Amplifier

So I purchased the adorama deal for 7 lsim. I have a Yamaha Rx-a3020 and was wondering what external amp you might recommend to drive the 707 and 706 center.
«13

Comments

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Budget makes a UUUGE difference, as does whether u are willing to purchase used...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Used or new only?
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    2 channel or 3 channel?
    Home Theater
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    2 Channel
    Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+

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    Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
    Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin B)
  • Either or. Do I need a ton of power to the 706? I would think 707. There is a guy local selling some parasound hca 1500 for 350.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited September 2017
    HCA-1500 is a good amp, plenty of current. Price is in line as well, if in excellent condition.
    Post edited by motorhead43026 on
    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • Oldschool59
    Oldschool59 Posts: 67
    edited September 2017
    @jmeitz13, I found your thread on the very same issue I am dealing with right now. If you don't mind Sir, so I don't have to start a thread on the same dilemma that I'm dealing with. I am leaning towards a Parasound amp "new" their 2250v2. Like You my upgrade will most probably be Yamaha A2070 or the A1070 a close 2nd is the Onkyo RZ810, and I may go with the Onkyo cause I really don't need a 9.2 unit apartment life has it's limits, alone with the 2250v2 and let AVR drive the surrounds. I want 200+ to drive the L/R and the Parasound seems to fit the bill at a nice price. Your thoughts on the Parasound amp and from the other members would be greatly appreciated. Oh my mains for now are M70'll's.
    One more thing would going with a 200+ watt be over kill? After all it's not like the M70'll's are hard to drive and surely not high-end either. I like them a lot always have with the M7O's to me nice value for not a lot of coin. But with that said I have been eyeballing a pair of Martin Logan 40's for quite some time but will have to coin away a little for a pair.

    PS. the reason I crashed your thread is I see you have some ole timers hanging out here, (Dskip, rooftop59, and others who I have been stalking so to speak well cause they pretty damn good with tips, and well just good with advice. Again thank you jmeitz13!
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    Hi Oldschool, welcome to Club Polk!

    I had a Parasound 1500A amp 205wpc 2 channel amp, and I can tell you to this day, it was the biggest eye opening experience that I have had in this hobby.

    Having that much power is what allows the speakers to operate to their full potential because the power is always available to them when needed.

    What that translates into is better, bass, vocals, instrumentation, and clarity across the board. This is especially true at lower volume.

    There really is no such thing as overkill when it comes to powering when it applies to you speakers, unless you get carried with the volume knob. This is true with/without an amp. It is better to have the power and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

    More speakers get wrecked by turning up the volume on a receiver trying to hear all of the tiny details and the receiver just can't handle the demand. You don't have that problem with a separate amp driving your speakers.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    @Oldschool59 that parasound is an excellent choice, and will make your M70s sing! I would mate it with the yamaha rx-a1070, you don't need the extra channels or power of the 2070 with your external amp, and I would avoid Onkyo at this point.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • Oldschool59
    Oldschool59 Posts: 67
    edited September 2017
    @cfrizz, A very kind thank you for the shutout and the very warm welcome. Coming from You means alot! Yes I found many of your post and threads, and enjoy reading them. If I may say your " common sense, and knowledge" is refreshing to read on your posts and threads.
    I have read some of your post where you have said to others to 'stay put' with what they have.
    A very Big Thank You! I am honored that you took the time to comment on my post. You have been in my top 5 to follow since I've been lurking around in here for years.
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    ^^ Cathy is the one who stands out most in my memory as providing me with sound (pun intended) advice on the benefits to be realized from separates. Since I took the plunge into separates, I haven't looked back. One of the single most noticeable improvements I made in my home theater over the years, and there have been quite a few!

    A long overdue thank you Cathy.

    And welcome and best of luck @jmeitz13 and @Oldschool59

    -Al
  • @rooftop59 , yeah I feel the vibes on the Onkyo and having been brunt before by one it is why I have been checking out the Yammy. That A1070 is in my budget. I mention the A2070 cause will as you know going up the food chain with AVR's, especially Yamaha, they add more premium chips for all channels, but I feel your right about the A1070. Since I will add the 2250v2, cause I love a nice two channel for music. Don't get me wrong HT is awesome too. When I bought MADMAX Fury Road it was pre- Atmos I was blown away! That movie convince me that Atmos and DTS-X wasn't just a gimmick to us Enthusiast to spend more money on.
  • Oldschool59
    Oldschool59 Posts: 67
    edited September 2017
    scubalab wrote: »
    ^^ Cathy is the one who stands out most in my memory as providing me with sound (pun intended) advice on the benefits to be realized from separates. Since I took the plunge into separates, I haven't looked back. One of the single most noticeable improvements I made in my home theater over the years, and there have been quite a few!

