What are the best audio amplifiers in consumer audio?

[gene]

What are the Best Amplifiers in the World?


If you have a thirst for power, you might just be in luck. Today Audioholics takes a peek at some of the best power amplifiers on the market, including a few models that are affordable by mere mortals. To make this list, the amplifier in question must offer power and finesses and be a model we have direct experience with either on our test bench or demos at various trade shows. Of course, this isn't meant to be a comprehensive list of all the great amplifiers on the market. As such, if you have a favorite amplifier that you think deserves an honorable mention, make sure to let us know in this thread below as well as casting your vote in our poll!

Read: World's Best Audio Amplifiers

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm thinking there will be plenty of opinions regarding amps.

I voted for Bryston.

 

[Cos]

How can you have Emotiva on there and not Parasound? Not that either would get my vote, but still

As for who wrote the review on high end amps. If the general agreement on this forum is that all amps pretty much sound the same, someone overpaid a little for the 250k Monoblocks

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How can you have Emotiva on there and not Parasound? Not that either would get my vote, but still

As for who wrote the review on high end amps. If the general agreement on this forum is that all amps pretty much sound the same, someone overpaid a little for the 250k Monoblocks

Yeah, I would definitely put Parasound, Sunfire, NAD, & Rotel up there.

Oh, no, those $200K amps most definitely sound better. I don't care what anybody says. They are just simply jealous.

 

[gene]

How can you have Emotiva on there and not Parasound? Not that either would get my vote, but still

As for who wrote the review on high end amps. If the general agreement on this forum is that all amps pretty much sound the same, someone overpaid a little for the 250k Monoblocks

Ah oversight. Made this post with a 102 deg fever today so my mind ain't so clear. My brain is running in Class A right now.

I am NOT of the camp that all amps sound the same. I have too much experience that has shown me otherwise even under controlled listening tests but to each is own.

 

[KEW]

I am NOT of the camp that all amps sound the same. I have too much experience that has shown me otherwise even under controlled listening tests but to each is own.

Am I correct in assuming that this is for the absolute best amps and not the best value amp?

In that rarefied strata, and assuming we are talking flagship models, I do believe the differences between amps is slight. And I would really be looking for the coolest looking ones with high quality meters that can be switched for the appropriate scale!

Gene, have you experienced differences in sound among the top brands listed here? If so, do you think it is a deliberate effort at having a sound signature or an inadvertent result of the design?

 

[PENG]

I have owned Anthem, Adcom, Marantz, Parasound, Bryston, Kenwood, Pioneer, and are familiar enough with Rotel, NAD and probably a few I can't think of now. They all have their issues but overall I think Bryston has won my vote. I have never owned the more expensive ones by Krell, McIntosh, Passlab, Luxman, Conrad Johnson, Boulder etc. I am sure some of them are better but I also think from Bryston and up, one has reached the point of diminishing return in a big way.

 

[3db]

I'm thinking there will be plenty of opinions regarding amps.

I voted for Bryston.

What??!! We agree on something? ??

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What??!! We agree on something? ??

Well, people would be suspicious if we agreed on everything.

20 YR warranty is like walking the walk IMO. Everyone else has the same opportunity to offer the 20 YR warranty and charge more money, but not a single company has.

Walk the walk.

 

[RichB]

Simple. Parasound because I own them

I voted for Bryston but only because Peng says so

- Rich

 

[PENG]

Simple. Parasound because I own them

I voted for Bryston but only because Pend says so

- Rich

Is it because your dollar is so much higher than ours now? You know they both operate in class A at low output level so you get your favorite first watt quality.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

and on completely unrelated note Crown XLS 1500 amplifier is now only $300 and I the camp of "amp working within it's limits and without distortion" sounds the same

 

[walter duque]

and on completely unrelated note Crown XLS 1500 amplifier is now only $300 and I the camp of "amp working within it's limits and without distortion" sounds the same

I don't know about the Crown amps but I have QSC-GX5 http://www.amazon.com/QSC-GX5-500-Watt-Power-Amplifier/dp/B0018D84YC and I wouldn't even call that am amp. I am gonna use it for my rear subs that's about all the use I have for that amp. I did hook it up to my mains just to check it out and it didn't make the cut.

 

[gene]

Well, people would be suspicious if we agreed on everything.

20 YR warranty is like walking the walk IMO. Everyone else has the same opportunity to offer the 20 YR warranty and charge more money, but not a single company has.

Walk the walk.

Personally I'd rather pay 1/2 for the amp and get a standard 5 year warranty but that's why there are so many brands to chose from.

 

[gene]

Am I correct in assuming that this is for the absolute best amps and not the best value amp?

In that rarefied strata, and assuming we are talking flagship models, I do believe the differences between amps is slight. And I would really be looking for the coolest looking ones with high quality meters that can be switched for the appropriate scale!

Gene, have you experienced differences in sound among the top brands listed here? If so, do you think it is a deliberate effort at having a sound signature or an inadvertent result of the design?

The Pass Labs amp I have in my possession does sound a bit different than say the Classe or Emotiva. To me it sounds a bit brighter in the top end. Also it runs out of gas a lot quicker than my less expensive Emotiva XPR-1. It's tragic that an $11k amp has a rather smallish power supply given its price and size. The Pass Lab's also measures MUCH higher distortion even at lower power levels but that is by design since they use less feedback.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Personally I'd rather pay 1/2 for the amp and get a standard 5 year warranty but that's why there are so many brands to chose from.

I think if we could, most of us would rather pay 1/4 or less and get 3 YR warranty.

But the "20YR warranty" is like another "feature" or even "status", kind of like Aesthetic or "Made in USA or England", Brand name, etc.

Some people are willing to pay the extra money for a Lexicon or Mark Levinson. Some people are willing to pay extra for "Made in USA or England". Some people are willing to pay extra for "20YR warranty".

If I started an amp and speaker company, I would offer "Lifetime Warranty" and sell $200K amps and speakers. Sure, my only customers would be multi-millionaires and billionaires, but I'd only need to sell 1 amp or 1 pair of speakers per year.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I don't know about the Crown amps but I have QSC-GX5 http://www.amazon.com/QSC-GX5-500-Watt-Power-Amplifier/dp/B0018D84YC and I wouldn't even call that am amp.

Apples and oranges. GX5 is H class, while XLS 1500 is D. Not all pro amps are built the same and Harman might just know a thing or two about building high quality audio components. XLS 1500 is just an example. There are much better amps from Crown yet still cost small margin compared to some of the amps in list above.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't know about the Crown amps but I have QSC-GX5 http://www.amazon.com/QSC-GX5-500-Watt-Power-Amplifier/dp/B0018D84YC and I wouldn't even call that am amp. I am gonna use it for my rear subs that's about all the use I have for that amp. I did hook it up to my mains just to check it out and it didn't make the cut.

So the QSC pro amp doesn't make the main speakers sound good?

Does the QSC pro amp make the subwoofer sound good? Bass is very important. I use high quality solid state amps for all my subs, not just my speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Apples and oranges. GX5 is H class, while XLS 1500 is D. Not all pro amps are built the same and Harman might just know a thing or two about building high quality audio components. XLS 1500 is just an example. There are much better amps from Crown yet still cost small margin compared to some of the amps in list above.

Yeah, personally, if I were to buy a "Pro" amp, I would buy from Harman International, the same company that makes Mark Levinson, JBL Synthesis, Lexicon, and Revel Ultima.

 

[rnatalli]

Had to go with Bryston too. Their amps are tanks and their warranty and customer service is truly top notch. Buy an amp from them and you'll never need to buy one again.