Need recommendations for 2 channel integrated Stereo Amplifier

[mata7]

Hello

I am building a 14 x 16 music room in my basement and am looking for a 2 channel stereo amplifier in the range of $3k- $3500 to go with my new Klipsch Cornwallls 4

If it matters I have also a sub SVS PB16 Ultra

I really appreciate any recommendations If any more details are needed please let me know

Thanks in advance.

forgot to mention I'm in Canada

 

[mata7]

I believe I post on the wrong section, i really appreciate if a moderator could move this post to Beginners and Audiophytes

thanks

 

[PENG]

There are lots of choices in the $3k- $3500. If your goal is sound quality for those speakers in a medium size room then I would recommend class D amps. You can get one for under $1,000 and it will have specs and measurements better than most if not all class AB amps within your budget.

Take a read of the follow thread (just the first page will do) and see if you can find enough reasons to go with either the VTV or Buckeye amp's.

(2) Class D power amplifiers | Audioholics Home Theater Forums

You can then spend the $2k - $2.5k on something that matters more for better sound quality.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The usual big brand names like ATI, Anthem, Parasound, Rotel, Legacy Audio, etc.

They will all sound great. The big difference will usually be warranty.

Talk to your dealer and see if there are promotions and sales.

 

[Swerd]

@mata7 Welcome to Audioholics!

I am building a 14 x 16 music room in my basement and am looking for a 2 channel stereo amplifier in the range of $3k- $3500 to go with my new Klipsch Cornwallls 4

Before recommending anything, I've got a question:
Are you looking for a stereo amplifier that is:

1. A stand-alone amp that requires a separate pre-amp?
2. Or are you looking for an integrated amp which combines a pre-amp and amp into one box?

Answer 1 will cost you more than answer 2. A separate pre-amp and amp will almost always cost more, and be more complex to hook up. But, despite what you may have read online, separates do not guarantee better sound quality over integrated amps.

Your Cornwall 4 speakers are very sensitive according to the manufacturer. Klipsch claims 2.83 Volts (1 watt of power at 8 ohms) produces 104 dB when measured 1 meter away. That's very loud. Even if Klipsch is exaggerating, lets assume these speakers might have a more realistic sensitivity of about 90 to 95 dB. That is still very sensitive. You don't need a very powerful amp to drive these speakers at very loud levels. Any decent quality amp that can deliver an honest 100 wpc should easily drive your speakers to very loud levels.

(There are no industry standards for measuring sensitivity. Klipsch and others have been known to claim unusually high sensitivity values as a marketing effort.)

I agree with @PENG when he recommended Class D amplifiers above. For $529 (US) you can get a stand-alone stereo amp from Buckeye Amps that is capable of 150 wpc at 8 ohms and 250 wpc at 4 ohms. This amp uses the Hypex NCore 252MP module. For $699 (US), you can get 350 wpc at 8 ohms and 500 wpc at 4 ohms, using the Hypex NCore 502MP module. Either of these might be overkill for your speakers. But they are good examples of how low the cost is for extremely low-noise amplifiers with state-of-the-art solid state design. Both of these are stand-alone amplifiers that require a separate stereo pre-amp.

For well under $1000 (US), you can get a very good integrated stereo amp, capable of about 100 wpc. One good example is the Yamaha A-S801. There are others.

 

[PENG]

@mata7 Welcome to Audioholics!
Before recommending anything, I've got a question:
Are you looking for a stereo amplifier that is:

1. A stand-alone amp that requires a separate pre-amp?
2. Or are you looking for an integrated amp which combines a pre-amp and amp into one box?

Answer 1 will cost you more than answer 2.

Your Cornwall 4 speakers are very sensitive according to the manufacturer. Klipsch claims 2.83 Volts (1 watt of power at 8 ohms) produces 104 dB when measured 1 meter away. That's very loud. Even if Klipsch is exaggerating, lets assume these speakers might have a more realistic sensitivity of about 90 to 95 dB. That is still very sensitive. You don't need a very powerful amp to drive these speakers at very loud levels.

(There are no industry standards for measuring sensitivity. Klipsch and others have been known to claim unusually high sensitivity values as a marketing effort.)

I agree with @PENG when he recommended Class D amplifiers above. For $529 (US) you can get a stand-alone stereo amp from Buckeye Amps that is capable of 150 wpc at 8 ohms and 250 wpc at 4 ohms. This amp uses the Hypex NCore 252MP module. For $699 (US), you can get 350 wpc at 8 ohms and 500 wpc at 4 ohms, using the Hypex NCore 502MP module. Either of these might be overkill for your speakers. But they are good examples of how low the cost is for extremely low-noise amplifiers with state-of-the-art solid state design. Both of these are stand-alone amplifiers that require a separate stereo pre-amp.

For well under $1000 (US), you can get a very good integrated stereo amp, capable of about 100 wpc. One good example is the Yamaha A-S801. There are others.

His speakers are quite sensitive for sure, but Klipsch, including the Cornwall models, tend to have some impedance dips lined up with not too friendly phase angles and that may tax the amp, though only if he enjoy listening to music at very loud level such as reference level. So I think it wouldn't hurt to have an extra 3 dB of headroom on hand just in case. As you said, the 252MP will be fine but for the little price difference, I would suggest the 502MP.

 

[Swerd]

His speakers are quite sensitive for sure, but Klipsch, including the Cornwall models, tend to have some impedance dips lined up with not too friendly phase angles and that may tax the amp, though only if he enjoy listening to music at very loud level such as reference level. So I think it wouldn't hurt to have an extra 3 dB of headroom on hand just in case. As you said, the 252MP will be fine but for the little price difference, I would suggest the 502MP.

