2. amps-preamps
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where to go from here?

Need a new amp for my Logans ,thinking about less than 2k
NO used

Round One Rotel RB1080
Impressions on first unboxing its reasonably heavy and looks decent (as in better than say an adcom).
Hook it up run some white noise for about an hour or so than run some Guns N Roses thru it for about a 1/2 hour.
I sit down to listen and about had to cry, what the hell happened it was just not good at all, my wife said it best when she came home from work she walked in and said "what the hell happened it sounds like SH*T". The mids were congested, the highs grainy, the low end was boomy and ill defined, bah humbug how can this be I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Left it on all evening, although with no desire to turn it up any louder than below background music (whereas usually I am goosing the volume up all night) then I left it on all night and most of the next morning with more white noise. When I checked in again nothing was improved, its boxed up and going back.

Round Two
Since there was much talk of "Pro Amps" I decided to try one a Crown xti 1000
First impression its light has no "feet" so I place some cones under it it looks kinda "cool" in an odd sort of way. I basically do the same thing as I did with the Rotel.
Wow the low end is just amazing, hmm the mids are ok not liquid or lush or any "audiophilisms" maybe just accurate? Now the high end seems to be tipped up and/or sharp/etched. Oh well not a keeper either, I think with less revealing speakers I could have maybe lived with it and saved a ton of dough.

Round Three
Anthem MCA20
Unboxing it,it did not seem as heavy as the Rotel, nor did it look as good as either the Crown or the Rotel basically just another black box. Same routine as previous. Hey cool its not offensive.the low end is good, not as good as the crown but good, seems well defined timbre seems right, the mids are nice nothing offensive, I detect no sins of omission or commission, the high end not etched sharp or grainy, yet nicely detailed....... This one warrants further audition and it figures its the most expensive of the three oh well

All listening was done at roughly the same level with the trusty rat shack meter
wrat
8 responses Add your response
objective1
95 posts
 
Since you are focussed on new... how about Creek 5350SE

BTW.. are you letting these new amps burn in any.. sometimes you may need as much as 500 hours to get hte units doing what they do best.. Big caps take a while..

I have logans (ReQuest), and find that BAT and Plinius have driven them well. Unfortunately both of those will be out of your range if you insist on new.

Also...i'm assuming you had something that you thought sounded good at some point...

What was in that complete system? ..and have you changed anything else...including the room arrangement or furnishings?
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Any chance its the material?, if you like GNR then you may like poorly recorded music in general that many of us like, the problem is you have a ruthless speaker that magnifies these recordings problems. I have Innersound speakers that save for the curved panel they are alot like Logans and popular recordings can be terrible so I still own thwm but moved on to another speaker. I also hate to say it but your money is going to go much further used allowing you to really open up your options and let others absorb the depreciation of a new amp.
wrat OP
32 posts
 
"Also...i'm assuming you had something that you thought sounded good at some point."

Yes of course, It was a 15 year old Carver TFM55......

"and have you changed anything else...including the room arrangement or furnishings?"

NOPE

"Any chance its the material?"

Good Question but yes and no as I was just using the GnR as a sort of hard edge to drive thru the amp before actually listening. As to your other statement IF I could not listen to the music I enjoy I would not have the speaker(any speaker).
As to used since I care little about buying and selling and deprecation ( I keep my stuff a long time). So new it is.

I actually like the Anthem I was just looking for things I had not thought of Like the Creek suggestion (not enough power though)

I am actually coming from Apogee Stages had em for years,
bought em new
phd
1,314 posts
 
Wrat, the amps you tried are by no means going to address all the desirable attributes you seek in a single amplifier as they are all basically entry level coupled with the fact you want to buy brand new which limits your choices. In fact at this price point if one could combine the best feature of each amp into one amp (power, tight well defined bass, a nice midrange and grainless highs) you could come up with a satisfactory amp but then you would of spent more money, some exceptions do apply.

A friend of mine has Martin Logan speakers and he was using a Cinepro amp to drive them, a powerful but decent sounding amp. Another amp that comes to mind that could fit the bill for a sensible price would be an upgraded D500 Hafler amp. It is powerful at 255 watts per channel with very good depth & transparency, enormous soundstaging and the fact it has been upgraded should deliver the refinements you are seeking. There is an upgraded D500 for sale on Audiogon right now for $795.00. I personally have heard one in its stock form (which I borrowed) and walked away very impressed.

Another strong consideration would be one of the more powerful amps offered by Steve McCormack, preferably one that has had a revision. A revised Mcormack still retains all the things that people love about a McCormack amp but removes any detectable grain in the upper registers. Try to keep an open mind about used gear because this is how we are best served on Audiogon.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
Logans need power. Don't even consider anything under 100wpc.
You probably should seek an amp that is worth about the same as your speakers. If your Logans were $2k new, look at an amp that was $2k new. It's only fair.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Parasound Halo series.
wrat OP
32 posts
 
Try to keep an open mind about used gear because this is how we are best served on Audiogon.

I actually did FORGET that,that this was primarily a used site, so I am an idiot(no joke).
phd
1,314 posts
 
Wrat, no you're not an idiot. Some audiophiles like to buy new for the warranty but sometimes some used gear has a transferable warranty like Odyssey (20 year warranty).

If you want to save some money putting together a system you can fudge a little bit by investing in a good sounding tube preamp and combine it with a mediocre amp. This preamp will in turn take this amp to a much higher level of acceptable performance. Or invest in a good quality amp and spend less on the preamp. Either way the results can be surprising. But try to invest in at least one quality component at a time.
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