    A long overdue thank you Cathy.

    And welcome and best of luck @jmeitz13 and @Oldschool59

    -Al

    @scubalab, +10 for sure with "Cathy" I have lurked in threads, where umm how can I put this? Where the place was about to blowup and she would jump in, bring everyone back down from that pink cloud. I have been in this for many years audio/video and have spent on amps especially where even though they where a good value for the coin spent I didn't get the value. So this is why I posted in "jmeitz13" thread he asked the right questions and he is getting great advice from the ole timers on here. Thank You! Sir, for the warm welcome!
  • @jmeitz13, I found your thread on the very same issue I am dealing with right now. If you don't mind Sir, so I don't have to start a thread on the same dilemma that I'm dealing with. I am leaning towards a Parasound amp "new" their 2250v2. Like You my upgrade will most probably be Yamaha A2070 or the A1070 a close 2nd is the Onkyo RZ810, and I may go with the Onkyo cause I really don't need a 9.2 unit apartment life has it's limits, alone with the 2250v2 and let AVR drive the surrounds. I want 200+ to drive the L/R and the Parasound seems to fit the bill at a nice price. Your thoughts on the Parasound amp and from the other members would be greatly appreciated. Oh my mains for now are M70'll's.
    One more thing would going with a 200+ watt be over kill? After all it's not like the M70'll's are hard to drive and surely not high-end either. I like them a lot always have with the M7O's to me nice value for not a lot of coin. But with that said I have been eyeballing a pair of Martin Logan 40's for quite some time but will have to coin away a little for a pair.

    PS. the reason I crashed your thread is I see you have some ole timers hanging out here, (Dskip, rooftop59, and others who I have been stalking so to speak well cause they pretty damn good with tips, and well just good with advice. Again thank you jmeitz13!

    NP, this helps me out as I have been out of the theater loop for some time. Looking for amps is new to me, I have always just bought a receiver as that’s usually sufficient for my rt55i speaker setup. Now since I upped it to lsim707, I need to step my game up without breaking the bank.

  • jmeitz13 wrote: »
    @jmeitz13, I found your thread on the very same issue I am dealing with right now. If you don't mind Sir, so I don't have to start a thread on the same dilemma that I'm dealing with. I am leaning towards a Parasound amp "new" their 2250v2. Like You my upgrade will most probably be Yamaha A2070 or the A1070 a close 2nd is the Onkyo RZ810, and I may go with the Onkyo cause I really don't need a 9.2 unit apartment life has it's limits, alone with the 2250v2 and let AVR drive the surrounds. I want 200+ to drive the L/R and the Parasound seems to fit the bill at a nice price. Your thoughts on the Parasound amp and from the other members would be greatly appreciated. Oh my mains for now are M70'll's.
    One more thing would going with a 200+ watt be over kill? After all it's not like the M70'll's are hard to drive and surely not high-end either. I like them a lot always have with the M7O's to me nice value for not a lot of coin. But with that said I have been eyeballing a pair of Martin Logan 40's for quite some time but will have to coin away a little for a pair.

    PS. the reason I crashed your thread is I see you have some ole timers hanging out here, (Dskip, rooftop59, and others who I have been stalking so to speak well cause they pretty damn good with tips, and well just good with advice. Again thank you jmeitz13!

    NP, this helps me out as I have been out of the theater loop for some time. Looking for amps is new to me, I have always just bought a receiver as that’s usually sufficient for my rt55i speaker setup. Now since I upped it to lsim707, I need to step my game up without breaking the bank.

