Using two amplifiers

[TDIMike]

A lot of you guys I've noticed utilize not just one, but two amplifiers in your system. What is the advantage to doing this? The amplifier I'm currently considering (due to price among my need for only 2 channels, and I've been a fan of my receiver) is the Marantz MM7025. That amplifier has 140 watts per channel, which should be good for my Motion 40s, but the amp isn't SO expensive that two would be unreasonable.

Would the plan be to bi-amp each speaker with the individual amplifier? I know the Electrostats are typically more power hungry than my Motions, but ML says the Motions can take up to 300 watts. Is it ideal to get as close to that 300 watts as possible?

I know the "what amp should I get" is beat to death, so I won't ask that. But I will ask is, typically what parameters are you guys looking at (before you even listen to them) to determine your final list of amps that you audition? My budget is pretty tight, I'm looking to stay under a grand for a two channel amplifier. I'm having a fairly difficult time finding brands that sell products in my range.

 

[twich54]

My budget is pretty tight, I'm looking to stay under a grand for a two channel amplifier. I'm having a fairly difficult time finding brands that sell products in my range.

given those parameters, don't even waste your time trying to configure a respectable two amp configuration.....even at a used pprice. Now for a 'two channel' single chassis amp, used, if you can find a Aragon 8008 (pre Klipsch) grab it for it's one of the BEST bargin SS amps made in the last twenty years.

 

[TDIMike]

given those parameters, don't even waste your time trying to configure a respectable two amp configuration.....even at a used pprice. Now for a 'two channel' single chassis amp, used, if you can find a Aragon 8008 (pre Klipsch) grab it for it's one of the BEST bargin SS amps made in the last twenty years.

That is about what I figured. Thanks for the heads up. I dug around a little and it seems that amp is about 2 grand even used.

 

[eknuds01]

Some people may do the following:

Active or passive bi-amping where one amp hits the woofers and the another hits the panel.

Some people may just use two dedicated amps - one for each speaker.

In your case, given the budget, go buy the best SS amp you can afford. The speakers you have likely don't have to big impedance swings that some of the other ML speakers exhibit.

Then I'd save up for another amp (maybe the same you are going to get now) and you can have one amp per speaker, OR you can go with two different amps: one for the high frequency content and one for the lower frequency. The potential snag here is that you need to 'balance' the amps some how, maybe with an attenuator since the gains on the amps will be different.

Lastly you can simply just "buy" amp vs "bi-amp" --> simply continue to upgrade the lone SS amp you have you might be very, very pleased with the results here (also less wires, less complicated set up, etc).

I think you will see a very nice improvement when you get a beefy SS amp in there to power the speakers and you may very well see another bump in performance if you upgrade again, then you might run into "diminishing returns" as you continue to pour money into better amplification. At this point, better speakers are the way to go.

 

[TDIMike]

Some people may do the following:

Active or passive bi-amping where one amp hits the woofers and the another hits the panel.

Some people may just two dedicated amps - one for each speaker.

In your case, given the budget, go buy the best SS amp you can afford. The speakers you have likely don't have to big impedance swings that some of the other ML speakers exhibit.

Then I'd save up for another amp (maybe the same you are going to get now) and you can have one amp per speaker, OR you can go with two different amps: one for the high frequency content and one for the lower frequency. The potential snag here is that you need to 'balance' the amps some how, maybe with an attenuator since the gains on the amps will be different.

Lastly you can simply just "buy" amp vs "bi-amp" --> simply continue to upgrade the lone SS amp you have you might be very, very pleased with the results here (also less wires, less complicated set up, etc).

I think you will see a very nice improvement when you get a beefy SS amp in there to power the speakers and you may very well see another bump in performance if you upgrade again, then you might run into "diminishing returns" as you continue to pour money into better amplification. At this point, better speakers are the way to go.

Thanks a lot. I'm actually bi-amping currently with the surround channels on my receiver. I was surprised how much of a different it made sending one of the amplifier sections just to the woofers.

It sounds like even the Marantz maybe a great way to go. I'm looking for a retailer that carries that amp in store so I can audition it. I've found that amp for $499, which that combined with my level of happiness with my NR-1603 is very attractive.

Are there any retailers that you suggest for comparing two amplifiers against the same set of speakers? Magnolia is great for a lot of things, but they seem to lack on in store amps unless McIntosh is your brand.

 

[eknuds01]

Thanks a lot. I'm actually bi-amping currently with the surround channels on my receiver. I was surprised how much of a different it made sending one of the amplifier sections just to the woofers.

It sounds like even the Marantz maybe a great way to go. I'm looking for a retailer that carries that amp in store so I can audition it. I've found that amp for $499, which that combined with my level of happiness with my NR-1603 is very attractive.

Are there any retailers that you suggest for comparing two amplifiers against the same set of speakers? Magnolia is great for a lot of things, but they seem to lack on in store amps unless McIntosh is your brand.

The big box stores are your last resort. You want to visit a boutique-type store in TX that carries some higher end gear. The drawback is that this stuff will be expensive and it's not very nice to audition expensive amps and then go hunting on ebay or audiogon for the same/similar model at a lower price.

Alternatively you can also visit a big trade show, like the RMAF in Denver (October) and there will be 100s of amps to audition!

At your price point, newer (and better) amps would be: NAD, Rotel, etc. Find some dealers that carry those lines. I will tell you this much: probably ANY used amp from a reputable company (Levinson, Sunfire, NAD, Rotel, Jolida, Classe, Pass, and another 50 others probably) will sound much better vs any receiver/amp purchased at a big box store. I sincerely doubt you'd be disappointed and if you start looking at the various user systems you will see some commonality with respect to amplification. There are some brands that stick out more than others for sure. So what I am getting at is that you don't necessarily HAVE to audition every amplifier out there...at least not at your price point if you think the seller is reputable and the amp works OK. Yes, if I was going to buy a $5000 amp, I am going to audition it. But at $500 or $800, if I find a good deal on an amp that has worked well in other (similar) set ups, I'd likely just jump on that.

Erik

 

[TDIMike]

The big box stores are your last resort. You want to visit a boutique-type store in TX that carries some higher end gear. The drawback is that this stuff will be expensive and it's not very nice to audition expensive amps and then go hunting on ebay or audiogon for the same/similar model at a lower price.

Alternatively you can also visit a big trade show, like the RMAF in Denver (October) and there will be 100s of amps to audition!

At your price point, newer (and better) amps would be: NAD, Rotel, etc. Find some dealers that carry those lines. I will tell you this much: probably ANY used amp from a reputable company (Levinson, Sunfire, NAD, Rotel, Jolida, Classe, Pass, and another 50 others probably) will sound much better vs any receiver/amp purchased at a big box store. I sincerely doubt you'd be disappointed and if you start looking at the various user systems you will see some commonality with respect to amplification. There are some brands that stick out more than others for sure. So what I am getting at is that you don't necessarily HAVE to audition every amplifier out there...at least not at your price point if you think the seller is reputable and the amp works OK. Yes, if I was going to buy a $5000 amp, I am going to audition it. But at $500 or $800, if I find a good deal on an amp that has worked well in other (similar) set ups, I'd likely just jump on that.

Erik

Sage advice, thanks a lot!