As I have said before, all else being equal, you can never have too much power.
Amp advice needed....how much power?
I'd appreciate any advice or insight anyone has regarding how much of a good thing is enough. I use my system about 70%/30% HT/Music. It used to be a more even split, but then 5.1 cable signals came along. ;b
I have M&K speakers all around. Not the "THX-made-for-home-theater" speakers M&K makes today, but older, more musical models. I have S-1C left and right and S-125 for the center and two rear channels. Also use an M&K sub.
All speakers are nominally rated at 4 ohms and can be quite power hungry when playing "difficult" or highly dynamic material. I'm experiencing all the classic problems of having too little power for demanding speakers. To solve this problem, I'm in the market for a new amplifier.
I've auditioned 5-channel amps from Anthem (MCA50), Sunfire (Cinema Grande) and Rotel (RMB-1075). The Anthem was nice, but a little too bright for my speakers, the Sunfire a little too laid back. The Rotel was just right.
The Rotel is rated at 125 watts per channel at 8 ohms (I don't know what the 4 ohm rating is). The amp seemed more than capable enough to handle the most difficult material I could throw at it. I could hear quiet center channel whispers without turning the volume up (and then getting blasted two seconds later) and music was more detailed and involving--both 2 and 5 channel--than my current set-up.
So, here is my question. Would more power be even better? I could go up to the Rotel RMB-1095 which is rated at 200 wpc into 8 ohms, but I'm not sure if that would do much more for me for an additional $800.
I know more power on demand is never a bad thing, but I don't want to be Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor about more power and just get it when it wouldn't do much more for me.
Thoughts? Opinions? I really enjoyed the Rotel in my set-up, so I'm pretty sold on one of these two amps. However, if someone has experience with M&Ks, I'd love to hear your recommendations for makes and models other than the ones I mentioned.
Thanks,
Scott
PS: My room is about 17 x 15 with a 9 ft ceiling. I'd like to stay under $1500, but would be willing to stretch to $2000 for the right thing.
I have M&K speakers all around. Not the "THX-made-for-home-theater" speakers M&K makes today, but older, more musical models. I have S-1C left and right and S-125 for the center and two rear channels. Also use an M&K sub.
All speakers are nominally rated at 4 ohms and can be quite power hungry when playing "difficult" or highly dynamic material. I'm experiencing all the classic problems of having too little power for demanding speakers. To solve this problem, I'm in the market for a new amplifier.
I've auditioned 5-channel amps from Anthem (MCA50), Sunfire (Cinema Grande) and Rotel (RMB-1075). The Anthem was nice, but a little too bright for my speakers, the Sunfire a little too laid back. The Rotel was just right.
The Rotel is rated at 125 watts per channel at 8 ohms (I don't know what the 4 ohm rating is). The amp seemed more than capable enough to handle the most difficult material I could throw at it. I could hear quiet center channel whispers without turning the volume up (and then getting blasted two seconds later) and music was more detailed and involving--both 2 and 5 channel--than my current set-up.
So, here is my question. Would more power be even better? I could go up to the Rotel RMB-1095 which is rated at 200 wpc into 8 ohms, but I'm not sure if that would do much more for me for an additional $800.
I know more power on demand is never a bad thing, but I don't want to be Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor about more power and just get it when it wouldn't do much more for me.
Thoughts? Opinions? I really enjoyed the Rotel in my set-up, so I'm pretty sold on one of these two amps. However, if someone has experience with M&Ks, I'd love to hear your recommendations for makes and models other than the ones I mentioned.
Thanks,
Scott
PS: My room is about 17 x 15 with a 9 ft ceiling. I'd like to stay under $1500, but would be willing to stretch to $2000 for the right thing.
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- 4 posts total