Integrated amp w/ HT bypass for mains and sub

[TheloniousEllington]

In that case, I would say welcome to the "separates" club!

If you mean the Benchmark AHB2, it is a great amp for sure, but I hope you would consider some of those Hypex or Purifi based amps build by a few small companies that offer excellent performance or power to price ratio.

Also keep in mind that the AHB2's gain is relative low so you probably should figure out your actual power requirement first before pairing it with the RX-A1060 that likely won't do too well at output higher than 1 to 1.3 V.

Even when set to "High-gain", the AHB2 will need 2 V input to output 100 W into 8 ohms.

Also, what amp would you get for my Yamaha 1060 avr for 2 channel. I will want to keep the power amp, but I'll want to upgrade other things later. I'm looking to match the impedance on my avr now. Thank you Peng.

 

[lovinthehd]

You don't really match impedance, at least not with the avr, its more about your speakers' impedance characteristics. You can look at pre-out voltage levels on the pre-amp side for the Yamaha and amplifier sensitivity ratings and amount of gain as well. Looking at your speakers' measurements at NRC and Stereophile, seems a good basic 4 ohm amp would work well. Your speakers are only as "power hungry" as you use the volume dial.....

 

[PENG]

Also, what amp would you get for my Yamaha 1060 avr for 2 channel. I will want to keep the power amp, but I'll want to upgrade other things later. I'm looking to match the impedance on my avr now. Thank you Peng.

In my opinion, at the moment there is nothing that can beat the Hypex and Purifi based power amplifiers based on performance to price ration. I have been considering class D amps for many years and it is only until recent months that I decided to make the jump. So I gave up (very reluctantly) my Bryston and Parasound Halo class AB amps for two little Hypex and Purifi amps. In doing so, my racks are 120 lbs lighter and now have much more space for something else.

To help others on AH who may be open to switching to good class D amps I have gathered up some links to useful information that I believe could help members decide for themselves, and created a thread for that purpose. For $650, you could get a 350 W/500 W 8/4 ohm power amp with specs and measurements that indicate there is no way one can tell the difference between it and the AHB2 or any power amps designed for transparency in a double blind controlled comparison listening test in a room, even one that is quieter than average. The gain of those amps are still a little low for the 1060 but for the same input voltage you will get twice as much output compared to the AHB2. On money no object basis, I do prefer the AHB2 but in order to have the output I want, they would cost $6,000 for two (for bridging) so imo not worth it at all.

 

[PENG]

I'm still new to completely understanding matching, especially with impedance. What do you think about the Nord Three 1ET400A dual mono stereo amp? Might work or what avr will work with the Benchmark? Thank you!

They are great, especially if you are in Europe. In terms of value, and if the look is not too important to you, there are better values such as Buckeye amps and VTV amps. If you want to use an AVR with the AHB2, I would suggest you go with with Denon's and preferable use their preamp mode. For Marantz, the only one that I would use with the AHB2 is the SR8015. Its not so much about sound quality as I believe there are others that would sound the same under most conditions despite their higher THD+M measured on test benches, but if you are keen enough to go for the Benchmark amp's based on their specs/measurements then you likely would not want to use and AVR that would measure a lot worse.

 

[PENG]

I have an svs sub. In my opinion, the Yamaha has to be pushed too hard for how power hungry my speakers are. It's not awful, but that's why I'm looking into a power amp as separate.

The LS50s can't take too much "power" anyway as they were designed for nearfield. I am listening to mine as I am typing and I am using a 50 W NAD integrated amp with volume at about 10% at the most. As HD said, you should use a spl meter, a proper one. If you sit 4-6 ft, at volume -10 you should be getting a lot more than 75 dB.

I would guess you need less than 5 W to get 85 dB from 6 ft with room gain, or less than 10 W without considering room gain and with just one speaker making sound.

So if that's reason for a power amp, it is not a good reason at all. Did you use a spl calculator to estimate your power need?

 

[Trell]

To help others on AH who may be open to switching to good class D amps I have gathered up some links to useful information that I believe could help members decide for themselves, and created a thread for that purpose.

I'm lazy, please give me a link. It would very helpful to the OP if you linked the thread here.

 

[PENG]

I'm lazy, please give me a link. It would very helpful to the OP if you linked the thread here.

Took me more than 30 seconds to search and found..

Class D power amplifiers | Audioholics Home Theater Forums

 

[TheloniousEllington]

You don't really match impedance, at least not with the avr, its more about your speakers' impedance characteristics. You can look at pre-out voltage levels on the pre-amp side for the Yamaha and amplifier sensitivity ratings and amount of gain as well. Looking at your speakers' measurements at NRC and Stereophile, seems a good basic 4 ohm amp would work well. Your speakers are only as "power hungry" as you use the volume dial.....

