Other options than Elac EA101EQ-G?

[Xosted]

Hello all,

Yes, this is another "I don't know which amplifier to choose, please help me!" kind of post.
After reading many of these I feel like I should start to tell the story of my life and some of you would probably be able to match me a perfect amplifier for my taste... But the truth is, I don't know much. You can skip the story to go straight to the point.

<Story>
I come from an Onkyo LS3100 system (I know... I know...) which started to annoy me seriously due to volume variations. One afternoon, I randomly entered the audio shop at the corner of the street and the salesman sat me in front of some KEF LS50. I didn't know if I was to praise the man for bringing awareness to me or hate him considering the spendings that were to come.

Few weeks down the line, here I am trying to select pieces of my first audio system. Yes, I liked the LS50, yes I could tell the difference between them and the Dynaudio Emit M20 and tell what I liked in both. But that's about it. One thing for sure, I am not ready to make the jump to a LS50 based system. So I tried to take advantage of my ignorance and untrained ear to start with something cheaper, probably around Klipsch speakers.

Then came the choice of an amplifier. I have a very small room (about 18m2) so power shouldn't be an issue. I exclusively listen to digital sources (I'll subscribe to a Hi-Def service) and watch movies from a computer. So I started to look for an amplifier with optical in and subwoofer out as musts. USB in (DAC) and Bluetooth are real benefits but not vital (still really good to have with Hi-Def streaming it seems). It looked to me that these were really not that easy to find but the Elac had it all with even an EQ feature in it (can't evaluate how useful it is but I guess it is nice to have). All was fine...but the price! Yes I know these things are expensive but it is rated at 40w per channel in 8o and costs 800-900 euro! By the way, is this sufficient to drive a pair of Klipsch RP-280F?
<End of Story>

So before I bleed that much out (I'm still at the level when it hurts), I would like to get other suggestions. There must be other options, maybe even some with a better feature/power/price balance?
I would have loved to stay around 500 euro but I guess it is unrealistic..? Maybe second hand?

So again, I'm looking for an amplifier which need not to be a power monster (but more is better right?), can drive a pair of Klipsch RP-280F, must have optical in and subwoofer out then USB DAC and optionally Bluetooth, all in a price range (way) below 900 euro.

I hope you'll have plenty of suggestions so even if it doesn't cost less, I still can have the feeling to have chosen...
Thanks

 

[ski2xblack]

The Elac has some interesting features (e.g. bass management in two channel kit), but it's very modest in the amp section. The specs state 40@8, 80@4, and 70@2, so it appears to be severely current limited into loads below 4 ohms. Dual woof speakers like your Klipsch are generally 4 ohm speakers...edit, found this:

So yeah, 4 ohm load, but never really worse than that. Given the Klipsch's sensitivity and small room, it would probably work well enough, particularly if you employ subs.

A used AVR would probably bring more power and functionality for less cost, if you can live with the girth. I like the slim-line Marantz AVRs for stereo/2.1 use due to their compact size, although they're not much more powerful than the Elac (they have pre-outs for L and R, so that's never a concern). The Elac is a heck of a lot more elegant than any AVR.

 

[lovinthehd]

Better value options than many 2ch integrated amps is an audio video receiver (avr) which will have sufficient power and flexibility of connection for a variety of gear and actual bass management as opposed to merely having only a subwoofer pre-out as many 2ch integrated amps offer; however, it appears the Elac unit has some sort of bass management with use of an app on another device gives you control over crossover, from the manual:

"Auto Blend and Auto EQ
Through the use of the free iOS and Android app the user first selects a high-pass filter, then
using the smartphones microphone, measures the near-field response of both the main
speakers and subwoofer. Our proprietary algorithm then adjusts the low pass filter to obtain
optimal blending between the subwoofer and main speakers. Auto EQ minimizes the effects
of the rooms acoustics allowing you to hear the sound the designer intended."

 

[Xosted]

Thank you for your comments @ski2xblack and @lovinthehd
Would you have any avr suggestions to get me started?

 

[lovinthehd]

Not sure what's available to you or at what pricing but usual avr brands I'd look at are Denon, Marantz and Yamaha. What's a Denon 3300 go for?

 

[Xosted]

The Denon seems to have a lot of features indeed and quite some more power and it goes for the same 900 euro.
I still have a hard time to understand how stereo amps, with rather low power, can cost as much as some avr with substantially more power, more channels and more features.

It's probably the way to go but I have a strong feeling of waste as I don't need all the avr's channels and features.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Denon seems to have a lot of features indeed and quite some more power and it goes for the same 900 euro.
I still have a hard time to understand how stereo amps, with rather low power, can cost as much as some avr with substantially more power, more channels and more features.

It's probably the way to go but I have a strong feeling of waste as I don't need all the avr's channels and features.

Think of it in terms of economy of scale. Far more avrs are sold....on the other hand there are other 2ch integrated amps, and some cost quite a bit more than 900 euro.

 

[Xosted]

You are right, there is no denying the economical logic. I guess I could live with the waste. The denon seems to bring quite more than the elac for equivalent price.
I still hope to have more suggestions and hopefully some cheaper ones among them.