I need to replace my Nad M25 Power amplifier.

[Pablo2k]

Last night, my Nad M25 was celebrating 4th of July early under its cover...
Upon farther inspection, I found out that it blew a capacitor.
If I need to replace it, I won’t be able to spend as much as I did back then.
I only need a 5 channel amp.
I need it to cost well under $2k
My speakers are B&W 683 front and 684 in back.
I heard good thing of the Monoprice Monolith 5x200
And another one I was recommended was the
Rotel 1555.
What do you guys think?
Will I be happy with any of those amps coming from the M25?
My preamp is a Nad M15HD2.
Thanks.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Monolith would be my choice of those mentioned, but personally would likely just buy three Crown XLS1502s....

 

[Pablo2k]

When I think of Crown, I think of guitar amps.
It never crossed my mind to use an amp like that.
What do they sound like? Are they more musical or more for movies?
I like the idea of having separate amps, so if one goes, I only need to replace that one and not the whole unit.

 

[lovinthehd]

When I think of Crown, I think of guitar amps.
It never crossed my mind to use an amp like that.
What do they sound like? Are they more musical or more for movies?
I like the idea of having separate amps, so if one goes, I only need to replace that one and not the whole unit.

It's an amp, not an instrument. It amplifies the signal. I don't consider them having a signature, don't even want one with a signature. What is musical when it comes to an amp? I've used my Crowns (I have four 1500s) for both mains and sub duties. It's a pro (maybe prosumer) amp, a guitar amp is much more specialized; I'd think Crown is not well known for guitar amps in any case but more live sound/pro applications. They have useful features, too, more so than most consumer amps.

 

[Pablo2k]

It's an amp, not an instrument. It amplifies the signal. I don't consider them having a signature, don't even want one with a signature. What is musical when it comes to an amp? I've used my Crowns (I have four 1500s) for both mains and sub duties. It's a pro (maybe prosumer) amp, a guitar amp is much more specialized; I'd think Crown is not well known for guitar amps in any case but more live sound/pro applications. They have useful features, too, more so than most consumer amps.

Sorry about that, I was thinking Marshalls.
Crown I’ve seen more in live events, you right.
So I could get three 1502s and run a 5 channel set up.They have way more power than what I need, but it’s a nice headroom.
I definitely read up on them.
As far as Monoprice and Rotel, can you tell me why you like Monoprice better?
Thanks again.

 

[lovinthehd]

Monolith is made by ATI and is well priced. The Rotel simply is overpriced IMO, the brand has never really been on my radar.

FWIW even though the Crowns have fans, they are extremely quiet. The aesthetics aren't for everyone, either. FWIW the 1002 is lower priced but also has a slightly lower spec (SNR particularly) and for the little extra money the 1502 is the way I'd go....

 

[Winkleswizard]

How about an Emotiva XPA-5? If you want to save some money, an A-500 is a still a pretty good deal. Too bad they stopped having sales. I got some great values when they did. If you have an AVR, would really suggest spending your money on fewer channels of better amplification...

Ww

 

[PENG]

How about an Emotiva XPA-5? If you want to save some money, an A-500 is a still a pretty good deal. Too bad they stopped having sales. I got some great values when they did. If you have an AVR, would really suggest spending your money on fewer channels of better amplification...

Ww

I think you will be happy with the ATI made Monolith 5X200 watt amp that is as powerful as the M25 so it won't be a downgrade for you in terms of power output rating.

 

[Winkleswizard]

I think you will be happy with the ATI made Monolith 5X200 watt amp that is a little more powerful than the M25 so it won't be a downgrade for you.

Agree it looks pretty nice and website says something about 15% off for father’s day too. Still like putting more power into the mains. OP system says Onkyo AVR is in bridged mode. Would lose that and just have the AVR handle surrounds. My (older) Onkyo always ran warm. This can affect longevity. Mine had to have an HDMI board replaced.

Any idea how well Monoprice folks handle a repair?

We

 

[PENG]

Still like putting more power into the mains. OP system says Onkyo AVR is in bridged mode.

Sounds good, but what did the peak spl calculator tell you you need?
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

If the calculator says you need 100 watts, then the Monolith's 216W 8 ohms, 346 W 4 ohms, two channel driven will be more than you need already. I assume your "mains" meant front left and right?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The only bad thing about the Monolith 200x5 amp is that it has the name "Monoprice" on there so people will think it's cheap crap.

But it is made by ATI in California with 5 YR ATI-warranty, so I would definitely take the Monolith over the Emotiva or any other "consumer" amp even close to the price range.

They really should change that "Monoprice" name completely.

 

[lovinthehd]

The only bad thing about the Monolith 200x5 amp is that it has the name "Monoprice" on there so people will think it's cheap crap.

But it is made by ATI in California with 5 YR ATI-warranty, so I would definitely take the Monolith over the Emotiva or any other "consumer" amp even close to the price range.

They really should change that "Monoprice" name completely.

Well, they can't claim made in USA, just designed, engineered and assembled in USA from foreign components....like it says on the back of the unit.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, they can't claim made in USA, just designed, engineered and assembled in USA from foreign components....like it says on the back of the unit.

Doesn't it say "Manufactured in the USA"?

I guess "Made" in the USA is different than "Manufactured" in the USA ?

"To avoid deception, any product that is not all or virtually all made in the United States, must have U.S. origin claims adequately qualified. A marketer may make any qualified claim about the U.S. content of its products as long as the claim is truthful and substantiated.

