Emotiva XPA-7 Gen 3 $1999.
Monoprice Monolith 7 $1599.
Outlaw 7700 $2499
Outlaw 7000x $949
The Emotiva is nice, but the compromise is the switching power supply. I have personal experience with this amp. It does sound very good, excellent attack and resolution excitement, but it has hollow bass (not full/deep). Somewhat bright because of the switching power supply.
Monoprice is going to be smoother and likely fuller/beefier bass because of the linear power supply and good amount of capacitance. This has been said to be a very good amp for the money.
Outlaw 7700 is more expensive than you want, but if you can stretch, it’s likely going to be the best overal. Most refined sound and good power/bass. The lower priced 7000x is less power and less power supply. Refined sound, but will not be as strong in the bass/midbass.
Knowing what i know, I would try to stretch my budget to the Outlaw 7700, but if I couldn’t, I would probably choose Monoprice Monolith 7.
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@auxinput
Thanks for the info. I was really trying to keep it low cost. Still need my 2 subs and room treatment. 7700 is out of budget and at that cost it opens the door to so much more. This will not handle my fronts, I have that covered. So I'm left with monoprice or the 7000. The ceiling speakers are totem ic82, which I went a bit overboard but I couldn't pass on the price. And I wanted to match my fronts. I was also considering class d for the 7 channel if I could meet my budget. I dont know much about class d and when I did extensive research on the wyred4sound class d I found out it that model was designed in 2013, which I believe class d was not that great back then. Reviews are all over the place on class d. I've been told the 7000 would plenty with all channels driven 130 watts. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help @auxinput. Monoprice does look great hate the weight at 93 lbs.
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Yeah, reviews are definitely across the board for Class D. Many love Class D and it can definitely provide ultra clean and ultra clear sound. I have heard some statements that recording engineers love this because they can hear every single instrument for mix. However, my own ears (and some others) state that Class D cannot do the very high frequency that well - this means that you lose a sense of "air" in the music/sound. This has been documented by reviews and others. Some people are not sensitive to this effect or they haven't heard it or it doesn't matter to them.
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Older Class D amp circuits typically had a problem where the impedance curve of the speaker dictated the frequency response of the amp. This usually was the old UcD circuit. The latest nCore circuit solves a lot of problems, but still doesn't have 100% of the "air" in the high frequencies.
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If I were to recommend a new Class D amp in your budget, I would look at the Nord Acoustic "Nord One MP NC252" model. It uses the latest nCore circuit at 250 watts per channel and can be up to 8 channels. The 7 channel model is 1574 Eur ($1764 USD). But like pretty much all the rest of the Class D offerings, it uses switching power supply.
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Probably one of the best nCore offerings is the ATI amplifiers because they use a full linear power supply (no switching power supply!). However, the 7 channel model (AT527NC) is $4199!!!!
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So, back to our discussion, between the Outlaw 700x and the Monolith 7, it's somewhat close in my opinion. The Outlaw will likely be more refined and more "real" sounding with better clarity because of component quality. However, the Outlaw may not do as well when things get really busy in all 7 channels (such as action movies where you have constant sound all over the place). In this situation, the Monolith 7 might do better because it actually has 2 transformers to split the work and better power and overhead to absorb all that choas. I think it comes down to what seems more important to you.
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I based my responses on your statement "Need new 7 ch. amp". If you were to consider used, there is actually a used Outlaw 7700 at TMR Audio for $1599. It looks in really good condition, except for a small ding on the bottom right of the front panel. The 7700 would be best overall because of the larger power supply and it's actualy a fully balanced/differential amp (as opposed to single-ended).
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Okay, question. What are the speakers and amplifiers for your front left/right channels?
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Anthem mrx720, bat vk200 and totem winds. I looked at nord, but when I ran up the bill it was more like 2200 usd. I did more looking into monolith, it is balanced. And from everything I found, it's made by ATI. I have not looked into the used market. Not sure if I will do used. Thanks for the info, do appreciate all advice. |
Hmmmm, here's the Nord link to what i was looking at: https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-nc250mp-4-10-channel-amplifier I added a normal "7 channel" to my shopping cart and the only addition I saw was 100 Euro for shipping to USD, making it a total of 1674 Euro, or $1876 USD. The only thing I can think of is that Nord would add a VAT tax, which I am completely unsure of. Is this what you are calculating? The Monolith may have balanced XLR inputs, but I don't know that the actual amplifier output board is "balanced/differential". In a normal single-ended amp, the red speaker connector has power and the black speaker connector is just connected to ground. In a fully balanced/differential amp, both red/black speaker connections have power and they push/pull with one another. |
@auxinput
I got the same number as u, 1674 but I think it's the sterling pound. Pretty sure because built in UK, so if it is the pound it would be 2182 usd. I really dont like the cheap looking speaker connections on the monolith. Probably need to call monoprice on balanced/ differential. I did look at the 7700, but it was built 2007 and I think 1600.00 is a bit pricy for the age. Especially when back then it sold for maybe 2k. So I'm back to new amp. |
Most amps are actually single-ended. Only certain specific amps are actually differential/balanced, and multi-channel amps are almost never differential/balanced. Also, the initial version of the Monolith did not have XLR inputs, so it is most likely single-ended anyways.
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On the Nord, when you pull up the page on the NC252 amp, scroll down to under the "Add to Basket" button and there will be a "USD to Euro" conversion widget. It defaults to USD to Euro, so I assumed they are charging Euros. If you are really interested in the Nord, maybe shoot them an email?
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Ooooo, I copied the amount with symbol and pasted in Google, that's where I got the figure from. Didn't see conversion on the bottom. I have been leaning towards the monolith 7x, 1600.00 also found a 125.00 coupon for it. Making it more intriguing.
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Did you decide? I'm in the same boat as you? Trying to get something for 1500$ and not sure which one |
