm at pretty high levels - probably a little overkill if anything.

Maybe more expensive amps would have a more musical, refined sound, or some other attribute that I just have not yet experienced. For now, I'm happy with them and ignorance is bliss.