Ryllau: In my [opionion] the best B.for the B. is the Sherbourn 5/1500 amp, it's 5 x 200 separate mono amps built into one chasis. That's in 8 ohms, 5 x 300 in 4 ohms. Beat that for retail of $2000. Last year it was around $1800. and retailers said to raise there price because of there quality. And as you know, you could purchase it for much less on audiogon if you are patient. I did some research on amps before buying mine in looking for the best for the buck just like yourself now. And yeees I did purchase one and love it very much, it's my little 80# power baby. Good Luck and have fun looking and listening, that's what it's all about. |
Let me get this straight. You're simply looking for a good sized amp to break in some speakers and the sonics are not important ???? The most wattage per dollar that i can think of can usually be found in a Phase Linear 400. At 200 wpc @ 8 and prices usually around 50 cents per watt, it would be hard to go wrong or do better for your situation. If your using this strictly as a burner - break in device, the 4B ST would be WAY overkill. Sean
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I've got to follow Sean's lead on this one. If you are serious that you only intend to use the amp to break in a pair of speakers, why not buy an Adcom 555? It's a decent amp, cranks out 200 wpc, and can be purchased used for around $300-350. |
If your not wanting to spend too much cash. There is a Classe ca100 for sale in the A'gon classifieds for only "800 something". The ca100 is a 100x2@8ohm high current design that will double down into 4ohms giving you 200w@4ohm. Bass is not a strong point of the ca100, but is an inexpensive way to burn in your inefficient speakers. When your done, you can easily resell the Classe ca100 for the same price or very close to the same price you paid. Just an option. |
ryllau - wanna rent the electro aw100 i have adwertised f/s here on a-gon for $800? ;~) sonics are ackshully pretty good, even toob-lovers tink so. i presently use a matched-pair of electro's in a wertically bi-amped set-up cuz i can't afford the pair of melos mat-180's i'd *really* like! ;~) the aw100 is class a, 100wpc, 190 into 4 ohms, & puts out >80 amps of current. since no one seems to wanna buy it, mebbe i can rent it out! ;~) regards, doug s. |
I think your greatest bang for the buck if sound quality truly isn't an issue is in DJ/PA amplifiers. Fr'instance, a NEW Pyramid 300W 2-channel amp can be had for $200.00. Used amps can be had even cheaper on eBay.
The added benefit of family Karaoke contests is just another compelling factor. You might not ever listen to your tube amps again! |
ryllau, i fergot to add - if yer really serious about wanting to buy an amp yust for break-in purposes, the electro will be better than the adcom 555, even tho the 555 has more watts. the electro has a *lot* more current output - about 4 times the output. i have a pair of 555's bridged, driving my 95bd/1w/1m vmps subs, so there's no issue here, but i have a pair of thiel 3.5's in the kitchen system. but, it used to be in the main system, and was 1st driven by one of the adcoms, then by an electro aw75. the thiel 3.5 is a difficult load for an amp, & the electro aw75, at only 75wpc/140@4ohms, worked *much* better than the adcom. that amp put out >60 amps current... doug s. |
I thought I had read everything, but this truly takes the cake. If you are, as the above threads say, looking for something that does not sound good, and will only be used to break in a pair of speakers why would you not just go to your local "discount consumer electronic store" and buy the cheapest high powered reciever one could buy? At least, in my case, I could then take it to the guarge and have music while working on my next project. This begs the question, are my speakers properly broken in?????? |
I am looking for an amp just to burn in speakers.This is going to sound conceited but you know when you're on that 'audiophilic' frame of mind & using tubes for so long, you forget there are things like DJ amps & consumer style receivers. But they're definitely valid options. Thanks for all your input. |
Why don't you just BORROW something. If not that, go to ebay and you can find some 100wpc old receiver from the 70's that will be lucky to get two bids it is yours for $10 +shp. |
The best advice I can give you is to buy something that is easliy resellable. And that means a good name brand. You need not worry about spending $1,000 if you are going to recover $850. Have a hard look at Bryston, as their 20 year transferable warranty makes them easy to resell and they are a good quality SS amp with lots of guts to excercise those woofers. Besides, the warranty may come in handy if you should overdrive the thing. You can pick up a 4B for about $1,000 or less, or 4BST for around $1400 and you will be able to sell it in three years for almost the same. Classe also has decent resale value.
If you (a) stick with reliable, brand names and (b) check the Audiogon Blue Book value vs recent eBay and Audiogon auctions, you'll be able to recover much of your investment when you resell. You may even make a few bucks if you buy wisely! --Lorne |
If you have a friend with a SS setup, just switch speakers for awhile (if they are up for it). |