    Thank you!. Really thanks, no doubt you want an amp for them 707's. That is the main reason for me coming on your thread Sir. I will upgrade my mains in the near future if Polk decides to throw them on sale again like they did a few months back 705's are on my list. The Martin Logan 40's are 1st, the only thing that may keep me from going with a pair of Martin Logan's, is service and I say that with regards cause Martin Logan's are fine and well respected. Having had the LSi's before and being a Polk fan for decades Polks Audio service has been outstanding. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have put in a call to get service and I never had to pay a dime!
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Here ya go, if I had the coin and the need for a big ole amp this would be the one I would buy:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parasound-HCA-1500A-High-Current-Power-THX-Amplifier-2-Channel-Stereo/192296812959
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • Funny, that was my local guy asking 350 for them and raised his prices for eBay.
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited September 2017
    @cfrizz, A very kind thank you for the shutout and the very warm welcome. Coming from You means alot! Yes I found many of your post and threads, and enjoy reading them. If I may say your " common sense, and knowledge" is refreshing to read on your posts and threads.
    I have read some of your post where you have said to others to 'stay put' with what they have.
    A very Big Thank You! I am honored that you took the time to comment on my post. You have been in my top 5 to follow since I've been lurking around in here for years.
    scubalab wrote: »
    ^^ Cathy is the one who stands out most in my memory as providing me with sound (pun intended) advice on the benefits to be realized from separates. Since I took the plunge into separates, I haven't looked back. One of the single most noticeable improvements I made in my home theater over the years, and there have been quite a few!

    A long overdue thank you Cathy.

    And welcome and best of luck @jmeitz13 and @Oldschool59

    -Al

    Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the kind words and am grateful my advice helped you along the way in this very subjective hobby.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • I have him down to 325, trying for 300 for the 1500. Just light smudges on it and 8yrs old. Would my receiver be enough power for the 706 center. He has other parasound amps for sale 750a for 100.
  • Yes. You can get one for under $200.
    FestYboy wrote: »
    NAD 2400

  • jmeitz13 wrote: »
    Funny, that was my local guy asking 350 for them and raised his prices for eBay.

    Lol...he realized what he has after all. If I may ask when you get all your gear set-up and had time with a really good sit down with your 707's I would luv to hear your thoughts on them fine towers. If I could afforded a pair of 707's I believe I would have a dust rag and some furniture shine next to them night and day and dare speck of dust to settle. I would be like in the middle of night coming back from the bathroom with a flashlight just to check to make sure no one put a fingerprint on them.
  • jmeitz13 wrote: »
    Funny, that was my local guy asking 350 for them and raised his prices for eBay.

    Lol...he realized what he has after all. If I may ask when you get all your gear set-up and had time with a really good sit down with your 707's I would luv to hear your thoughts on them fine towers. If I could afforded a pair of 707's I believe I would have a dust rag and some furniture shine next to them night and day and dare speck of dust to settle. I would be like in the middle of night coming back from the bathroom with a flashlight just to check to make sure no one put a fingerprint on them.

    What’s sad is that my theater room get rarely used. I just bought 4K in seating and 4k in Audio upgrades and still won’t get used as much as it should.

  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    ROTFLOL! I can definitely relate, every time I walk past my speakers I look for dust. If I see any, I run for my duster!
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • So the question lies, spend an extra 100 bucks for a parasound 750a, run mono to center or just use receiver?
  • jmeitz13 wrote: »
    So the question lies, spend an extra 100 bucks for a parasound 750a, run mono to center or just use receiver?

    The more stuff you can put on its own amp the better IMHO, especially your front 3 (Left, Right, Center). For 100, I'd buy it.

    Then I'd leave your surrounds (any and all of them) off your AVR. Should be ok.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • Oldschool59
    Oldschool59 Posts: 67
    edited September 2017
    jmeitz13 wrote: »
    So the question lies, spend an extra 100 bucks for a parasound 750a, run mono to center or just use receiver?

    This me just guessing, but I speaking for myself believe the A3070 should be good enough just to run the center. Unless your room is big and your sitting 15 or move feet away from your HDTV. Correct me if I'm wrong the A3070 is 140 watt output? the power supply in it isn't shabby at all and has nice size caps, after all it is Yamahas flagship. I am sorry, jmeitz13.. A3020.. still that unit is a flagship..
  • cfrizz wrote: »
    ROTFLOL! I can definitely relate, every time I walk past my speakers I look for dust. If I see any, I run for my duster!

    Miss Cathy,...lol..yep! After all the year's that has passed and all the gear I have had you would think I would be over my compulsive behavior with this Hobby. There is No help for me!.lol.