"Pro" Amp to Drive Thiels

"Pro" is one of those words that, in the hands of a zealous advertising man, can be rendered nearly meaningless.

In a generic sense, the word simply means that a product has been designed to work for a living. That generally means rugged physical construction that can handle repetitive moving and bumps. It also means rugged electronic construction. You can plug in a shorted cable or horridly overdrive the amp without damaging it. It also means it meets certain electrical specifications and has connectors designed for use in a studio or sound reinforcement environment (balanced XLR inputs, etc.) It is often easily rack mounted in a standard 19" equipment rack. As noted, it may be fan cooled. Many of these "pro" features are simply irrelevant in a home environment.

Note that none of these factors indicate whether or not the amp sounds good. Many probably do and others don't. You need to audition any pro amp you are considering in the same fashion as any other amp. Listen to it. If you like the way it works in your system better than the alternatives in your budget range, then you have a good reason to buy it. Ain't much more complicated than that.

Some amps designed for professional sound work are well suited to home audio. The key word here is "some". There once was a time when all pro sound amps had poor sound quality, but things have changed. Audiophiles who dispute this are stuck in the past or don't want to admit that their amps were overpriced. I think highly of the CarverPro ZR1600 (a 600 watt digital amp) and was surprised by a QSC amp that I had bought only with intention of driving a subwoofer.

Pro amps are made to work in a rack with lots of other electronics, and always include a fan for cooling. The fan is a noisy distraction for home use. If you can locate the amp in the cellar (as I do) this is not a problem. It is less of a problem with digital amps that generate little heat, and can often survive with the fan disconnected, or retrofitted with an ultra low noise fan (with reduced airflow).

Pro amps often include various signal processing functions. You ought to be able to bypass these.

I have no hands-on (ears) experience with the Meyer products. It is important to audition a pro sound amp to see if your ears consider it acceptable for home audio use. If you can do this, go for it.

FWIW I can vouch for the ZR1600 amp, and it has recieved many good reviews from other audiophiles. I don't know if it can match a couple of $40,000 monoblocks, but it sure beats out anything in the below-a-grand price range.

I owned 3.5s for many years. Aside from its appetite for midrange drivers, a very good speaker. Without getting into discussions about "accuracy" vs. "euphonics", I can only say that the the 3.5s are a bit sharp and benefit from an amp that can subdue this aspect of the speaker. Many people believe that pro amps are harsh and, for example, slag Bryston because they sell their amps in both markets. You don't mention how much the Meyer amp goes for and, therefore, can only assume that it is priced right. Many companies that sell directly to the end user offer a trial period. If that is the case, I would certainly try this amp and keep a very open mind because you can't believe all the hype you hear or read.

Good luck.