It's Marsh, not March and it's a great amp. Many excellent reviews. That would be my choice of the options you listed.
Budget amp for NS-1000. Rotel, march or parasound?
Just got a pais of yamaha ns1000 for use as studio monitors. I tested them with a parasound halo a23, hca 2200ii and a rotel rb970bx. Both parasounds were good, with room for improvement, the rotel was bad.
Now i dont want to get the a23 because the price is not good around here, I own the hca2200ii with another system and my options are a rotel rb990bx, a march a400s and a parasound hca1206 bridged. Im leaning towards the march but is it good? Both rotel and parasound are cheaper, is the rotel a better option? Thanks
Now i dont want to get the a23 because the price is not good around here, I own the hca2200ii with another system and my options are a rotel rb990bx, a march a400s and a parasound hca1206 bridged. Im leaning towards the march but is it good? Both rotel and parasound are cheaper, is the rotel a better option? Thanks
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I’ve never played Marsh amplifiers but can and will say some of the earlier John Curl Parasound is excellent bang for your buck, not easy to surpass. When trying to fit that criteria I would not hesitate on them. Or NAD should the opportunity arise. Hafler is another. Rotel would be lower down on my short list but on it just the same, maybe not that particular model. Going by some of your other choices I’m going to go and assume the RB970 lacks the power you want, what don’t you like about it? I have a Bryston 4B, that I paid $450 for. That will happily/easily drive some demanding speakers all day/night long. It may not be the best choice with your Yami speakers reason being it can be bright with certain set ups. While with others its very deserving of praise. |
The salesguy brought the Yamaha NS-1000 and two amps, Rotel RB970 and the A23... He plugged the Rotel first and after I disconnected my Dynaudio BM12A and listened to the NS-1000, it seemed like I was listening to a bad radio station, really poor definition and no bass at all. Then we installed the A23 and things improved. I have the A23 here still, but am using the HCA-2200II, I like this but the A23 seems better (and louder) despite being less powerful in RMS output. Still, I'm not 100% satisfied, plus the A23 is a bit expensive and I use the 2200II in my B&W setup so I need another amp. I'd be happier paying next to the A23 price for the Marsh (my bad for March) as long as I hear a good word on them. I considered the Rotel 990BX because it's available really cheap (USD400 less than the Marsh) and more powerful than the 970BX. In another forum some guys suggested my using a pro audio amp like QSC or Crown on the Yamahas and I am also considering that now... Any ideas? thanks for the answer |
It sounds like the Rotel might have some technical problem or the speaker polarity was wrong, or maybe both. Pro amps are for some while not so much others. One I can live with is my crown XLS-1500. You could probably purchase one new within your budget plans if there are still some available. The XLS-1000 has somewhat different circuitry and you might not like it for more serious listening. |
Yea, I could get an used unit of the XLS-1500 for about U$400.. Which is about half of the Rotel RB990... To be honest I want the best solution, when I say budget I mean I don't want to shed U$2000 on a Bryston... Anything up to $1000 stretching a bit is acceptable, as long as I get the bass out of the Yamaha NS-1000 with good detail and clarity, demanded for my production needs... |
After reading this thread: http://www.hometheaterequipment.com/mono-stereo-amps-59/crown-audio-xls-drivecore-series-amplifier-o... I’m pretty much sold on Crown amps... I must try them. Now, I feel I must follow Audiogon forumers advice as it has always been good advice (which I not always followed), so I have the option of getting a XLS 1500 used ( I have no issues with used gear, but what possibly is PA gear is another story...) or a new XLS 2500 for a 70% higher price. (roughly 600 vs 350 dollars). My question is, the 2500 is good or should I stick to the 1500? Remembering my Yamaha is rated 100w max and I’d hate to overload it with this pro gear experiment... |
I've owned 3 pairs of these, the NS1000’s can sound a bit in your face, but still need an amp with great bass control or they can sound a bit fat down low. A good smooth solid state, with high class A bias would be good to keep the in your face sound under control. Maybe a good (reconditioned) second hand Krell KSA-50 or KSA100 fan cooled very high class A bias. And yes the Halo A21 or A23 which are also high bias. Cheers George |
I had the Parasound A23 lying around here so decided to give it a go with XLR cabling and good speaker cables. I really felt the in your face feeling you described, highs were unbearable, really sharp, some bass but not worth it to be honest. Plugged the Crown XLS 1500 back and it sort of feels like heaven. Everything is more controlled. Of course the floor noise was there when I connected it and the interface was off, but whatever, I think it's worth it. I think I'm done trying amplifiers after this, maybe if I get a Crown XLS 2500, but I'm wary of blowing the speakers using that much power. I got a Dynaudio Center LR120 (or C120) to go with this setup. I sort of owe my audio dealer (the A23 is his), feel like I should buy something from him, but what I really want is to get another cheap Crown and rack on top of the one I got to drive the Dynaudios. thanks for all the advice... if it helps, some good songs to test speakers are made by the artist Woodkid. Try Iron or Run boy Run, really hard for these to sound sublime... |