Multi channel amp what's good what's not?

[disneyjoe7]

Looking for some idea what's good what's better. What I can't afford stuff. I don't have any problem buying used so factor that in the price.

Looking at multi channel amps 7 channel I think would be best, but I think a 5 channel would work also. This amp will power my RTi150's front speakers and be bi-amping them so I think 200 wpc would be fine.

Looking at these amps what should be removed or reprioritized?


Sherbourn 2100a

B & K 200.7

Outlaw 770

???

Or what order would you put these in?

Edited for BTW

BTW I posted in 2 channel as my HT does double duty.

[amulford]

Shame you have a Sunfire aversion. Clean sound, gobs of power (truly doubles when impedance drops), and built like a tank.

FWIW - Sunfire Amplifiers (http://www.sunfire.com/amp.htm)

You can find them pre owned.

Anthony

[disneyjoe7]

Originally posted by amulford
Shame you have a Sunfire aversion. Clean sound, gobs of power (truly doubles when impedance drops), and built like a tank.

FWIW - Sunfire Amplifiers (http://www.sunfire.com/amp.htm)

You can find them pre owned.

Anthony


Anthony,

Do you own a SunFire amp? If so what did you compared it to?

[amulford]

I have an Ultimate receiver, which uses the same technology. I have compared them to Rotel, Parasound, and Denon (to name a few).

I liked the receiver because of the 7 channels driven, 200 WPC all driven at 8 ohms. It was very well reviewed, and sounded very nice at this Hi Fi shop.

I did the comparisons after, but I liked the simplicity of one quality component versus having to go out and spend on individual pieces.

Don't get me wrong, Sunfire ain't the end all. And my opinion is subjective. But the guy who heads this company has had an outstanding reputation for quality audio component design for well over thirty five years, through three different companies. Guy named Bob Carver, if you've ever heard of him.

Edit: I am working on an aquisition, and I WILL be going Sunfire for an amp. The Stereo Signature, to be exact.

[disneyjoe7]

Well to tell you the truth, back in the early 80's I ran across a Bob Carver amp. This was the East Side of Providence Rhode Island, around Brown University which had some of the best stereo store I've been in. I can say from my first impression of this new amp wasn't good, and haven't really looked at them again.

[outlander]

Joe,
Take a look at what Adcom has to offer. I’ve owned the GFA-555II *(200W p/c X 2) for ~14 years and love it. Tons of clean power and plenty of head room. I’m looking into a Adcom 200W X 3 to complete the surround sound setup. But they also make 100W and 200W X 5 amps that you may be interested in. Take a look on ebay for Adcon auctions.
O

[dave shepard]

I have the Sherbourn and for the money spent I am happy with it. It is also built like a tank the sound has no signs of coloration and drives my system very well with no strain at high volumes. As with anything there is always something better but for the money you can't go wrong especally if your happy with your current sound at regular volumes the sound with the Sherbourn will be the same with the ability to go to a higher volume without distortion or clipping, just make sure what ever amp you choose put in a dedicated outlet for the current draw or you could choke the amp and it will not perform at it's full potential.

Dave

[Emlyn]

Of the three above, I'd recommend a B&K. If you can find one of the 7270 Series II amps on the used market, I'd suggest that rather than the newer model because they're available much cheaper and have identical internal components except for the balanced connectors on the newer amp. I used one of the B&K amps to biamp my RTi150s. It had more than enough power. It does run hot by design.

I think you have the order above right in terms of features, cosmetics, and performance. I wouldn't want to get the Sherbourn myself. It sounds cool to have a 115 lb amp, but may not be when it comes time to move it around. Sherbourne also recommends a separate 20 amp circuit to drive a set of 4 ohm speakers and it comes standard with two power cords.

The Outlaw is probably the best value.

In real world use, I don't think you'd be able to tell much of a difference in performance with any of the three amps when used with RTi speakers, so I'd pick one based on price, then appearance, then features. A newer B&K or the Sherbourne have balanced connectors, which may be an issue at some point if you ever want to locate your amp away from your preamp.

