Slam is inaccuracy.
Need help deciding on a new amp
My current power amp an Emotiva has finally bitten the dust. I'd had been planning all along to replace it, but now the process has been hastened. I'm undecided if I want to go with seperates or an intergrated amp. If I go with separates, I'll just go with a power amp for the time being. I do plan on eventually replacing my Emotiva preamp, but since it's working fine for the time being I'm in no hurry. Budget wise for the seperates, I would like to keep it under $2000 and under $4000 for an integrated.
These are the amps I've been considering. For power amp the Rotel RB-1552 MKII, the Parasound Halo A23+, and the Belles Aria stereo amp. For integrated, I'm strongly leaning towards the Belles Aria Integrated but the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III is also under consideration. I was considering the RA Sphinx, but I gather for searching this forum that most here prefer the Belles Aria integrated. The RA Cronus Magnum is around $1200 more than the Belles Aria, so I wonder how much more one is getting in terms of sound quality for that price difference. And yes, I realize one is a tube amp and on is a solid state amp. Also, I'm considering these integrated amps because I'm looking for a a purely analog preamp section.
In searching this and other forums, it seems that between the Rotel and the Parasound, many seem to prefer the Parasound. As far as the Belles Aria, while there are great reviews and praises for these amps, information on them for the most part is quite sparse. For example are these class A/B or D amps? Even the powermodules.com site doesn't really have any info on the stereo amp.
Now on to my system. The amp will be powering a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 100 gen 6 speakers. Sources are a Sony SACD player and a BlueNode 3 streamer. I'm semi-seriously considering a turntable in the future. Also, I'll most likely be adding a DAC in the future. Room size is 12x14 feet.
My musical tastes vary, with preferences leaning towards classic rock, classical, female vocals, and some jazz.
What am I looking for in an amp? I'm looking for detail, tight accurate bass, and the ability to provide "slam" and dynamics especially when listening to large orchestral works. I listen to music at a moderate volume levels.
TIA. Note, the above mentioned amps are what I have in mind, but will taken suggestions on other amps in my price range.
12 responses Add your response
Given what you’re looking for I’d dump the Emotiva preamp and look at a used Bryston B135 cubed or B135SST2. The cubed can be had around $4k ($3k discount of MSRP) and the SST2 at about half that and is sonically not far off. I’d go for the cubed if it’s in budget because it seems to be a bit more refined, but the value of the SST2 at half the price is also hard to ignore. Here are a couple used options along with a review that compares the two. Best of luck. |
This is difficult. From your discussion, it doesn’t sound like you have a firm understanding of the underlying components and desirable sound.
Slam is very artificial, as @fuzztone pointed out. Let me suggest a good solution that you are considering: Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III. This will give you a good tube amp. It will add good midrange and bass and make you question the slam thing. It will allow you next to focus on a great preamp… which hopefully you will consider spending as much or a bit more than the amp… used and will elevate your system to the next level. |
Check out the Schiit Vidar Amp, maybe later add a Schiit Freya+/N Tube Preamp. 😎 Mike https://www.schiit.com/products/vidar https://www.schiit.com/products/freya-n
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Thanks to all who have responded so far. I try to respond to as many replies as I can. @yogiboy Thanks for those recommendations. They do look promising. Odyssey does seem to offer more choices in power amps. @soix, I had originally intended to buy new, but used is something I'm willing to consider. @ghdprentice, thanks for the suggesting about the RA amp. It sounds like your suggesting in the future by a separate preamp and using the RA as a power amp? @2psyop, the MAs are rated at a sensitivity of 88db so they are adequately suffient.
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