Trying to figure out what type of amplification I need for M70s

MrGlobe

Hello,


After getting a pair of Monitor 70s recently, I decided that I need to now get some more powerful amplification. I am looking at Adcom/Carver amps, and I have a few questions.

Monitor 70
Power Rating: 20 - 275 w/channel
Frequency Response: 30Hz - 25kHz
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 90 dB

I currently have a HarmonKardon AVR 140

How many watts should I look for to get the most out of the M70s? Is there going to be a difference between newer and older amps? I have looked around online and I believe the AVR 140 has the preouts required for external amplification, am I correct? Are there any other brands you would suggest?

I am planning on getting a 2 channel amp, to power my mains, and continuing to power the rest of my 6.1 setup with the H/K.

Thanks in advance for whatever help you can provide,

Globe

Knucklehead

cant tell if you have pre-outs....man my eyes are bad!

kawizx9r

I just checked out your AVR, and unless I screwed something up from now to when I googled it I didn't see a set or preamp outputs on your receiver so you'll need to upgrade that to one that does.

Also wanted to add, no external amplifier is the same. It'll be a significant upgrade compared to your receiver, but just keep in mind no amp sounds the same. One amp that may put out 100wpc might sound better or even more powerful than another amp that puts out 200wpc and so forth.

That's the great thing about this hobby, you cycle through so much gear just to find what satisfies your tastes

WilliamM2

Knucklehead wrote: »

cant tell if you have pre-outs....man my eyes are bad!

Your eyes are OK. There are no pre outs on that model.

MrGlobe

oh man, I think I mistook the sub pre out for an amp pre out. I are needing to read gooder.

Anyways, that means things will be alot more expensive. I will start looking at receivers with pre outs, unless someone has a suggestion that costs less than $500 to better power my M70s.

Thanks!

kawizx9r

Refurb. Harman Kardon 254 + a used Adcom amplifier and you're well within that price range
Just a suggestion of course........and that's probably one of the cheaper ones too. Of course more can be had for $500 if you're willing to search, and wait. Keep an eye out on CL, there are always good deals out there.

wutadumsn23

Depending on what you need the AVR to do, is going to determine which one you should get (wow that seems very obvious going back and reading it again, lol). Seriously though if you don't need all the bells and whistles of a newer AVR (ex. HD codecs, upscaling, lots of HDMI in/outs) you should be able to find a decent one around your price range. The one Freddy (kawizx9r) recommended looks good to me, although I am not overly familiar with HK's. If you need/want the newer goodies I would suggest looking into Onkyo's 8XX series, specifically the TX-SR806, it can be had for a little over budget of $599 with no tax and free shipping from Newegg.com. I may be a little biased since I enjoy mine so much, but also HK, Pioneer, Yamaha are also brands to consider. The SC-05 and SC-07 have been getting a lot of praise as of late, but they are a bit on the pricey side, around $1,000 new. I have heard reports of them going for around $700 used/refurb but I wasn't able to Google any. Good luck.

-Jeff

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120109&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Receivers-_-Onkyo-_-82120109 link to the 806 on Newegg