What Brand of amps tend to be Warm

george daniel · May 2011

toob amps are kinda warm,,some are warmer than others,,,,,others are just cool.

jbooker82 · May 2011

I just didnt want to be buying someone elses problems.

finfan · June 2011

txcoastal1 wrote: »

A new 7201 is $2000-$2600...minor repairs could be as little as 45 and major 200 you'll still be ahead...my .02

Where did you see the Sunfire 7201 for $2000? The only online dealer I saw had it for $3200.

gp4jesus · June 2011

Fongolio wrote: »

...in the vintage category is Hafler amps sound warm as well.

Which model Hafler? I have XL280s, had DH200s. I find the 280s warmer than the 200s. Both 'cold' compared to a Belles 1.

The Belles, while rated at a mere 80 WPC @ 8ohms, will deliver 30 ampers peak!! It makes my 'A7s, in PrazVT's words, "pound!"

When considering used gear, especially the vintage stuff, check DC offset. One of my amp's DC offset measures 1 volt*! [BAD!!] Under 15 mv is good. If any channel measures at or above 50mv, consider having a repair tech look at it.
* front end needs new matched transistors

I invite comment for which DC offset measurement method is correct: shorted or open inputs.

I've read Rotel reviews claiming some degree of the "warmth" you seek.

cheers

PS: PrazVT, check my sig. we have identical speaker complements

love2listen · June 2011

Monster Jam wrote: »

My research on Sunfire amps (and the one Sunfire amp I own) indicate a 10 Year shelf life for capacitors - particularly the filter caps. Then expect to pay between $150-$200 for repairs.

Perhaps not every Sunfire, but check it out online - you'd be surprised.

Monster Jam,
Which Sunfire do you own?

Monster Jam · June 2011

19" Sunfire Cinema Grand 200x5
Manufactured: 1999

Living in the desert, a cool-running amplifier was very attractive, as is an efficient one for power consumption purposes, so Sunfire was high on my list. But I think I can say with a degree of certainty that I am no TRUE audiophile. Yes, the amp makes the audio sound better - thats obvious. But I have doubts as to whether I would be able to tell the difference between this Sunfire, a brand new Sunfire, a B&K, Parasound, or an Emotiva when any of these are hooked up to the same speakers and the same source. So in essence, anything I spent over and above the cheapest option meant I paid too much. But thats just me - to each their own.

Off Topic (somewhat) - I've had the amp for, oh, about 2 months since its caps have been replaced, and I can say this about the difference: It makes good sources sound better and it makes poor sources sound worse. That includes poorly mixed multi-channel recordings in movies as well. As I've stated in the movie/music thread, Matrix on Blu-Ray was nearly unbearable. I thought my settings were jacked up - thats how bad it was.

jbooker82 · August 2011

How are the Carver TFM series of amplifiers. I know they are older but are they or would they be a good match for a pair of RTI A7's?

PrazVT · August 2011

PS: PrazVT, check my sig. we have identical speaker complements

Nice - same taste I guess lol. I think if I'd learned all that I have in the last year, up front before spending a penny, I may have ponied up for a single 5ch amp (ie. Parasound A51) instead of 3 amps. But I guess power-wise, they're pushing similar amounts (A21 - 250w, 60A, NC2250 - 250w 45A, NC2125 - 400W mono, 35A).

I've never heard a Carver, Sunfire or Rotel amp - definitely curious about those. I may get my dad one for his system for xmas to check it out.

Joe08867 · August 2011

Carver's are better to listen to first. Not everyone likes the Carver sound. I know they work well with SDA's but I have never heard them with any of the newer Polk Speakers.

stuwee · August 2011

Vintage SAE 2600's or 2400's, nice tone, not sure what you consider warmth in sound, but SAE's have the power and the LOOK, plus many still going strong 20+ years on

soundfreak1 · August 2011

1 more for parasound 90 vintage hca 1200 warm and strong.

TORO3 (TORI3) · August 2011

finfan wrote: »

Where did you see the Sunfire 7201 for $2000? The only online dealer I saw had it for $3200.

Never heard the 7201, but was able to get the Sunfire Cinema Seven 17" off ebay for, if I remember correctly, $1100. I've had this amp for more than a year and it's been great in my HT. Personally, I like the style of the old Sunfire's, but I sure would like to hear a 7201.

Finally, if you do your research and consistently look on A-Gon and ebay, you can find pretty sweet deals on some old Conrad Johnson amps, which are also very warm. I was able to snag a MF2300 for $500 out of Tucson for my 2-Channel and really haven't looked back.

Good luck in your journey!

niente · August 2011

There have been a couple Parasound 5250's lately on Ebay at your 1500 #

Great sounding amp !

As for age - i still regularly use my Sansui separates -- from the late 70's !- no problems ever

Systems · August 2011

jbooker82...i am using two UPA-1,s with a H/K3490..Polk M70's..i feel they are on the warm side..great sound too.I had a Carver back in the 90's and i would say they are close in sound too it.

