Warmer sounding amps?

chadjessie@hotm

Hey guys. I have been wondering lately about getting a warmer sounding amp. I had always run most of my speakers off of just the avr power. I have a Harmon Kardon 645 and I really like the sound of it. Now I have an Adcom 7700 5 channel amp that I run everything through. It has a sharper, brighter sound to me. It's not that I don't like it. (Actually far from it!) It does really well and has great power. But I do miss somewhat the warmer, fuller sound. Are there some 5 to 7 channel amps out there that stand out as having a warmer sound? Probably in the 1k to 1.5k range. Thanks.

Early B.

The concept of "warmer sound" is very subjective. You're the only one who can determine the best "warm" sound for you.

chadjessie@hotm

I thought I was maybe going to get that answer!:) Unfortunately for me I really have no way of listening to most of the amps that interest me. Was kind of hoping some stood out from the others. I guess a couple I have been looking at are the Aragon 2007 or 2005and the Rotel 1095 or 1075. Any ideas on these?

Mike Reeter

I've got Adcom and Parasound amps...I prefer the Parasound...ever consider puttin' some tubes in the mix?

AndyGwis

B&K amps are warm and cuddly. I love their gear, and $1K will go a long way. Look at their 5250, 7250, 200.5 and 200.7 models for some options.

Awesome amps for music and HT.

John in MA

McIntosh gear is known for a more subdued sound. But $1.5K might get you a cardboard box.

nikolas812

B&K amps are warm and cuddly

I second that. I haven't had experience with there multi channel amps but if they sound anything like there old 2 channel amps, it might be what your looking for. I have a old B&K st-140 that keeps me very warm in the winter.;)

tcrossma

I have a B&K 200.5 (200w @ 8ohm) that I recently purchased as an upgrade from an AVR paired with my LSI system and I absolutely *love* the sound. Very laid back and warm compared to my Yamaha RX-V2500.

tonyb

Another B&K fan,welcome to the family.

chadjessie@hotm

Have been looking at a bunch of the suggestions you've made. So far the ones that have caught my eye the most are probably the B&K amps. Not that others don't compare but some of those get a little pricey for me! I like what I read about the B&k amps that Andy suggested. Most of the reviews I have seen say a lot about there warmer, fuller sound as compared to Rotel, Adcom, and others. Is there some suggested places to shop for these online?

tcrossma

I bought my mint condition B&K 200.5 from Audiogon last month for $1250

chadjessie@hotm

Ya thanks. I was looking on there a little bit. I will keep checking to see what comes up.

SKsolutions

.02$ With the LSi, I've use a 6 series HK AVR, two Adcoms, and a B&K ref 200.2. The B&K has been the best for me so far. . . close to the HK in sound, but more detail and dynamics/power. I may come back to it after swapping things out a bit more.

wingnut4772

I found my Parasound HCA1500 to be slightly toasty.

Face

McIntosh.

venomclan

Chad,
Maybe I missed it but I did not see you mention what speakers you are running. Synergy is important and no matter how good an amp is, if it does not mate well with your speakers you may not like the sound.
Venom

reeltrouble1

How come nobody suggested NAD??? jeesh.........too obvious I guess. I recommend a Manley Stingray. You will say ooh la la as you dance around naked doing your best air guitar riff.

RT1

chadjessie@hotm

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

How come nobody suggested NAD??? jeesh.........too obvious I guess. I recommend a Manley Stingray. You will say ooh la la as you dance around naked doing your best air guitar riff.

RT1

That must be some warm amp!:) Been looking at more suggested amps. Definitely alot out there that I was unfamiliar with and fun to read about. I had no idea on some of these. From everything that I have found the B&k seem to get the most credit for having that warm (maybe tubelike sound) and they are more or less right in my price range. But I am going to continue to look to keep getting ideas. Great suggestions.

From Venom:
"Maybe I missed it but I did not see you mention what speakers you are running. Synergy is important and no matter how good an amp is, if it does not mate well with your speakers you may not like the sound."