Can you mention some stereo pre-amps to use with those Buckeye amps?

 

[mata7]

There are lots of choices in the $3k- $3500. If your goal is sound quality for those speakers in a medium size room then I would recommend class D amps. You can get one for under $1,000 and it will have specs and measurements better than most if not all class AB amps within your budget.

Take a read of the follow thread (just the first page will do) and see if you can find enough reasons to go with either the VTV or Buckeye amp's.

(2) Class D power amplifiers | Audioholics Home Theater Forums

You can then spend the $2k - $2.5k on something that matters more for better sound quality.

thanks peng I will take look at that list

 

[mata7]

@mata7 Welcome to Audioholics!
Before recommending anything, I've got a question:
Are you looking for a stereo amplifier that is:

1. A stand-alone amp that requires a separate pre-amp?
2. Or are you looking for an integrated amp which combines a pre-amp and amp into one box?

Answer 1 will cost you more than answer 2. A separate pre-amp and amp will almost always cost more, and be more complex to hook up. But, despite what you may have read online, separates do not guarantee better sound quality over integrated amps.

Your Cornwall 4 speakers are very sensitive according to the manufacturer. Klipsch claims 2.83 Volts (1 watt of power at 8 ohms) produces 104 dB when measured 1 meter away. That's very loud. Even if Klipsch is exaggerating, lets assume these speakers might have a more realistic sensitivity of about 90 to 95 dB. That is still very sensitive. You don't need a very powerful amp to drive these speakers at very loud levels. Any decent quality amp that can deliver an honest 100 wpc should easily drive your speakers to very loud levels.

(There are no industry standards for measuring sensitivity. Klipsch and others have been known to claim unusually high sensitivity values as a marketing effort.)

I agree with @PENG when he recommended Class D amplifiers above. For $529 (US) you can get a stand-alone stereo amp from Buckeye Amps that is capable of 150 wpc at 8 ohms and 250 wpc at 4 ohms. This amp uses the Hypex NCore 252MP module. For $699 (US), you can get 350 wpc at 8 ohms and 500 wpc at 4 ohms, using the Hypex NCore 502MP module. Either of these might be overkill for your speakers. But they are good examples of how low the cost is for extremely low-noise amplifiers with state-of-the-art solid state design. Both of these are stand-alone amplifiers that require a separate stereo pre-amp.

For well under $1000 (US), you can get a very good integrated stereo amp, capable of about 100 wpc. One good example is the Yamaha A-S801. There are others.

thanks swerd, yes a integrated amp, i got the title wrong, i don't want to go separates on my music room at least for now

 

[Swerd]

thanks swerd, yes a integrated amp, i got the title wrong, i don't want to go separates on my music room at least for now.

In that case, you have many choices of integrated amps available with roughly 100 wpc at 8 ohms speaker impedance. I would stick amps that are known to be stable at lower impedance values of 4 ohms. Brand names such as Denon, Marantz, or Yamaha are reliable and all have a number of good choices. Also look into an online only vendor, Outlaw. Their RR2160 receiver is good.

You didn't mention what sound sources you have. Digital audio (CDs, digital files from a computer or downloaded from various websites), analog audio (vinyl LPs, tape recordings), FM radio, etc. Look for an integrated amp that has inputs for as many sources as you have now, or plan to have in the future.

 

[mata7]

yeah sorry i forgot to mention that i don’t subscribe to any music server, it’s just for local flac files playback

 

[mata7]

i’m considering the Rotel RA-1572 MKII , anyone have any opinion about it

 

[PENG]

i’m considering the Rotel RA-1572 MKII , anyone have any opinion about it

That's a good one, can also consider the Parasound:

https://parasound.com/pdfs/halo-brochure-2019-2020.pdf

Or, since you are in Canada, if you can stretch your budget a little:

B135 Cubed Owner's Manual- 4.pdf (bryston.com)

I understand you want an integrated, but for you $3,500 budget, separate is really a better way to go. One of those Hypex amp will cost you under C$1,000. That leaves you with $2,500 for a very nice control amp, aka preamp plus an external dac so you can skip it for now if there is no need. Separates give you the flexibility and more future proof. Integrated is really a receiver without the tuner, so in that case may as well get the R-N803 for C$1,100 and that comes with bass management feature.

 

[mata7]

thanks peng, i know all the advance of going separate , in fact my home theatre is all separate, but for this music room i just want sit there relax and do some casual gaming so i will prefer just stay simple, i will check the bryston, the bass management is great but i do have a extra minidsp 2x4hd that i can all ways put it back to work, thanks for your recommendations

 

[PENG]

thanks peng, i know all the advance of going separate , in fact my home theatre is all separate, but for this music room i just want sit there relax and do some casual gaming so i will prefer just stay simple, i will check the bryston, the bass management is great but i do have a extra minidsp 2x4hd that i can all ways put it back to work, thanks for your recommendations

Okay now I understand. You do have very nice speakers that deserve the $3,500 budget regardless.

 

[mata7]

lol I check the bryston and is way out of my budge is like 7.500+ tax, I start leading to the rotel Rotel RA-1572 MKII 2600+tax , do you know if is any big different between Rotel RA-1572 MKII and Rotel RA-1592 MKII?

I'm also open to any other big brand around that price and sound quality, I like tubes but prefer stay with SS

thanks

 

[mtrot]

You might be able to score a nice used Anthem STR Integrated amp for around $3500. You won't do much better at that price.

 

[mata7]

thanks guys, I brought the Rotel RA-1592 MKII

 

[mtrot]

Congrats! If you can, please post your thoughts after using the unit for a while.

 

[mata7]

thanks i definitely will post back