ViperZ · August 2011

Rotel, anything from vintage to modern are very warm. Vintage NAD are also warm. I also find vintage H/K to be on the warm side (Citation 24 as an example).

20hz · August 2011

My friend has had many adcoms the 535 & 555 so I got a gfa-5300 it ran warm turns out that all MOSFET amps run warm and I think all the adcoms with 4#'s on the part # are the newer "mosfet series" amps
SO
The older ones are not mosfet 353,545,555 etc .
I cant be 100% sure since I only has one adcom but regardless stick tp the older series (535,545,555) .
and of coarse any PURE CLASS A WILL RUN WARM , or a tube amp .

jbooker82 · August 2011

Well I don't need a super warm amp. Just one that will be a good match to the rti a series. I still want good detailed highs for HT. Kind a give em a more balanced sound.

jbooker82 · August 2011

Well I just bought a Carver A-753x. 250w x 3 in to 8 ohm. I dont feel my Onkyo TX NR808 is lacking but have been curiouse to see how the RTI A 7's and CSI A4's will sound with some umph behind them. Got to start some where so i guess I will start here.

cfrizz · August 2011

Congrats JB! Make sure you come back and tell us what you think.

gp4jesus · August 2011

20hz wrote: »

My friend has had many adcoms the 535 & 555 so I got a gfa-5300 it ran warm turns out that all MOSFET amps run warm...

...of course any PURE CLASS A WILL RUN WARM , or a tube amp .

Unless I'm missing something, doesn't the concept of "warm" in recent posts refer to a sound characteristic, not temperature? See post #35.

BTW: my Haf XL280s idle warmer than my Belles' under a "full head of steam*," but "sound" colder.

* connected to 8 ohms

cheers tony

dpowell · August 2011

+1 on Parasound. Stay away from Adcom if you are looking for warm.

tonyb · August 2011

B&K is just on the warm side of neutral and would be my vote.

cristo · August 2011

george daniel wrote: »

toob amps are kinda warm,,some are warmer than others,,,,,others are just cool.

Any tube amp with 250 wpc x 5 is going to be VERY warm.
You might not need to run the heat in your listening room in the winter.
Might not be so good in the summer, especially if you don't have a/c in the house like me.

20hz · August 2011

gp4jesus wrote: »

Unless I'm missing something, doesn't the concept of "warm" in recent posts refer to a sound characteristic, not temperature? See post #35.

BTW: my Haf XL280s idle warmer than my Belles' under a "full head of steam*," but "sound" colder.

* connected to 8 ohms

cheers tony

my bad

I had amps that sound "warm" but always been uneasy if the amp was physically very warm to touch so I got rid of them .
I got rid of my adcom gfa5300 but that amp sounded very nice , I used it as referance for sound quality , not to strong on the power side .
I wanted to compare it to a older adcom 545 (never did) ..

Tony M · August 2011

Sunfires are useually used to drive low impedence speakers and there for pass a ton more current through them. I guess the more they're used , the more breakdowns are bound to happen. If you can get one cheap enough to off-set a 350.00 +shipping both way bill, if damage helps AND it still comes way below the original price by even below half, then It,t worth a chance to me.

I bought a 4000.00 sunfire Sig 600x2 for 1300. I think. a couple years ago or more. ( thanks for pushing me "Nooshinjohn..

), Well it shut down 3 months later in the right channel. 300. total that time and they mailed back and it arrived Christmas EVE...

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: :cool:

It's been working fine except the gauge in the window stoped working. the light comes on in there and I'm ok with that for now for sure. The Amp powered my SDA-SRS2's for many , many hours since that Rchannel fix. Dead silence and power out the A** if need be with very little heat from the unit.

The sound is neutral to warn but it has clarity and sense of liveness to my CDs and now records wonce in a while. I will now test the 600x2 with my Magnapan 2.5R's maybe tomorrow. I might have to switch output to the other output for planer speaker instead of cone bases like I've used for years. It will be interesting for sure! I was going to put in my sdaCRS+'s but they're a little buried in the back and the Maggies were up from sort-of.

They do look great beside those RT3000p's too. Reminisent of my old SRS2's grills black-out personality properties. I have the tweeter on the inside for now, and I'm going right now to read up on placement directions

:cool:

Sorry for the rant.

Monster Jam wrote: »

Thats about what I paid for mine after shipping. Upon discovering the noise on all channels, I contacted the seller and he immediately refunded the amount of the estimated repair charge. I got it back and now and no problems; I have a pretty good local electronics repair shop to lean on. But early on in this crisis there was angst. If I could have gone back in time, I would have bought an Emotiva product instead of the used Sunfire. Heck, I'd still like to buy an Emotiva XPA-5 so I can side by side it against the Sunfire.

In response to Heiney's comment - I cant answer the question. I'd like to believe that Sunfire - a VERY highly respected company, uses superior internal components, but I don't know. I just know my singular experience and my research - which is not comprehensive by any stretch.

And in full disclosure, the Sunfire amp I have is 12 years old, not 10.

What Brand of amps tend to be Warm

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