Please help me find the right power amp for my setup.. Adcom GFA-545 II?

trans am

Hi, this is my 1st post.
Here's the deal. I bought a Onkyo Refurb TX-8522 last year. It can Handle 100 Watts per channel to 2-channels Stereo Power Output through 8 ohm, 20 Hz-20,000Hz. I have acquired a few speakers since then. I had a set of rti6 and rtia1 and a psw111 powered sub and it all worked fine. I could crank as loud as I want and it receiver would stay on. I sold the rti6 and replaced with lsi7 so now i'm mixing 4ohm and 8ohm speakers and receiver is not having it.

What I want to do is run the psw111 and the RtiA1's off the receiver amp. run a powered amp off the tape output(preout) at 4ohms to drive the lsi7's

I'm looking at Adcom GFA-5400 or GFA-545 II or Parasound HCA-1000A. Any suggestions? I like nice crisp sound im a drummer so I like to hear cymbals. I run my treble knob in the higher end. I listen to lots of synthesizers prog rock stuff. some acid jazz. etc.

Thanks.

btw that PSW-111 is a trojan horse! I can't believe that little thing can produce such perfect tight sounding bass. simply amazing sub.

leroyjr1

I have a adcom 545ii in the for sale threads. Perfect condition . I had them pushing some LSI 9 and it pushed them very well.

Asking $200 plus shipping

trans am

anonymouse wrote: »

Why are you running the LSi's and RTi's at the same time?

I like the mid and high range of the rtia1's. What can I say? They sound amazing and I paid $150 for them. I live in a 600sf apartment in new york city. I have the rtia1's set up on each side of my computer monitor.

the layout of my living room goes like this:

one side of the living room I have my computer desk where I run the rtia1's (gaming speakers?) on the other side I have a wall unit that houses all the audio crap and tv..cable box router etc. This side has the lsi7's on each side of my LCD tv. The psw111 is in the farthest corner on the side of the room that has the rtia1's.

SInce the computer desk is offset (left) of the lsi7, the a1's are in the background since they are not really in the main soundstage of my listening area. The lsi7 are the focal point. the a1's paired with the lsi7 make the room produce a wall of sound that is what I wanted to achieve at this price range. I can honestly say out of everyone's apt ive ever been to, nobodys rig sounds anything close to the clarity and dynamic range of my setup. And I only paid around a thousand bucks for everything.

rtia1 $150
psw111$ 300
Lsi7 $400
tx-8522 $200

so back to your question why run rtia1 with lsi7 at the same time? Because they sound fricken amazing together.

lakesailor

There were several changes between the Adcom GFA 545 and GFA 545 Mark 11 principally most of those changes were to make the amp more stable driving lower impedance loads so if you are thinking of going with the GFA 545 Mark 11 for running your 4ohm speakers I think you are definitely heading in the right direction.

It’s a nice amp and will drive your speakers very nicely.

candyliquor35m

trans am wrote: »

I like nice crisp sound im a drummer so I like to hear cymbals. I run my treble knob in the higher end. I listen to lots of synthesizers prog rock stuff. some acid jazz. etc.

welcome to the forum. A man that knows what live music sounds like: loud and crisp.

trans am

thanks everyone. I've narrowed it down to this. Buy leroyjr1's GFA-545 II for $200 plus shipping and wait for it to come to NY or drive an hour to NJ to Affiliated Electronics and buy a like-new GFA-5400 with box/manual and warranty for $280. What would you do?

heiney9

trans am wrote: »

run a powered amp off the tape output(preout) at 4ohms to drive the lsi7's

Not sure what you mean here; the tape out like any other "line level" output is NOT the same as a pre-amp out. This won't work to any satisfactory conclusion. You need a reciever with a set of pre-outs.

If you decide to do it anyways GL and after you damage something maybe then you'll get the proper component.

H9

P.s. the "output" and amp do not determine ohms; the load does. So again I have no idea what you are saying here.

trans am

heiney9 wrote: »

Not sure what you mean here; the tape out like any other "line level" output is NOT the same as a pre-amp out. This won't work to any satisfactory conclusion. You need a reciever with a set of pre-outs.

If you decide to do it anyways GL and after you damage something maybe then you'll get the proper component.