Thank you, I got the impedance mixed up with the volt matching with power amp and avr/avp. Thanks for finding the ohm for the amp.

 

[TheloniousEllington]

The LS50s can't take too much "power" anyway as they were designed for nearfield. I am listening to mine as I am typing and I am using a 50 W NAD integrated amp with volume at about 10% at the most. As HD said, you should use a spl meter, a proper one. If you sit 4-6 ft, at volume -10 you should be getting a lot more than 75 dB.

I would guess you need less than 5 W to get 85 dB from 6 ft with room gain, or less than 10 W without considering room gain and with just one speaker making sound.

So if that's reason for a power amp, it is not a good reason at all. Did you use a spl calculator to estimate your power need?

I agree it's not what it should be. I also want a better sound, headroom and everything else a good power amp will add in benefit. Sorry, I've been busy with work, so my answers haven't been as thoughtful as I wish, so I really appreciate everyone's thoughtful answers.

 

[TheloniousEllington]

Took me more than 30 seconds to search and found..

Class D power amplifiers | Audioholics Home Theater Forums

What do you think about the VTV Stereo Purifi 1ET400A? Also what about adding a buffer, a 12v trigger? Thanks again for your help.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you, I got the impedance mixed up with the volt matching with power amp and avr/avp. Thanks for finding the ohm for the amp.

Even your avr shouldn't have problems with that 4 ohm load, tho. Especially at lower listening levels. Personally I wouldn't spend so much on amplification where I'm spending more on the electronics than on the speakers....

 

[TheloniousEllington]

Even your avr shouldn't have problems with that 4 ohm load, tho. Especially at lower listening levels. Personally I wouldn't spend so much on amplification where I'm spending more on the electronics than on the speakers....

That's good to know. Thank you. You're completely right and I agree. I'm in a small place right now, so getting the floor standing speakers will be too much in my opinion. In the next two years, I'm planning on being in a new place with a larger listening room, perfect for the floor standing speakers. I figure I'll get the other upgrades in the meantime.

 

[lovinthehd]

That's good to know. Thank you. You're completely right and I agree. I'm in a small place right now, so getting the floor standing speakers will be too much in my opinion. In the next two years, I'm planning on being in a new place with a larger listening room, perfect for the floor standing speakers. I figure I'll get the other upgrades in the meantime.

Floor standing speakers tend to be more sensitive than bookshelf speakers, so you may not need any more amp for other speakers. Wait til you move/get new speakers would be what I'd do before making any further electronics changes....

 

[PENG]

What do you think about the VTV Stereo Purifi 1ET400A? Also what about adding a buffer, a 12v trigger? Thanks again for your help.

I had to face the same decision point a few months ago, and I ended up going with the 1ET400A eval-1.
VTV AMPLIFIER Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1 | VTV Amplifier

There is only one reason for that, that amp has the best bench test measurements among the Hypex and Purifi amps as you can see in the thread I linked earlier. I would have preferred the 5 way binding posts and the ease of replacing the input buffer with something different that they "standard" vtv Purifi 1ET400A amps with choices of several input buffers they offer.

Realistically though, I would likely never bother trying a different buffers anyway as I do not believe in those different sound signature difference claims by audiophiles. For the believers they should stay away from the likes of the Benchmark AHB2, Hypex and Purifi amps that are all designed to be transparent.

Trigger would be a good feature especially if you plan on using it with something else such as an AVR or AVP.

 

[TheloniousEllington]

I had to face the same decision point a few months ago, and I ended up going with the 1ET400A eval-1.
VTV AMPLIFIER Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1 | VTV Amplifier

There is only one reason for that, that amp has the best bench test measurements among the Hypex and Purifi amps as you can see in the thread I linked earlier. I would have preferred the 5 way binding posts and the ease of replacing the input buffer with something different that they "standard" vtv Purifi 1ET400A amps with choices of several input buffers they offer.

Realistically though, I would likely never bother trying a different buffers anyway as I do not believe in those different sound signature difference claims by audiophiles. For the believers they should stay away from the likes of the Benchmark AHB2, Hypex and Purifi amps that are all designed to be transparent.

Trigger would be a good feature especially if you plan on using it with something else such as an AVR or AVP.

View attachment 53411

I'm sold. I'll be getting that in the next several months with the trigger. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[TheloniousEllington]

I had to face the same decision point a few months ago, and I ended up going with the 1ET400A eval-1.
VTV AMPLIFIER Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1 | VTV Amplifier

There is only one reason for that, that amp has the best bench test measurements among the Hypex and Purifi amps as you can see in the thread I linked earlier. I would have preferred the 5 way binding posts and the ease of replacing the input buffer with something different that they "standard" vtv Purifi 1ET400A amps with choices of several input buffers they offer.