My own preference now is to use one lower power 5 channel amp for center and surrounds and one higher power, higher quality, 2 channel amp for the mains instead of a single 7 channel amp.

[disneyjoe7]

Originally posted by Emlyn

My own preference now is to use one lower power 5 channel amp for center and surrounds and one higher power, higher quality, 2 channel amp for the mains instead of a single 7 channel amp.


Using the same amp manufacture? You're not having any trouble with voice matching being that different watts levels to the front 3. Going from say 110w X 7 it's hard to vision different wattage level in the same HT setup.

[disneyjoe7]

If I would pull the trigger on a Parasound HCA-3500 doing wonders for my 2 channel, what would happen to my HT setup using the Onk for the other 3 speakers (using 5.1 only)

[Emlyn]

Originally posted by disneyjoe7
Using the same amp manufacture? You're not having any trouble with voice matching being that different watts levels to the front 3. Going from say 110w X 7 it's hard to vision different wattage level in the same HT setup.

I do use the same manufacturer's amps now, but haven't always. With my RTi series speakers, I used a Rotel five channel amp and a Denon receiver with the Rotel biamping RTi150s and the Denon running the center four rear surrounds.

I no longer use RTis, but have a pair of SDA 1Cs as mains and LSi series speakers for the rest of the home theater. The SDAs with the new replacement tweeter voice match pretty will with LSis. I'm not using a receiver any more because I have a separate processor, but use a Parasound A21 amp for the mains and a Parasound A52 for the rest of the speakers. The A52 has half the rated output per channel of the A21. But, the LSiC and LSiFX are much less demanding speakers than the LSi15s or SDAs I've used and don't need the power that a Parasound A51 amp would put out. If I was using the same speakers for center and surrounds as for the mains, I'd probably have picked the A51 amp. It also costs twice as much though. For home theater, this setup sounds better than when I was using a seven channel B&K amp. It's better for two channel music as well.

I would think that a Parasound HCA-3500 amp would be a better choice than the ones in the poll if you still want to make use of your receiver's internal amp. This would give you more than enough power to bring out the best in your RTi150s in a more cost-effective way while losing nothing for home theater.

[Emlyn]

Oh yeah! 85 lbs of Parasound...no those aren't my feet. This one just sold on Audiogon for around $1100.

[disneyjoe7]

Emlyn,

Thanks for the reply, due to this thread I have rethink the whole multi channel amp thing.

So for my wallet smaller steps but better steps.

A tube preamp or a 2 channel amp to power the RTi150's (which I happy right now with). Then down the road buy another amp to redo the other speakers in HT mode.

[McLoki]

I can whole heartedly endorse Cinepro Amps. Expensive to purchase new, but used you can get some good deals. (6 channel)

Opus has heard it as well and I think was similarly impressed. I have not compared it to many high end amps. (Yamaha M-85, Onkyo AVR, older Adcom products.)

It does sound really nice though...

Michael

[tntvt]

I use all B&k and I have nothing but good things to say.:D

[Sparky]

Hey DisneyJoe7,
I was asking the same questions a few months ago when I was looking for a good amp for my system (see signature below). I ended up with the Sherbourn and have no regrets. I believe there is no better 7 channel amp out there for the money.

I bi-amped the 150s to give me 400 wpc which is plenty to make them sing effortlessly. Very clean power, clean design, runs cool with no fan and great tech support if needed.

There have been a couple negative comments about the 7/2100A but with all due respect to the poster, for me they were not drawbacks.

Yes... it is heavy but how often will you be lifting or moving it once you have it in place and setup.

Yes... you need a sepate 20 amp circuit for 2 power cords but to me that again is not a drawback. You should have your amp on a separate circuit anyway.

If your budget is tight and are looking to save a few $$$, the Outlaw is a great value. But I don't believe it has the clean, reserve power that the Sherbourn has.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Sparky

[disneyjoe7]

I like the fact you like Sherbourn amp 2100a it looks really good.

I changed my upgrade idea for 2 channel amp so if I need the other speakers to work like the front speakers I will buy another amp for those other speakers. I like my Onk receiver so I don't think a 2 channel amp will mess up my HT.