H9

P.s. the "output" and amp do not determine ohms; the load does. So again I have no idea what you are saying here.

i mean I can't run 4ohm and 8ohm speakers on this receiver at the same time It will die. I called onkyo support and they said to use a poweramp with this receiver I simply run off the tape outputs. Now you're telling me I can't?
wtf should I do then? You see the setup I have. how can I get it to work properly to its best potential without having to spend more money? You seem to know what you are talking about. I have absolutely no idea. This is my first time doing this. I love this receiver. can't I make this work somehow? here is the back of the receiver.

heiney9

trans am wrote: »

i mean I can't run 4ohm and 8ohm speakers on this receiver at the same time It will die. I called onkyo support and they said to use a poweramp with this receiver I simply run off the tape outputs. Now you're telling me I can't?
wtf should I do then? You see the setup I have. how can I get it to work properly to its best potential without having to spend more money? You seem to know what you are talking about. I have absolutely no idea. This is my first time doing this.

Well, I'm not sure what "terminology" Onkyo support used but there is a huge difference between "tape out" and "pre-out". What model is it? If you look at the back of the reciever and see a section that has removeable jumpers that says "pre amp out" then that will certainly work. But if not, then I don't see how it will work. Line level outputs like the tape loop don't work, and have never been an option.

H9

leroyjr1

Got a good deal for your situation. I'll give you an adcom 545II amp and 500II pre amp for $285 shipped. I would prefer the 545II over the 5400.

trans am

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Got a good deal for your situation. I give you an adcom 545II amp and 500II pre amp for
$285 shipped. I would prefer the 545II over the 5400.

Damn thats a rad deal. I'm from Minnesota originally. In High School we used to drive to Wisconsin on the weekends to buy fireworks. Can you throw in a sixer of Leines Red? Leroy you see my setup. How would you personally go about all this? (see image in the above post)

heiney9

I see the back of your reciever. There are no pre-outs. I'm not going to advise against what Onkyo told you, but that is a very unorthodox way of doing it. I've sold electronics and been in this hobby a lot of years and the option they suggest has never been a viable long term solution, let alone something I would suggest or even recommend.

I'm not even sure it's going to work at all like you want it to or how a "true" pre amp signal should.

Leroy's offer is excellent but it's not going to solve your problem as the "pre amp" he's including will only run the amp which only has (1) speaker terminal, plus you won't be able to use any of the processing from your Onkyo (if you use any of that). By getting Leroy's "package deal" you'll be eliminating the Onlyo and it's functions completely.

H9

trans am

heiney9 wrote: »

I see the back of your reciever. There are no pre-outs. I'm not going to advise against what Onkyo told you, but that is a very unorthodox way of doing it. I've sold electronics and been in this hobby a lot of years and the option they suggest has never been a viable long term solution, let alone something I would suggest or even recommend.

I'm not even sure it's going to work at all like you want it to or how a "true" pre amp signal should.

Leroy's offer is excellent but it's not going to solve your problem as the "pre amp" he's including will only run the amp which only has (1) speaker terminal, plus you won't be able to use any of the processing from your Onkyo (if you use any of that). By getting Leroy's "package deal" you'll be eliminating the Onlyo and it's functions completely.

H9

crap. so I obviously have to ditch this Onkyo and get a new receiver.

Okay so what is the best bargain 2 channel receiver I can use with a powered sub and has a preout.

Face

The only way you could still use your Oinkyo as a pre is if you use the tape outs AND buy a amp with adjustable gain knobs on the front panel. I agree with H9 though, it's not the right way to do it at all.

Your best bet is to sell the Oink and buy a prepro or receiver with preamp out jacks.

george daniel

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Got a good deal for your situation. I'll give you an adcom 545II amp and 500II pre amp for $285 shipped. I would prefer the 545II over the 5400.

Better jump on that.

trans am

heiney9 wrote: »

I see the back of your reciever. There are no pre-outs. I'm not going to advise against what Onkyo told you, but that is a very unorthodox way of doing it. I've sold electronics and been in this hobby a lot of years and the option they suggest has never been a viable long term solution, let alone something I would suggest or even recommend.

I'm not even sure it's going to work at all like you want it to or how a "true" pre amp signal should.

Leroy's offer is excellent but it's not going to solve your problem as the "pre amp" he's including will only run the amp which only has (1) speaker terminal, plus you won't be able to use any of the processing from your Onkyo (if you use any of that). By getting Leroy's "package deal" you'll be eliminating the Onlyo and it's functions completely.

