Need to power my new speakers

[jcparks]

Ok my wife told me to finish my audio purchasing and to go ahead and buy an amplifier for the Vandy's. I want to keep it under $500. I want this amp to push at least 100 wpc into 4 ohms.
So my first to choices are Emotiva amps
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/upa-200
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-200
So my question is... should I spend the extra 100 dollars to get added power from the XPA amp.
Second question, as you know I love my bargains... are there any brands or models I can watch for on ebay, possibly even tube?
Also are their other brands that I should consider.
Final decision will be made this week.

 

[Alex2507]

I've had good experiences with B&K and Marantz monoblocks from the used market. Now that I think about it, just about everything I own is either used or DIY. Forget the tube stuff, especially with that budget. For me pro amps are out because of fan noise except for the Yamaha stuff which has fans that never turn on under home use levels.

 

[Cos]

Parasound Halo A23 THX Ultra2 2 Channel Amplifier | eBay

May be a little difficult getting it under $500.00, but it will be close and its a great deal for a solid amp

 

[PENG]

Ok my wife told me to finish my audio purchasing and to go ahead and buy an amplifier for the Vandy's. I want to keep it under $500. I want this amp to push at least 100 wpc into 4 ohms.
So my first to choices are Emotiva amps
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/upa-200
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-200
So my question is... should I spend the extra 100 dollars to get added power from the XPA amp.
Second question, as you know I love my bargains... are there any brands or models I can watch for on ebay, possibly even tube?
Also are their other brands that I should consider.
Final decision will be made this week.

Bite the bullet and get two XPA-100 to get some real power into 4 ohms.

 

[markw]

For that power requirement, and particularly for that dollar requirement, you can put tubes out of your consideration.

 

[Acoustat]

Here's a couple I found on ebay. I shall never part with my Carver TFM-45.
Since you inquired about TUBE!!!…

Carver Silver Seven T Monoblock Power Amps Pair No RSV | eBay

If I weren't in the middle of building my HT system ^^^ I would be on these bad boy mono blocks in 1/4 heartbeat.
They're actually my Avatar and I'm sure that price will build in the next 3 days.
But the TFM's here are made in solid state to mirror the Silver Sevens characteristics.

Carver A500X High Voltage High Current Power Amplifier 250 w CH | eBay

Carver TFM 35 2 Channel Power Amplifier | eBay

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I've had good experiences with B&K and Marantz monoblocks from the used market. Now that I think about it, just about everything I own is either used or DIY. Forget the tube stuff, especially with that budget. For me pro amps are out because of fan noise except for the Yamaha stuff which has fans that never turn on under home use levels.

Crowns XLS don't turn one fan ether - that is for levels at which one's ears wont bleed. - AKA you'd have gobbles and gobbles of power

For example: Crown XLS 1500 pushes 525 Wpc and supports 2 ohm speakers as well.
I don't think anything else in consumer amp market would give you such power (at your budget)

 

[Acoustat]

Arg! My apologies, I wasn't aware the Silver Sevens were also made in solid state
Must withdraw my anxiety from when I saw that listing, but the TFM 35 for < $200
Rated at 380 w in 4. Ohm, 560 2 ohm or 700 mono is a hard deal to beat...10 mins remaining

 

[jcparks]

Ok so Tomorrow I will probably purchase either the Crown, the Carver, or the Emotiva XPA...
Someone point me in the right direction.

 

[Acoustat]

Once under warranty I had to have I believe my L channel serviced at Carver
and replaced one fuse in 25 yrs. Could have been dirty power coming in through
lines in a house built in the early 1900's, who knows.

I would personally want an amp that had renowned headroom left in reserve
and be very well at ease with 4 ohms,rather than trying to match a speakers requirements,
so you'll never be bothered with distortion emitted from the amp, never aware the amp is "working"
rather cooing in the tree tops. I think the closer you are to the speakers min requirements
the further you'll be removed from satisfaction with your purchase regardless of which amp you choose.
There is another 35 listed ending tomorrow, but I wouldn't want to make an impulse buy myself.

 

[jcparks]

Have that one on watch Acu... and it is very high on my list

 

[PENG]

Have that one on watch Acu... and it is very high on my list

Keep in mind when going with older amps, like 15 years or older, they may no longer hold the original specs. If the amp is not heavily used, replacing some of the capacitors may suffice, otherwise it gets more complicated. On the other hand if you do nothing, they may sound warmer simply because of the aging process though that could be a good thing if you prefer the so called warm sound.