Realistically though, I would likely never bother trying a different buffers anyway as I do not believe in those different sound signature difference claims by audiophiles. For the believers they should stay away from the likes of the Benchmark AHB2, Hypex and Purifi amps that are all designed to be transparent.

Trigger would be a good feature especially if you plan on using it with something else such as an AVR or AVP.

View attachment 53411

Would I need a converter for the RCA out in the Yamaha aventage 1060 to the xlr inputs of the vtv purifi eigentakt? Something similar to this?: https://www.amazon.com/ART-CLEANBoxPro-2-channel-Unbalanced-Converter/dp/B003S7T49K/ref=asc_df_B003S7T49K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312305907549&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12764942421128172836&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019556&hvtargid=pla-401531180616&psc=1

Thanks again!

 

[PENG]

Would I need a converter for the RCA out in the Yamaha aventage 1060 to the xlr inputs of the vtv purifi eigentakt? Something similar to this?: https://www.amazon.com/ART-CLEANBoxPro-2-channel-Unbalanced-Converter/dp/B003S7T49K/ref=asc_df_B003S7T49K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312305907549&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12764942421128172836&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019556&hvtargid=pla-401531180616&psc=1

Thanks again!

Those boxes may be "clean" for some pro applications and they may not audibly degrade sound quality, but if you look at their specs, they aren't that good at all. Are you sure you need to boost the pre out voltage?

Just grab some of those Monoprice premier RCA to XLR cables, or if you don't mind paying more then buy those from Ghent Audio, March Audio, or Benchmark's though the Mono wires are fine, I tested them on my Purifi amp. They wired the X1 as recommended by Hypex.

ghentaudio --- A15 Canare L-4E6S RCA to XLR Interconnect Audio Cable

Benchmark RCA to XLRM Adapter Cable for Analog Audio - pin 3 to RCA sh - Benchmark Media Systems

Interconnect Cables | March Audio | Australia

Hypex recommendations:

NC400_04xx (3).pdf
See page 17:

Compare it to Monprice's:
Monoprice 6ft Premier Series XLR Male to RCA Male Cable, 16AWG (Gold Plated) - Monoprice.com

 

[TheloniousEllington]

Those boxes may be "clean" for some pro applications and they may not audibly degrade sound quality, but if you look at their specs, they aren't that good at all. Are you sure you need to boost the pre out voltage?

Just grab some of those Monoprice premier RCA to XLR cables, or if you don't mind paying more then buy those from Ghent Audio, March Audio, or Benchmark's though the Mono wires are fine, I tested them on my Purifi amp. They wired the X1 as recommended by Hypex.

ghentaudio --- A15 Canare L-4E6S RCA to XLR Interconnect Audio Cable

View attachment 53602

Benchmark RCA to XLRM Adapter Cable for Analog Audio - pin 3 to RCA sh - Benchmark Media Systems

Interconnect Cables | March Audio | Australia

Hypex recommendations:

NC400_04xx (3).pdf
See page 17:

View attachment 53600

Compare it to Monprice's:
Monoprice 6ft Premier Series XLR Male to RCA Male Cable, 16AWG (Gold Plated) - Monoprice.com


View attachment 53601

Thank you Peng, you have been very kind and helpful. I'll get the rca to xlr cables from ghent or March. I also spoke to Warren from VTV. He said they will work fine. Also, I asked about the voltage difference that others have suggested wouldn't work; he said he hadn't come across or heard from a customer an issue with my line/type of receiver not being able to push the power amp. So, all I need is to save a little!

Hope you have a great weekend. Thanks again!

 

[3db]

I'm in smaller room and the kef ls50 are perfect for near field. I'm about 4-6 feet from them. I listen to old jazz, classic rock, blues and classical mainly.

The volume dial on the RX-A models and their equivalent RX-V models take a few 360 rotations to turn up the volume. How many db are indicated on the panel read out when you say 65 to 70%...especially when sitting near field? What do you have the speaker impedance switch set to on the AVR? If its set to 4 ohms, set it back to 8 ohms. Also turn of ECO mode on the AVR. Those two useless features need to be removed from all AVRs IHO. Just covering the basics before you spend money you don't need too.

 

[lovinthehd]

The volume dial on the RX-A models and their equivalent RX-V models take a few 360 rotations to turn up the volume. How many db are indicated on the panel read out when you say 65 to 70%...especially when sitting near field? What do you have the speaker impedance switch set to on the AVR? If its set to 4 ohms, set it back to 8 ohms. Also turn of ECO mode on the AVR. Those two useless features need to be removed from all AVRs IHO. Just covering the basics before you spend money you don't need too.

He advised earlier

"I say the percentage, because it also shows a bar index on my avr as I turn up the volume, so it looks to be around 65-75% of the way up to push the speakers. DB wise, it's about -15 to -10. Maybe around 70-75 db from my reader on the phone."