Monitor 10 / amp choices

gyusher

Currently I am driving my M-10s with my HK 240 HT receiver. A low powered HK at 50wpc (HK watts) and generally I switch to stereo for music.

I have been looking for a stand alone stereo power amp for them driven by my HK. My budget is about 250.00.

I have narrowed it down to one of these.

1)- Kenwood M2a (250.00)
2)- Acurus A-150 (250.00)
3)- Adcom GFA-555 (250.00)
4)- Adcom GFA-545 (150.00)

Same seller has them all. I know the seller well. I have bought from him before. All are in mint condition and all have their original boxes etc.
He lives about 150 miles from me but I will pick it up anyway.

I can tell that although you don't need monster power mine need more than I have for volume levels above moderate. I am leaning towards the Acurus with the KW running a close second. I have owned all these models at one time or the other and I like them all.

Any advice?? I need to decide by mid week next week. I like the Acurus's size and it will fit in my space as will the 545 however I feel the 545 at 100wpc might have to work too hard on occasion. I can make room for the big dogs. . . Hence the reason for this thread. . .

heiney9

The best choice here is the 545. $150 is a good price, I think it sounds better than the 555 and either Adcom are better than the Kenwood. I've owned the Kenwood and it's ok. The Accrus I don't know much about I'm sure it's good as well. The 545 will not have any difficulty driving the 10's whatsoever.

H9

gyusher

heiney9 wrote:

The best choice here is the 545. $150 is a good price, I think it sounds better than the 555 and either Adcom are better than the Kenwood. I've owned the Kenwood and it's ok. The Accrus I don't know much about I'm sure it's good as well. The 545 will not have any difficulty driving the 10's whatsoever.

H9

Thanks, I have owned each at one time or the other. I too like the 545's sound. Only problem I had with the 545 was that Adcom kinda missed the mark power wise. I always preferred my Rotel RB-981 at 135wpc and bridgeable to 360 or thereabouts. I always thought a 545 configured the same way would have been a killer amp.

Also with all my gear on the same electrical circuit I might be well advised using a less power draining amp like the 545.

That little Acurus is sweet. . . Mondial Designs I think like Aragon. . .IIRC. . .

Tour2ma

Sounds to me like you know what you wanna do... so you just might to base your choice on resale value for a down-the-road move.

The 555 and A-150 hold the edge on that count and are the best bargains right now.

555: MSRP: $800.00 USED: $345.00
545: MSRP: $500.00 USED: $208.00
A-150: MSRP: $700.00 USED: $325.00
M-2a: MSRP: $680.00 USED: $208.00

RuSsMaN

Acurus, period.

Don't subject your ears to the Adcom graininess.

Tour2ma

gyusher wrote:

That little Acurus is sweet. . . Mondial Designs I think like Aragon. . .IIRC. . .

Had no idea what you were saying so I Googled "Mondial Designs" and found this:

Company Profile

Acurus was founded in 1992 as the value brand of Mondial Designs. Mondial was started with the Aragon brand, well know for its high end electronics in audiophile circles. Mondial was founded in 1986 by Paul Rosenberg and Anthony Federici, the latter of whom has since left the business. In December of 2000 Mondial was bought out by Klipsch of speaker fame. Paul Rosenberg is still with Mondial as the Director of Marketing and New Product Development.

The initial Aragon products were actually designed by Dan D'Agostino of Krell. About 11 years ago, Mike Kusiak joined Mondial as Chief Designer and is responsible for all products since, including the DIA150. All Mondial amplifiers have the same design philosophy, i.e., no integrated circuits, motorized volume pots, glass-epoxy circuit boards, large transformers, lots of capacitance and bipolar output devices.

Here's the link:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_3/acurus-dia-150-integrated-amplifier-7-2001.html

RuSsMaN

We all knew what he was saying.

Tour2ma

Wonderful...

gyusher

Acurus it is. . . I used my last A150 for a stereo amp in my office/computer room but with modern speakers and a Sony TA-E77ESD preamp. My concern was the Monitor 10. I had a good idea of what I wanted but I know from experience to ask the "experts" as often there are unforeseen gremlins that pop up.

ND13

Acurus. Great products. I was one keystroke away from purchasing an Acurus, but I got a great deal on my Parasound and went that way instead.

Oh yeah, look at Psound, too.

gyusher

ND13 wrote:

Acurus. Great products. I was one keystroke away from purchasing an Acurus, but I got a great deal on my Parasound and went that way instead.

Oh yeah, look at Psound, too.

I am kinda limited because the seller only has the ones I mentioned. Also a close friend who builds and rebuilds amps. My Fort'e Model 3 hot rod came from him, an incredible 400wpc monster done right, dual toroid's, more and bigger caps etc. etc. Only that amp would be a little much for my 12x18 room.