 

[walter duque]

I powered mine with 2 of these RARE VSP Labs Trans mos Power Amplifier 150WPC Works Great | eBay mine where the bigger ones with 200 watts and they sounded great. You need way more than a 100 watts for them speakers. I would say a minimum of 200-350 watts of good power. Threshold would be my choice.Threshold s 500 Stasis Stereo Amplifier Highly Rated $3 000 MSRP New Caps Etc | eBay

 

[Acoustat]

I wont argue the class A/B to be better than the D because I honesty don't know.
Reading of the increased circuitry in class D's is to me personally a reason to avoid, out of ignorance
and suspicion (frequent switching within).

You should however hear what others think about the 35
Carver Audio TFM-35x Amplifiers reviews - Audioreview.com
there's ~35 reviews on that page of this amp, and I've read more than here, that that HiTech Audio in Oregon
is well worth the wait for a tune up slow as they are. One more tidbit of info on the Carver is the decreased path
from "Board/card" to connections, eliminating solder joints being directly connected to the binding posts.
But read what others feel about their experience above. My 45 drives some hungry electrostatic panels at 4 ohms
and is all this amp has seen. I paid 900 for my 45 in '89, no regrets, very impressed. It replaced an NAD amp
that was having difficulty keeping up with my speakers

 

[lsiberian]

Crowns XLS don't turn one fan ether - that is for levels at which one's ears wont bleed. - AKA you'd have gobbles and gobbles of power

For example: Crown XLS 1500 pushes 525 Wpc and supports 2 ohm speakers as well.
I don't think anything else in consumer amp market would give you such power (at your budget)

If only they had a reasonable 4 channel amp.

 

[walter duque]

I wont argue the class A/B to be better than the D because I honesty don't know.
Reading of the increased circuitry in class D's is to me personally a reason to avoid, out of ignorance
and suspicion (frequent switching within).

You should however hear what others think about the 35
Carver Audio TFM-35x Amplifiers reviews - Audioreview.com
there's ~35 reviews on that page of this amp, and I've read more than here, that that HiTech Audio in Oregon
is well worth the wait for a tune up slow as they are. One more tidbit of info on the Carver is the decreased path
from "Board/card" to connections, eliminating solder joints being directly connected to the binding posts.
But read what others feel about their experience above. My 45 drives some hungry electrostatic panels at 4 ohms
and is all this amp has seen. I paid 900 for my 45 in '89, no regrets, very impressed. It replaced an NAD amp
that was having difficulty keeping up with my speakers

I have had many Carver power amps over the years (actually many Carver products (CD players- Receivers and my first Surround integrated amp (which sits under my couch right now) and they where all great products. Had the 35 too.

Just one of my Carvers I had.

 

[Acoustat]

@ walter duque, pretty sure that's the amp Mack n Daves in
Huntington here locally had hooked up to their Carver Amazing
loudspeakers, which after auditioning, the Acoustat Spectra 33's won out.
I didn't buy into the holography thing Carver had going on then, especially
after hearing the full blown electrostatics.

So aside from the $2000+ Thresholds, what do you think would fit the OPs criteria?
Do you think the TFM-35 would be a good recommendation, or the Parasound Halo 23 Cos recommended both A/B
The Carver is higher output and rated down to 2 ohm and if no tune-ups needed, less money
The Parasound is rated to 4 ohm and lower distortion, but...the Carver shouldn't work as hard
which would keep it out of distortion in the peaks...audibly.

 

[Steve81]

I'd put this out there as a fair alternative to the XPA-100:
Model 2200 Monoblock Power Amplifier
The two amp combo runs $679 shipped. Each is rated to deliver 300W into 4 ohms, 20Hz-20kHz with <0.05% THD. While the XPA-100 is rated for 400W (which amounts to an additional 1.2dB of output), the rating is a bit more liberal at <1% THD and mum is the word on frequency (probably a 1kHz sweep).

 

[jinjuku]

I powered mine with 2 of these RARE VSP Labs Trans mos Power Amplifier 150WPC Works Great | eBay mine where the bigger ones with 200 watts and they sounded great. You need way more than a 100 watts for them speakers. I would say a minimum of 200-350 watts of good power. Threshold would be my choice.Threshold s 500 Stasis Stereo Amplifier Highly Rated $3 000 MSRP New Caps Etc | eBay

Take this from a person and about twenty others that have heard that exact same Threshold and a Crown XLS DriveCore 2000: Save your money and get the DriveCore.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I want to keep it under $500. I want this amp to push at least 100 wpc into 4 ohms.

It's $95 over budget at $595, but I would look at the ATI AT1202 120WPC amp.

ATI AT1202 Two Channel x 120 Watt Amplifier - B-Stock (120 V) - Amplifiers

The Audio Critic did a PowerCube measurement of the AT6012 60WPC amp and got 137W into 4 ohms @1% THD. I think just as important, even the 60WPC ATI amp is stable down to even 1 ohm.