H9

crap. so I obviously have to ditch this Onkyo and get a new receiver.

Okay so what is the best bargain 2 channel receiver I can use with a psw111 powered sub rtia1 and has a preout for the lsi7?

trans am

heiney9 wrote: »

I see the back of your reciever. There are no pre-outs. I'm not going to advise against what Onkyo told you, but that is a very unorthodox way of doing it. I've sold electronics and been in this hobby a lot of years and the option they suggest has never been a viable long term solution, let alone something I would suggest or even recommend.

I'm not even sure it's going to work at all like you want it to or how a "true" pre amp signal should.

Leroy's offer is excellent but it's not going to solve your problem as the "pre amp" he's including will only run the amp which only has (1) speaker terminal, plus you won't be able to use any of the processing from your Onkyo (if you use any of that). By getting Leroy's "package deal" you'll be eliminating the Onlyo and it's functions completely.

H9

crap. so I obviously have to ditch this Onkyo and get a new receiver.

Okay so what is the best bargain 2 channel receiver I can use with a powered sub and has a preout?

can't I just go with leroy and run tx8522 -> rec tape out -> tape in pre-amp -> power amp? sorry for double post IS Marantz SR4320 decent? It seems to meet the criteria

mmadden28

Well just to provide a quick option for ya, if yer looking for a new AVR.

I'm about to jump on this deal at Vanns (click here - no affil) for a 2 channel source for my Pool/Patio speakers. Its a full 7.1 AVR, but has preout's if you want to use them to go to an external amp. You only need to use 2 of the channels and it has a sub out-You coudl also ignore any of the other advanced or Video features if not needed. Its only $300 shipped - new and with full warr. You certainly could spend a lot more if you really wanted to.

I asked for feedback from the forum on this AVR--see this thread if interested

mmadden28

trans am wrote: »

I love this receiver. can't I make this work somehow?

What about this possibility? Get the Pre and Amp deal from Leroy, run a source (CD, Tuner, iPod) into the preamp. Y-Split the Preamp outs -one set into the existing Onkyo's line inputs for driving the Rti's and sub, and the other set into the 545II for the LSi's.
Maybe??

trans am

thanks for the suggestions. What I really want is the successor to the TX-8522. TX-8555 and has exactly what I need and is not expensive onkyo build quality is solid. .......unless I can find a denon DRA-697CI for cheap? damn lsi7 is going to end up costing me more than I paid for them just to use them.

@mmadden28 thanks for the suggestion but I have my PC, record player, ipod/cd, dvd, and cable box connected right now. I need those inputs. Can't I take my chances do the deal with leroy and run off the tape out until I can find a suitable replacement? I can't really afford to do all of this right now but want to enjoy my lsi7's in the meantime.

heiney9

mmadden28 wrote: »

What about this possibility? Get the Pre and Amp deal from Leroy, run a source (CD, Tuner, iPod) into the preamp. Y-Split the Preamp outs -one set into the existing Onkyo's line inputs for driving the Rti's and sub, and the other set into the 545II for the LSi's.
Maybe??

Because his OnK doesn't have "main in" either and you can't run it that way either So that idea won't work.

The best solution is to get a receiver with pre outs.

Sorry but that's the best and IMO, only solution.

H9

lakesailor

trans am wrote: »

thanks everyone. I've narrowed it down to this. Buy leroyjr1's GFA-545 II for $200 plus shipping and wait for it to come to NY or drive an hour to NJ to Affiliated Electronics and buy a like-new GFA-5400 with box/manual and warranty for $280. What would you do?

The both have their pro’s and con’s. The GFA 5400 is a more modern based mosfet design while the GFA 545 Mark II is old school bi-polar. I have had both and still currently own a few of each in my current collection. For home theatre applications I have found that mosfet based amps are superior; however for music I still prefer the old school.

Given your 4ohm speakers I would likely go with the GFA 545 Mark II. The deal you were offered with the pre-amp added on for an extra $ 85 is a no brainer. That setup will annihilate your current AVR in a big way. Best of luck

trans am

got it. Leroy hit me a PM. lets arrange payment.

trans am

anonymouse wrote: »

I think you will find that properly powered those LSi7's will sound good enough to discontinue use of the RTi's. Get that pre/pro combo and see what it sounds like.

no way. the rti's are my computer gaming / audio editing speakers. I need them right in front of me. THey are perfect size on my desk and aimed 3 feet from me. the adcom combo is basically a done deal. I'm just waiting for his paypal acc info.

leroyjr1

lakesailor wrote: »

The both have their pro’s and con’s. The GFA 5400 is a more modern based mosfet design while the GFA 545 Mark II is old school bi-polar. I have had both and still currently own a few of each in my current collection. For home theatre applications I have found that mosfet based amps are superior; however for music I still prefer the old school.

