best amp for me

[Verdinut]

The poor McIntosh audiophiles who swear they can hear a difference.

Yeah, they should be able to hear a difference when they switch to a real SS amp with a low output impedance. It's true that some people prefer the warmer sound of a tube amplifier and they get it with all the McIntoshes except with the ones without an output transformer.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Will be total 15; of course only 13 at a time.
LCR will be Salk SS. Front Height and Top Center will be MK LCR 950 and MK IW 950.
Front R/L height 17 yo M&K 800 series.
Surrounds are all MK tripoles (4 from 2003 and 4 from 2019).
Note: I jumped in and bought all of the newer MK's BEFORE I started researching, based upon what I was told about M&K in 2003....they were supposed to be great then...at I was told that. Had I waited, I would likely have purchased some different ones....too late now unless I scrap old ones. Still need new TV and the amp.
Jim reccommended SS amp since more heavily use for theater.

I believe you have made up your mind about getting an amp.

Since you have depleted most of your budget on the AVR and 3 speakers, you’re kind of in a tighter budget. Otherwise, you would not even have to think too much about buying an amp.

I agree with most members - get the Monolith amp. It’s built by ATI.

But personally I agree with HD - just use the AVR by itself. Don’t worry about the ACD. The front L/R need most of the power and the rest of the speakers probably need 1-2 watts each.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Wow - you have an 8500. I would certainly try it before jumping into a 5K amp. If you won't be happy then get the McIntosh MA7200 if you can locate one and feel comfortable lifting 93 pounds.

 

[Bruce53]

With a full complement I'd probably go with the Monoprice 7 if not something based on the modules I mentioned.....

I think that the Denon should be able to drive all of the speakers except the Salks, so probably 3 channel amp would be best. Will definitely consider the 3 channel Monoprice. My budget still has to include a new TV as mine is over 7 years old and doesnt do HDR well (does have the feature since upgraded with a Samsung upgrade box in 2016).

 

[VMPS-TIII]

I think that the Denon should be able to drive all of the speakers except the Salks, so probably 3 channel amp would be best. Will definitely consider the 3 channel Monoprice. My budget still has to include a new TV as mine is over 7 years old and doesnt do HDR well (does have the feature since upgraded with a Samsung upgrade box in 2016).

I'm pretty sure the 8500 could thrive driving the Salk SS 9.5. If you play music mostly under 90db it would work great. The 8500 offers 13 channels of 260 W Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10% 1ch Drive). The SALK is 6 ohms.

Even if you load up the channels Denon guarantees 180 watts will be available on each channel. You can certainly move the Salks to an external amp - but that 8500 has power to spare. It's a BEAST.

 

[Bruce53]

I'm pretty sure the 8500 could thrive driving the Salk SS 9.5. If you play music mostly under 90db it would work great. The 8500 offers 13 channels of 260 W Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10% 1ch Drive). The SALK is 6 ohms.

Even if you load up the channels Denon grantees 180 watts will be available on each channel. You can certainly move the Salks to an external amp - but that 8500 has power to spare. It's a BEAST.

Thank you. I will try just the Denon first before gettting amp. I am a few months from the Salks....

 

[lovinthehd]

I think that the Denon should be able to drive all of the speakers except the Salks, so probably 3 channel amp would be best. Will definitely consider the 3 channel Monoprice. My budget still has to include a new TV as mine is over 7 years old and doesnt do HDR well (does have the feature since upgraded with a Samsung upgrade box in 2016).

Part of my thinking is price difference between the 3ch unit and the 7ch unit, same form factor, may as well spend $500 for the extra four channels of amp.....but I still like the idea of seeing if you need an external amp at all after you get the speakers....and putting the money towards a better tv would be a good thing, too.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Jim recommended something around 200W.

Even if you load up the channels Denon guarantees 180 watts will be available on each channel.

I seriously doubt any AVR can output 180W x13Ch driven ACD. Maybe 180W at any given channel, but not ACD.

ASR measured the X8500 to be 256W x 2Ch driven into 4 ohms. Which should be more than enough.

But nobody needs to worry about ACD since ACD doesn’t happen in real life. The front L/R might need some power (in Full-Range, no Subwoofer), but the rest of the speakers won’t need much power at all.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Part of my thinking is price difference between the 3ch unit and the 7ch unit, same form factor, may as well spend $500 for the extra four channels of amp.....but I still like the idea of seeing if you need an external amp at all after you get the speakers....and putting the money towards a better tv would be a good thing, too.

A lot us always talk about putting most of the budget into speakers, but it’s a balancing act.

It’s best to make a budget plan for the ENTIRE system.

It doesn’t seem too much fun when you have to skimp on amps and TV.

And personally, if I’m spending $15K+ on 3 speakers and $4K on AVR, I would want a 150” movie screen too, assuming a room with 13 speakers is relatively large enough.