entry level stereo amp choices

[PENG]

Adcom GFA-5500
Adcom GFA-555SE
Anthem MCA20
Emotiva XPA-2
NAD C275BEE
Parasound classic 2250

They are all in the same price range except for the Emo, so which one would you pick, and why?

Thanks

 

[Seth=L]

Parasound.

It's designed by John Curl, an exceptional amplifier with huge dynamic headroom. It'll drive virtually any load. As far as I'm concerned it's a poor man's esoteric amplifier. It is ellegant without being outlandishly expensive.

 

[TLS Guy]

Adcom GFA-5500
Adcom GFA-555SE
Anthem MCA20
Emotiva XPA-2
NAD C275BEE
Parasound classic 2250

They are all in the same price range except for the Emo, so which one would you pick, and why?

Thanks

I would put the Quad 909 in the mix. Class A performance, zero crossover distortion, without the hassle of orthodox class A amps. A very clever design, that delivers superb effortless performance, with long term reliability. It has to be the one of the most if not the most trouble free of amps.

I know a dealer who I likely could persuade to sell you one for just over half MRSP.

The sell on Audiogon for between $700 and $900 as a rule.

 

[InTheIndustry]

Adcom GFA-5500
Adcom GFA-555SE
Anthem MCA20
Emotiva XPA-2
NAD C275BEE
Parasound classic 2250

They are all in the same price range except for the Emo, so which one would you pick, and why?

Thanks

Parasound.

It's designed by John Curl, an exceptional amplifier with huge dynamic headroom. It'll drive virtually any load. As far as I'm concerned it's a poor man's esoteric amplifier. It is ellegant without being outlandishly expensive.

I will second the Parasound products. Their build quality is superb and their listed specs are no BS. The company has been kept small and in-house because they care about what they build. And, after dealing with them over the years, I trust them 100% to immediately take care of any issues that may come up through ownership of the product, which allows us to support our clients if need be.

Depending on one's speakers, the New Classic models with less power than the 2250, which are the 2125 & 275, could be perfect as well.

If it's good enough for Lucasfilm as well as several other major film studios (Pixar, Sony, Warner Brothers, Universal, and others)..... It's good enough for me. It's legitimately one of the most well respected products in audio and has been for many years.

Note: I'm not sure that John Curl designs the New Classic preamp pieces. I know he does some of the Halo models as they have his initials JC in the model number and they specify they are his designs. Other than that, I can't say I know for sure that he does the other pieces.

 

[Ziontrain]

Parasound.

It's designed by John Curl, an exceptional amplifier with huge dynamic headroom. It'll drive virtually any load. As far as I'm concerned it's a poor man's esoteric amplifier. It is ellegant without being outlandishly expensive.

Admittedly I have technical shortcomings, but clicking on the "specifications" tab here, it says "Dynamic Headroom: 1.6 dB"
http://www.parasound.com/nc/2250.php

In fact from what I could see clicking around this website every single Parasound amp specifies dynamic headroom as either 1.6 dB. But I thought that closer to say 3 dB would be considered outstanding in the headroom dept. Or is that not true?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Admittedly I have technical shortcomings, but clicking on the "specifications" tab here, it says "Dynamic Headroom: 1.6 dB"
http://www.parasound.com/nc/2250.php

In fact from what I could see clicking around this website every single Parasound amp specifies dynamic headroom as either 1.6 dB. But I thought that closer to say 3 dB would be considered outstanding in the headroom dept. Or is that not true?

Yep, a 1.6 dB headroom is not much at all.

 

[PENG]

I would put the Quad 909 in the mix. Class A performance, zero crossover distortion, without the hassle of orthodox class A amps. A very clever design, that delivers superb effortless performance, with long term reliability. It has to be the one of the most if not the most trouble free of amps.

I know a dealer who I likely could persuade to sell you one for just over half MRSP.

The sell on Audiogon for between $700 and $900 as a rule.

Thanks for offering help. I didn't put it on the list because I always thought it was in the much higher price bracket and I was considering 2X200W amps only though I am sure the 909 is equally powerful.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for offering help. I didn't put it on the list because I always thought it was in the much higher price bracket and I was considering 2X200W amps only though I am sure the 909 is equally powerful.

Its 250 watts per channel into four ohms.

If it had market share it could be made much cheaper than the competition. The design is so elegant there is only a fraction of the part count of other designs. There are no internal adjustments and any component can wander off as much as 30% and the amp still meet spec! There are no internal adjustments or presets. When you look at Peters designs so often you stare pure genius straight in the face. His current dumpers are one of those moments.

Here is one of the amp boards. You show me another amp of that power and quality with so few parts on the board!

 

[Rickster71]

What's the general consensus on the XPA-2?

What do you think of putting Peng's list in some sort of order?

 

[Seth=L]

What's the general consensus on the XPA-2?

What do you think of putting Peng's list in some sort of order?

Hasn't Emotiva had reliability issues with their amps?

