Amplifier for Passive Monitors.

[jkhuri44]

Recommendations all??

I wouldnt even mind recommendations of older high quality hi fi amps, with a direct input (to avoid some of the internal circuitry)...or a purpose built studio monitor amp...

Anythjing would be awesome

Budget...less than $500?

[graemeh]

An Amcron DC300A

They come up on eBay every now and then for about $300-400.

Still kicking butt 40 years on.

[jkhuri44]

damn, look bad ass thx graemeh!

[Chris H]

The Quad solid state mono block amps or a sansui like the older AU555.
I saw an old haffler go for under $100 the other day.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SANSUI-INTEG ... 3cced054a3

[jkhuri44]

Cheers Chris, that looks good. the sansui u linked there, is that the kind u can bypass the bollocks like you've mentioned in a few past threads on here??

[Chris H]

yes, they have a pair of RCA's one marked preamp out, the other, power amp in. They have a U shaped connector that you pull out and connect the output of your desk / DAW out to the power amp in. Be aware that the amp will run full volume so you have to use ways to monitor at a suitable level, depending on your set up and the work you are doing eg i usually set the output level using my D to A converter's monitoring level.. . At the moment I'm using an ME, oz built amp.

[jkhuri44]

nice. Also looking at Haflers on ebay now, they have some really good reviews. and are really good price wise it seems.

[Drumstruck]

check out Gennari valve amps too - I got an RV-100 just before xmas and it's the best thing I've ever done for my monitors (and I'm not kidding ;-))

http://valveamps.com.au/index.htm

[jkhuri44]

check out Gennari valve amps too - I got an RV-100 just before xmas and it's the best thing I've ever done for my monitors (and I'm not kidding ;-))

http://valveamps.com.au/index.htm

Sounds expensive??? ok maybe not, just had a look $1500 is a bit much for my price range...might be some cheaper options available too....
Is a tube option suitable for studio monitoring tho?? (not too coloured?)

[Drumstruck]

I read wise men say that it's more important to know your speakers than it is to have xyz brand...

.... not claiming to be wise, but having had my monitors since 1978 (run through a range of amps) I can say that they have achieved their destiny with this amp .... not too coloured imo, but I'd be prepared to say tubish

[jkhuri44]

yeah i do know that i's all about getting used to your speakers. i do know that saturations, or too much deviation from flat might not heklp making good decisions too! i also, am a noob when it comes to this so, am always prepared to learn, or be set straight :-D

[Drumstruck]

I read another thread somewhere where a gent had a pair of xyz spkrs - reckoned they sounded so good that mixing on them didn't relate to the "real world" and thus they weren't that useful .... I dunno, but as Peter Gabriel said "I Know what I like"

[mylesgm]

Haflers are really good, I enjoyed one for a number of years and missed it when I sold it...
The MEs occasionally pop up on ebay and sometimes you can get lucky with a music fidelity amp. Also look at Creek and higher end cambridges, arcam and older luxman and marantz amps. I still have a 100watt marantz power amp from the early 80s that kicks butt.

[Chris H]

I read wise men say that it's more important to know your speakers than it is to have xyz brand...

.... not claiming to be wise, but having had my monitors since 1978 (run through a range of amps) I can say that they have achieved their destiny with this amp .... not too coloured imo, but I'd be prepared to say tubish

Ha Ha! tubby is the new warm! i like it.

[The Tasmanian]

I have a 70's or 80's Rotel amp that I really like on my Dynaudio BM6's - got it for $30 - sent it to a good tech - recapped the power supply caps for good measure.
Its a good idea if you get a nice old amp to at least have it looked over.
Any recapping done with really good quality caps.

[jkhuri44]

so far the haflers are winning in price VS performance VS and consensus of quality.
Thanks for everyon's chimes

[Ben M]

What are the monitors Jamil? rating etc

Sorry if it's already mentioned but I didn't notice.

[jkhuri44]

monitors are Mark audio alpair 10 drivers which I am building enclosures for myself.
nominal 30w, max 70w.

[Barney Loveland]

Perreaux can also be had for sub $500. 2000B has never missed a beat here.

[Alistair]

I've also got an older mosfet Perreaux. Awesome amp and I think I paid $100 for it.

[jkhuri44]

ill give YOUZ a $100 for ze amps? how about that

[Drumstruck]

I forgot - I have a Marantz amp for sale - see the t'rock ads - it might suit your purposes and the price is right

[Alastair Reynolds]

Try and get an old pro amp if you can rather than a domestic one.also borrow some of different topology and listen carefully to how the amp interacts with the speakers.different damping factors,slew rates ,imd specs etc and how the amp responds to a complex load of a speaker will affect how it sounds.Topology wise a bipolar amp may sound better than a mosfet amp on your speakers. Mosfets are great for high power and driving hard as they self protect when they get hot and limit power rather than self destructing as a bipolar amp will in extreme cases but Mosfets can sound quite harsh in the top end and this may be emphasized in some types of speakers,hence why you need to listen to an amp on your speakers rather than buying one based on specs . I have speakers that sound great on one amp and very ordinary on a different amp, and both are excellent amps on the right speakers.

In short listen before you buy.

[jkhuri44]

hey alisatair, yeah after i saw the haflers, i thought mmight as well get a studio amp. cheers for chiming in!

[wez]

so far the haflers are winning in price VS performance VS and consensus of quality.

I had one of the big high end Haflers (9505) for a while running my big PMCs... it sounded great, but spent a lot of time on the bench with numerous intermittent faults (rob might remember that one). I was talking about them with a local tech who used to do warranty repairs for Hafler - he agreed that they were good amps but told me some horror stories about build quality and dodgy factory refurbs. suffice to say I moved it on after the last time i got it fixed.

i bit the bullet and bought a bryston to replace it... i thought the Hafler sounded pretty good until i got the 4BST.

[Paul Maybury]

I like Murray Auditec's.
Magic on my Auratones and Altec 8g's.
It's all about the letter "A".
I have some stereo 100watt a side ones and some 200watt single channel ones. The 200 watters came from the Sydney Opera House.
Great amps.
Cheers,
Paul Maybury

[jkhuri44]

It's all about the letter "A".

what do you mean by that? all the gear starting with A? sorry, i feel slow

[Paul Maybury]

Altec, Auditec (Murray) and Auratone.
No rhyme or reason but they all start with "A", I noticed as I was typing the earlier message.
Just my hazy free association Thursday brain...

[Wiz]

Altec, Auditec (Murray) and Auratone.
No rhyme or reason but they all start with "A", I noticed as I was typing the earlier message.
Just my hazy free association Thursday brain...

its friday 8)

dont you hate it when you lose a day...

[Paul Maybury]

It's friday? So I have gained a day in getting closer to the weekend.. Oh wait, I'm working all weekend tooo...........................