Advice on amp to pair with new Revel speakers
Budget? The F36s are pretty easy to drive. Any good separates or an integrated with more than 50 watts per channel should work well. Personally, I would do a Schiit Saga or Freya preamp and Schiit Vidar amp. The combo will set you back between $1000 and $1700 depending on the preamp. You could also do a Schiit Ragnarok integrated for $1500 (or fully loaded with a phono preamp and dac for $1800 for a one box solution) or Freya with mono Aegirs for $2500. There are many other great choices, but to me Schiit is really at the peak of price v performance. Enjoy the F36s, really a great speaker. |
Budget is about 5k. I’m intrigued by the Shiit products but have no way to audition them. I’d hate to drop 3k on something on word alone. I am however trying to get something that I would be able to hookup to my tv and PS4 game system. I love the look of the McIntosh integrated and a dealer is about an hour away. I’d love to hear Naim and Linn products but I’d have to drive 4 hours to do so! I’m also considering a streaming device too. |
You can always return the Schiit and pay the restocking fee if you aren’t satisfied. Personally, I would not spend $5000 for an amp/preamp for the F36. Spend less and buy some room treatments and a pair of 12” rythmik subs. If you want a DAC, the Schiit Bifrost has a remote and can handle multiple digital sources. There are a lot of other good choices at and below your pricepoint that you can order and return if not happy. There is no substitute for trying the components in your system. $3200 gets you a PS Audio preamp and S300 amp (call them and you will get them cheaper). For $2995 you can get the Parasound Hint 6 from Audioadvisor. Audioadvisor also stocks Rega, Musical Fidelity and Bryston integrated all at and below your budget. I would argue that all of these represent a better value than McIntosh, which IMHO are overpriced. |
Fortunately, I still have an old Velodyne 10” sub that sounds great! The Naim products look awesome but I’m wondering if they aren’t overpriced like the McIntosh might be. I absolutely love the Naim Uniti Star.... all the features and connectivity. However, I’m concerned over the onboard amp and being enough output power. The Naim 250 DR amp is something I like just about more than anything. But oh so pricey !! |
88mclaren50These speakers have a easy load everywhere, "except for" right in the power region for almost a full octave from 100hz to 200hz where they are about 3.7ohms You need an amp that is very comfortable driving a sustained 3-4ohm load if you want the best from these speakers in that bass region. https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/revel-concerta2-f36-tower-speaker-review/F36impeda... I’d be replacing a Denon AVRX-2100W receiver....... which at higher volume levels just sounds "muddy" to me.That’s why, the Denon ****’s itself into the bass. Cheers George |
Thanks for the link to that review! I feel a bit overwhelmed with so many options out there. Like I was saying, there isn't a close hifi shop to me, so for any personal auditioning I'd have to drive for hours. Would anyone have an idea of a great preamp or integrated amp that has an "arc" built in? I appreciate any feedback y'all. |
From Schiit Audio: https://www.schiit.com/guides/choosing-amps-preamps Home Theater Integration, $0. Okay, all you "home theater bypass" guys. All of our preamps offer true home theater bypass. Just plug in your processor’s front channels to any input, select Passive mode, and turn the volume all the way up. Presto! 1:1 home theater bypass, with only a relay in the signal path. |
I feel a bit overwhelmed with so many options out there. Like I was saying, there isn't a close hifi shop to me, so for any personal auditioning I'd have to drive for hours. Would anyone have an ideaFor not too expensive integrated, look at "Parasound Halo Hint 6", they come with an inbuilt ESS Sabre Dac and a phono stage as well. And "used" the older model "Parasound Halo Hint" maybe on ebay. https://www.parasound.com/hint6.php Then there's the Pass Labs Intergrateds INT-60 and INT-250but they maybe too expensive, and the INT-60 may not have enough watts for you. Cheers George |
While I haven't heard your speakers themselves, over the years I have heard a number of Revel speakers paired to great effect with Mark Levinson gear -- think there was at least a time when they had some corporate affiliation, though not sure that's still the case. Anyway, the ML 5802 has gotten some pretty solid reviews. It's $7k used, which is obviously above your $5k budget, but some aggressive shopping for a demo or lightly used unit might get you something around the $5k price point. I don't have that unit, so I'm not engaging in "buy what I have" advice. Just a thought that might be worth checking out. Either way, happy listening. |
I have the Ultima Salon 2's and they love power (I demoed them against B&W 802d's and with the right amount of power the Revel beat the B&W's across the board). I can't speak directly to the F36's. I wanted Mark Levinson monoblocks (great pairing for my Revels and they did/do have a corporate affiliation) but they were out of my range. Currently I have overpriced McIntosh amps. If you buy used here on Audiogon you have a vast array of good integrated amps and/or amp - pre-amp combinations. Part of whether you do integrated vs amp/pre-amp is your perspective on your upgrade path. With the amp/pre-amp combination you could do tube pre and solid state amp, but integrated offers a simpler solution. Doing this for 40 years I have often bought a component that was a "stretch" with the plan of upgrading other components when I was more "prosperous." I generally suggest spending the bulk of someone's budget on speakers and then upgrading components into the speakers (although I've violated that myself sometimes). Check out some older Stereophile reviews and buy something that's "recommended," used, and within budget. |