Hey Venom. I almost missed this. I was running rti6 up front, csi5 as center, with fxi5's as backs. Over the last year or so i have really gotten into diy speakers. Unbelievable what can be made! I don't know how familiar you are with diy speakers but my fronts are Modula MTM's, with a large matching RS center channel, and I still have the fxi's in back. To my ears the rti have always been a little harsh, even with my hk. My newer setup sounds much clearer and warmer but I still feel like I am missing something! When I switch speakers from HK645 to Adcom 7700 there is a definite difference in "warmness". So I am thinking it is the amps sound I want to change.

NeilGabriel

Since you mentioned this in your 2nd post, I had the Rotel 1075. I liked it mostly for movies, but for concert DVDs and music, I felt like the sound was a bit harsh/mechanical/bright....not warm. I ran it through CRS+ and also through Monitor 10Bs. I'm not sure how much this sound is based upon the amp or affected by the pre-pro. I am running a NAD amp (C272) in my 2 channel system, and really like the sound for music.

venomclan

chadjessie@hotm wrote: »

Hey Venom. I almost missed this. I was running rti6 up front, csi5 as center, with fxi5's as backs. Over the last year or so i have really gotten into diy speakers. Unbelievable what can be made! I don't know how familiar you are with diy speakers but my fronts are Modula MTM's, with a large matching RS center channel, and I still have the fxi's in back. To my ears the rti have always been a little harsh, even with my hk. My newer setup sounds much clearer and warmer but I still feel like I am missing something! When I switch speakers from HK645 to Adcom 7700 there is a definite difference in "warmness". So I am thinking it is the amps sound I want to change.

I am not familiar with those diy speaks, but I commend you on taking the effort of diy. A lot of us here do some diy in one form or another. I used to have the RT series Polks and I found them to be bright. I tried an Onkyo avr, an HK Pa5800 amp, nothing seemed to get the sound right without fatigue. You can try different amps, but in the end you may want to change the speakers. The speakers are the most significant in any upgrade. Amps, preamps will change the flavor and bring out the best, or worst of your speakers, but it is your speakers that tell the story. See if you can borrow another amp or demo one to see if that makes the sound you are looking for. I found my Adcom 535 to be very warm, while my previous Krell more analytical. Good luck.
Venom

chadjessie@hotm

venomclan wrote: »

I am not familiar with those diy speaks, but I commend you on taking the effort of diy. A lot of us here do some diy in one form or another. I used to have the RT series Polks and I found them to be bright. I tried an Onkyo avr, an HK Pa5800 amp, nothing seemed to get the sound right without fatigue. You can try different amps, but in the end you may want to change the speakers. The speakers are the most significant in any upgrade. Amps, preamps will change the flavor and bring out the best, or worst of your speakers, but it is your speakers that tell the story. See if you can borrow another amp or demo one to see if that makes the sound you are looking for. I found my Adcom 535 to be very warm, while my previous Krell more analytical. Good luck.
Venom

Thanks, I will keep this info in mind. Maybe it will have to with the speakers. (Just gives me more reason to buy or build another set right?:) I think I will play around a little more and I am going to keep my eye out for one of the B&k 5 or 7 channel amps. I do have a question further on this though. I have never used a preamp. Is this something I should look into further? Are there ones that would help me reach my goal here?

venomclan

chadjessie@hotm wrote: »

Thanks, I will keep this info in mind. Maybe it will have to with the speakers. (Just gives me more reason to buy or build another set right?:) I think I will play around a little more and I am going to keep my eye out for one of the B&k 5 or 7 channel amps. I do have a question further on this though. I have never used a preamp. Is this something I should look into further? Are there ones that would help me reach my goal here?