Given your 4ohm speakers I would likely go with the GFA 545 Mark II. The deal you were offered with the pre-amp added on for an extra $ 85 is a no brainer. That setup will annihilate your current AVR in a big way. Best of luck

He is actually getting the pre amp for $50 shipped. Because the amp was $200 plus $30 for shipping, and the pre is going to cost about $20 to ship so he is getting the pre for $35. great deal IMO )

heiney9

trans am wrote: »

is basically a done deal. I'm just waiting for his paypal acc info.

Just so you are 100% clear; the Onk and Adcom pre and amp won't integrate with each other. No amp or pre will.

Otherwise great choice and enjoy. I've had an original 545 since 1986. Has performed flawlessly. I have an Adcom integrated as well. Basically a 535 amp section with the SLC 505 passive line stage pre in one package which runs my Monitor 5B's in my office/computer rig. Listening right now and what a"killer" sounding system for the size, output, and $$$.

H9

P.s. Listening to Albert Collins and Buddy Guy Live @ The Warner Theater 1993

trans am

leroyjr1 wrote: »

He is actually getting the pre amp for $50 shipped. Because the amp was $200 plus $30 for shipping, and the pre is going to cost about $20 to ship so he is getting the pre for $35. great deal IMO )

Leroy, I have a Fedex acc. you can use send it fedex ground do the whole deal for 250.00 and i'll handle the shipping. I'm really strapped for cash and fedex runs off my amex so I can pay it later. Deal?

trans am

I'm really strapped for cash and fedex runs off my amex so I can pay it later. Sorry to beat you down I'm embarrassed but you figure if its going to cost you $55.00 to ship. and you want $280 let me pay the shipping and you get $250 so instead of only making $230 you get $250 and I spend less $ upfront. I'm still waiting for PM. I just noticed the back of the GTP500 has 4 usable inputs so this is perfect!

dvd
computer
cable box
record player

this is all i really need. I never use the ipod/cd 1/8 in line anyway. And you metioned tuner doesn't work. I can't remember the last time i listened to the radio. such crap on their these days. You'd think a city like New york we would have a decent radio station. Its all money driven corporate crap on the airwaves.

mmadden28

heiney9 wrote: »

Because his OnK doesn't have "main in" either and you can't run it that way either So that idea won't work.

The best solution is to get a receiver with pre outs.

Sorry but that's the best and IMO, only solution.

H9

I understand its not the best solution, but he was looking for something to help him absolutely keep his Onk in the mix (for some reason). I'm not familiar with the term "Main in"-what is that?
So he can't run the preamp outputs in to the CD line in?

heiney9

mmadden28 wrote: »

I understand its not the best solution, but he was looking for something to help him absolutely keep his Onk in the mix (for some reason). I'm not familiar with the term "Main in"-what is that?
So he can't run the preamp outputs in to the CD line in?

Nope.

Pre out means the unit is capable of sending a typical "pre amp signal" to an external amp (by passing the pre amplifier section in the unit)

Main in is the opposite meaning you can "plug" the inputs of an external amp into the unit and use the "pre amp" section in the unit (bypassing the internal amp)

These are always "capped" with removable jumpers which work like the jumpers on bi ampable speakers.

The signals that are used for typical line levels (cd, tape, aux, video, etc) don't have anywhere close to the same value as the input or output that the pre in or main out has (they are not compatible). It causes problems and in some cases serious problems as you could overload the amp or send a dangerous "spike" of voltage or high pitched sound to your speakers and damage either or both.

H9

trans am

Okay deal is done. I paid him. I can sell the onkyo or give it as a gift and use the preamps 4 inputs for everything else. here's my question since the amp only has 1 stereo terminal, could I run the psw111 of the the amp and daisy chain the lsi7 to the extra terminals on the subwoofer for now? or is that ridiculous? is there a way I can split the terminal on the amp so I can still have a sub?