However, general terms such as ‘produced’ or ‘manufactured’ in the United States require further qualification as to not be considered deceptive (e.g., manufactured in the USA with imported parts). The Commission has determined that ‘Assembled in the United States’ without further qualification is acceptable, but because assembly describes a wide range of processes and may be confusing or misleading to consumers, its use should be limited to those instances where the product has undergone its principal assembly in the United States and that assembly is substantial, and the product was last substantially transformed in the United States."

https://www.nist.gov/standardsgov/compliance-faqs-made-usa

 

[Winkleswizard]

Sounds good, but what did the peak spl calculator tell you you need?
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

If the calculator says you need 100 watts, then the Monolith's 216W 8 ohms, 346 W 4 ohms, two channel driven will be more than you need already. I assume your "mains" meant front left and right?

By mains, I meant left, center and right. Though I could rationalize just being left and right depending on how well the center matches the others...

Btw, am not the OP, but like the SPL calc suggestion ! As long as the NAD was sufficient power, might be able to forgo as long as they meet or exceed it. Notably, if they are using their AVR amplification to drive speakers too. Might be able to save some money by using less power. Unclear why their Onkyo AVR was insufficient power for that matter?

Ww

 

[lovinthehd]

Is this just for the Monoprice units or all ATI-made units (ATI, Outlaw, Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Cary Audio) ?

The comment was specifically about the Monolith. Looking at several ATI models on their website they say "designed, engineered and manufactured in the United States of America by....". The Outlaw 5000 is made in China, the 2200 in Taiwan, the others indicate made in USA. Didn't look at the others...

 

[Pablo2k]

I’ve been reading a lot about how the monolith is made by ati, and how quiet and great the Crown 1502 are.
I can have the Crowns, three of them for $399 each, or the Monoprice for $1299 (I don’t know why coupon dad15 don’t work for me) and shipping isn’t free either.
What’s nice about having three crowns is that if one breaks I don’t have to replace them all.
What’s nice about Monoprice is that it has 5yr warranty.
About the input in the Crown it says low or 1.7volts.
My Nad M15HD2 says 8vrms, wouldn’t that bee a problem??
I wish I could audition them but I can’t.
All I can say is that I like the Nad M25 sound, and before that, I had a TX NR902 ONKYO wich I also liked, it just wasn’t powerful enough (165w but only when two driven) the Nad M25 was minimum 160w all 7 channels driven and THX certified.

I’ll be doing 90% movies 10% or even less music.
Thank you for all the replies.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The comment was specifically about the Monolith. Looking at several ATI models on their website they say "designed, engineered and manufactured in the United States of America by....". The Outlaw 5000 is made in China, the 2200 in Taiwan, the others indicate made in USA. Didn't look at the others...

I think only the 200x7 and 300x7 fully balanced amps from Outlaw are made by ATI. The rest are made in China.

I see what you mean about the Monoprice Monolith 200x5 amp. It does say "Assembled in the USA from internationally sourced materials".

 

[lovinthehd]

I’ve been reading a lot about how the monolith is made by ati, and how quiet and great the Crown 1502 are.
I can have the Crowns, three of them for $399 each, or the Monoprice for $1299 (I don’t know why coupon dad15 don’t work for me) and shipping isn’t free either.
What’s nice about having three crowns is that if one breaks I don’t have to replace them all.
What’s nice about Monoprice is that it has 5yr warranty.
About the input in the Crown it says low or 1.7volts.
My Nad M15HD2 says 8vrms, wouldn’t that bee a problem??
I wish I could audition them but I can’t.
All I can say is that I like the Nad M25 sound, and before that, I had a TX NR902 ONKYO wich I also liked, it just wasn’t powerful enough (165w but only when two driven) the Nad M25 was minimum 160w all 7 channels driven and THX certified.

I’ll be doing 90% movies 10% or even less music.
Thank you for all the replies.

The Crown XLS gen 2 (1002, 1502, etc) amps have adjustable sensitivity of .775V or 1.4V. If your preamp has 8V output shouldn't be an issue at all. As to how they "sound" would depend more on your speakers but the Crowns can handle 2ohm loads, so that shouldn't be a problem particularly. I haven't seen complaints about sound quality particularly (except perhaps for very high sensitivity speakers with some amp hiss but that was for 110dB sensitive speakers in a room with a very low noise floor). I'm sure you can do better than $400 each, I just checked Amazon at $360 each and if you call Guitar Center or similar stores you can often do better than that....

Just curious, what about repairing the NAD?

 

[lovinthehd]

I think only the 200x7 and 300x7 fully balanced amps from Outlaw are made by ATI. The rest are made in China.

I see what you mean about the Monoprice Monolith 200x5 amp. It does say "Assembled in the USA from internationally sourced materials".

I checked each of the amps on the Outlaw site, they all indicated made in USA except for the ones I mentioned made in China and Taiwan. Not that companies don't sometimes follow all the labeling rules....seen plenty of bullshit in my career as a US Customs Broker/international freight forwarder.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I can have the Crowns, three of them for $399 each

I would just get the Crown XLS 1002 (200WPC/ 8 ohms) from Amazon for $299 each x 3 = $897.

Do they look okay to you?

They also make a little "hiss" sound from the speakers if you put your ears 1 inch from the tweeters. But you can't hear any noise at all from over 12 inches. I've heard this same hiss sound from Emotiva and Classe Amps, so no big deal.

To me, the only problem is the aesthetics.

The specs (SNR, THD) won't look as good as even $300 AVRs, but the specs are inaudible to humans anyway.