Beginner Audiophile. How to chose a right amp? Recommendation for my setup?
Also check out the Adcom amp GFA 6002. My first amp was its predecessor the GFA 535, 30 years ago. https://www.adcom.com/product_gfa6002.php Or the Parasound line at Audioadvisor who has an easy return process. Both companies have been in the business for a long time. |
If you can still score a Parasound A21 new, that is what I would buy. They are around $2500 new and less used. At 250wpc into 8 ohms and more into 4 ohms it will be all the amp you ever need, even if you make upgrades later to the rest of the system. The Odyssey Kismet amps being sold here is an excellent buy and would be my second choice. |
Here is another resource link: https://www.vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ10_PROOF.pdf It is for the issue on Amplifiers from the Audio Perfectionist Journal at the Vandersteen website. I used it years ago to save time from absorbing a lot of info all at once that I didn't understand and ended up with equipment mentioned throughout the Journal issues. |
Direct me to the right direction. Since you're new- The most important amp spec to keep in mind when shopping for an amp isn't an amp spec at all, its the sensitivity and impedance of the speakers. You're buying the amp to drive the speakers, after all. Yours at 86 dB/w/m are moderately easy to drive. You could do better but if you like them that's more important it just means you can cross low power amps off the list. Watts don't really matter. Not the way they want you to think, anyway. 50 watts is not necessarily better than 20, and 200 may be worse than 50. If the first watt isn't any good, why would you want 200 more of them? You can find really good sound quality regardless of power ratings. Next most important: integrated. What you will find in time is every component benefits hugely when used with good quality interconnect, power cord, and other tweaks like fuses, cones, etc. Buying separates drives up the cost a lot. From this it might seem a receiver would be even better. But receivers cram way too much stuff into one box. The list of technical problems is long, but for now its enough to say everything interferes with everything else. A/V receivers are the worst. KISS: consider only integrated amps. Now here are the amp specs that really do matter: Pre-out, sub out, built-in phono stage. Quality of RCA and speaker binding posts. Notice everything above, not one recommended component. That's your job. You already are doing it right. This we know because: What I focused on during the research was to pick gears that can produce wide sound stage, great 3d imaging, airy voices, and great details with smooth yet realistic sounds. So now apply the above info to what you're already doing. When you get your amp if its solid state then leave it on 24/7, preferably playing music (and volume doesn't matter) because it will get a lot better as it burns in. But understand that if its good then it should sound awfully good right out of the box- and should have you really happy within a few days at most. Otherwise, regardless what anyone tells you, ship it back. |