InTheIndustry-

You're correct. Apparently he did not design the New Classic series. The original Classic series was designed by John Curl. For example, the HCA-2200 II seems to have similar specs and is designated as being designed by John Curl. The motherload of monster power amplifiers of course (at least for the money) would be the HCA-3500. That was one terrific looking amplifier, and the build quality is unparalleled at it's street price. Of course, it weighs 85 pounds and won't fit on any conventional audio rack, but who cares? That monster can deliver 500 watts RMS @ 4 ohms, and is stable down to 1 ohm (probably a fraction of 1 ohm).

 

[Rickster71]

Hasn't Emotiva had reliability issues with their amps?

Don't know if was a few more vocal people with problems, or what % of total product it was.
I do believe them; just don't know how wide spread it was; or if they were just part of the unlucky %.

XPA-2 specs don't look too bad:
Power output (all channels driven):
500 watts RMS @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
300 watts RMS @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)

 

[KEW]

I'm asking as much as suggesting - Is a pair of UPA-1's worthy of consideration?

UPA-1 Specifications:
* Number of Channels: 1
* Amplifier Gain: 32db
* Signal to Noise Ratio:
1 watt: >89db
Full Power: >117db
* Input Impedance:
Unbalanced – 23.5kohms
Balanced – 33kohms
* Transformer Size: 300VA
* Output Devices: 6
* Topology: Fully Discrete, Dual Differential, High Current, Short Signal Path Class A/B
* Power output (all channels driven):
350 watts RMS @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
200 watts RMS @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)
* Power Band Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than .05db deviation at rated power
* Broadband Frequency Response (-3db): 5Hz to 150kHz
* Secondary capacitance: 80,000uF
* Size:
Unboxed: 17" wide x 3.875" high x 18" deep
Boxed: 22.25" wide x 8.5" high x 22.25" deep
* Weight: 26 lbs (35 lbs boxed)

http://emotiva.com/upa1.shtm

One drawback to the Emo amps is the 18" depth - add another 1.5 to 2" for AC & banana plugs and you need 20 inches of depth!

 

[Seth=L]

The 300va transformer has me a bit stumped.

The HCA-2250 has a 1,200va transformer.

 

[KEW]

The 300va transformer has me a bit stumped.

The HCA-2250 has a 1,200va transformer.

That is awfully strange. Almost wonder if it is a typo, but this amp has been out long enough to have caught and fixed a typo!
Can the caps make up for it? 80,000uF for only one channel seems absurd!
To put it in terms of a stereo amp, it would be 600va transformer and 160,000uF secondary capacitance.
(for comparison, XPA-2 has 1,200va and 45,000uF)

 

[PENG]

Amps 8/4/2 THD SN Cap Wt
XPA-2 300/500 0.10 110 45000 75
2250.00 250/400/385 0.02 114 43
MCA-20 200/300/410 0.03 120 35
GFA-555SE 200/325 0.01 110 60000 35
C275 BEE 150/150 0.02 123 32
GFA-555 200/350 0.13 100 44

Above numbers are from data sheet/manuals. Some of them, such as the NAD figures, are presented in a complex and confusing ways so don't take everything to the bank.

The Adcom stables to 1 ohm.
The Anthem has significant higher 1 ch output, e.g. 535W into 2 ohms.
The NAD claimed high dynamic power, but its continuous power sucks.
All of them have very high power consumption numbers.
Weight clearly is a factor but clearly not a huge one in this class of amps, all of them weigh >30 lbs.

With the exception of the Emotiva and the Parasound, I would say the other models apparent high continuous output power ratings are based on overloading the transformer to probably 150% or more; and 'continuous' to them probably mean a couple of minutes. That is perfectly ligit as transformers can have very high short duration overload capbility, and real world source material will not call for both channels to be driven to their rated power for more than a few seconds, except for certain types of music.

So the XPA-2 appears to offer the best value but my choice is limited to the Adcom and the Anthem due to limited rack space.

 

[PENG]

That is awfully strange. Almost wonder if it is a typo, but this amp has been out long enough to have caught and fixed a typo!
Can the caps make up for it? 80,000uF for only one channel seems absurd!
To put it in terms of a stereo amp, it would be 600va transformer and 160,000uF secondary capacitance.
(for comparison, XPA-2 has 1,200va and 45,000uF)

The caps can make up for short burst, say for a few seconds. More likely Emotiva uses transformers that can be safely overloaded to 125 to 150% for short duration without sustaining any permanent damage. Together with oversized capacitors, it can do the trick.

 

[zumbo]

Used Denon POA 2200/2400/2800 for around $300-$400.

200WPC@8ohm-300/330WPC@4ohm .005%/.001%
http://www.classic-audio.com/denon-poa2200-p-526.html
http://www.classic-audio.com/denon-poa2400-p-490.html

 

[PENG]

Used Denon POA 2200/2400/2800 for around $300-$400.

Being in Canada it is not as viable.

 

[Rickster71]

Being in Canada it is not as viable.

Sounds like you'll have to move.

 

[PENG]

Sounds like you'll have to move.

Yeah, I just ordered some SACD from Amazon.com. After adding up shipping, tax and import duties the savings (compared to Amazon.ca) are all but disappeared.

Good thing we do have Anthem, Bryston, Class'e, Axiom, Energy, PSB, Paradigm, Totem to choice from. Imagine if I get one of those 45 lbs Denon or Quad shipped across the border and then something went wrong.......