There are preamps that have warm or cold personalities, but my recommendation with any system is to get the speakers you love first. The Speakers are the anchor of your system. There is no point to buy gear, then change speakers and find out the gear you bought does not mate well with your new speakers. Many of us have gone in circles over the years, changing this or that with sometimes moderate or negative results.
1- Find your speakers
2- Find an amp that loves your speakers
3- Then add the other pieces
JMHO
Venom

phuz

venomclan wrote: »

Amps, preamps will change the flavor and bring out the best, or worst of your speakers, but it is your speakers that tell the story.

I'd like to also add that amps will bring out the best or worst in your preamp as well. I'm suprised nobody has mentioned the HK receiver he's using as a pre. If possible, I'd say try a different preamp. I started with an HK receiver a while back, and found that once I added an external amp, the next biggest improvement was changing the pre.

Also since you are doing 5.1, have you used an SPL meter to set all of the levels when you switch to the Adcom from the HK? What DSP modes are you using? Are you tweaking the tone adjustments at all?

tryrrthg

chadjessie@hotm wrote: »

I don't know how familiar you are with diy speakers but my fronts are Modula MTM's

I'm pretty sure I'm going to build the Modula MTM's over the next few weeks. What do you think of them? How do they sound? Can you provide me some more details of your build? Did you follow Jon Marsh's material list or put together your own xover components?

(since this is a bit of a derail of your thread, if you'd rather PM me the info that would be fine)

Thanks!

chadjessie@hotm

Hey Venom. I guess I am on to step two. I really like my speakers and I love their clear, clean sound. What got me to wondering about getting a different "warmer" amp was with both sets of speakers.(the rti's and my diyer's). Just running through my hk provided the sound I guess I prefer a little more. Through the adcom both sets of speakers seem a little brighter especially the rti's. It is probably just my preference though because the sound from the adcom IS very clear and powerful, just missing a little something. Almost too sharp for me? I am getting sold on the B&K amps, I think:) That seems like a good first step to try and then maybe go to a different pre later if needed. As far as pre's, the B&K's also sound like they get great reviews, also having a warmer sound to them.

chadjessie@hotm

tryrrthg wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I'm going to build the Modula MTM's over the next few weeks. What do you think of them? How do they sound? Can you provide me some more details of your build? Did you follow Jon Marsh's material list or put together your own xover components?

Hey Tryrrthg. I highly recommend the Modula MTM's. Probably the nicest sounding speakers I have listened to, although I must admit my experience is not vast.:) Very clean and precise. I didn't document any of my build but I would be happy to answer any questions or help if I can. I had a little different crossover because I used the Peerless HDS tweeter. Great tweeter by the way! I did follow the rest of Jon's list. Such a cool, talented guy. I would have to look for sure but I think I used Jantzen 15 ga. air core inductors and I didn't use any of the Audiocap Theta caps. I thought I could always upgrade my crossovers to these if I thought it was necessary. Jantzen Crosscaps for the rest I think. I can get you more precise details if you want. Good luck!

Face

The HK is fine for HT, but for 2 ch. listening, I'd recommend something else.

skipf

I sure like the Sunfire amps I've heard. They have plenty of power too. Paired with a theatre grand processor they are excellent.

chadjessie@hotm

The Sunfire amps have always caught my eye but I have never had a chance to hear them. Always been curious about them. I could be completely off here but it seems like I read somewhere that the Emotiva amps are similiar? or almost the same amps? Someone correct me if I am wrong here!

nikolas812

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The Sunfire amps have always caught my eye but I have never had a chance to hear them. Always been curious about them. I could be completely off here but it seems like I read somewhere that the Emotiva amps are similiar? or almost the same amps? Someone correct me if I am wrong here!
__________________

I can't confirm any of this. But I believe what I have been hearing on the forum is that there top of the line DMC-1 processor is the only thing based on a sunfire design. I don't know if that is true or not. But its what I have heard around here.

chadjessie@hotm

Maybe that is what I read. I just remembered reading that there was connection between the two brands but I couldn't remember the details about it. Can anybody else confirm on this?