Parasound or B&K or Outlaw Power Amplifiers

[ManishKasera]

Hi,
I'm in the process of planning new equipments for my HT (if I could succeed convincing my wife - which is the hardest part). REMEMBER I want the equipment that can run on 115/230V, as I move a lot and never know where I'll end up.
Following are the options I have in mind:

Option#1
Parasound Halo A21 (Front L/R)
B&K Reference 200.1 S2 (Center)
Parasound Halo A23 (Rear L/R)

Option#2
Parasound Classic 2250 (Front L/R)
B&K Reference 200.1 S2 (Center)
Parasound Classic 2250 (Rear L/R)

Option#3
B&K Reference 200.2 S2 (Front L/R)
B&K Reference 200.1 S2 (Center)
B&K Reference 200.2 S2 (Rear L/R)

Option#4
Outlaw Model 2200 M-Block Amplifier ( Front L/R + Center + Rear L/R)

Following are the speakers I'm planning to rock on these gears:
Paradigm Studio 100 (Front L/R)
Paradigm CC690 (Center)
Paradigm ADP550 (Rear L/R)

I'm looking for something that give me good bang for bucks but at the same time I do not want to compromise on quality and then look for another upgrade (as I said to my wife when I bought last time ;-). I know there will be better gear at higher price point, I'm looking at something between $3000K-$4000K.

So guys jump in and throw some nice ideas from your experience.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Option#3
B&K Reference 200.2 S2 (Front L/R)
B&K Reference 200.1 S2 (Center)
B&K Reference 200.2 S2 (Rear L/R)

Following are the speakers I'm planning to rock on these gears:
Paradigm Studio 100 (Front L/R)
Paradigm CC690 (Center)
Paradigm ADP550 (Rear L/R)

Nice.
Yeah, I'll take those.

 

[davidtwotrees]

Seems rather complicated.
I could see a two channel amp for the fronts......or even monoblocks.
but seperate amps for the rears and center?

You didn't give any links to the gear so I didn't look........but I'm not sure Outlaw is in the same price block as Parasound and B&K, is it?
Parasound and B&K are some pretty hot gear and I don't think you could go wrong with either of those.........

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...but I'm not sure Outlaw is in the same price block as Parasound and B&K, is it?
Parasound and B&K are some pretty hot gear and I don't think you could go wrong with either of those.........

My thinking exactly. I would be very, very happy with Parasound or B&K!

 

[ManishKasera]

davidtwotree you are right.
Outlaw does not come into the same price range as other two but I kept is intentionally their as I wanted to see if someone have very good opinion about them and prefer them in term of price (7 monoblock for $1,850 good deal).
Regarding Parasound and B&K I'm little confuse because they are both higher end of budget and in some forums people have opinion like B&K roll off at higher volume. Pricewise B&K is better than Parasound.

What about comparision between Parasound Halo and Classic series? Is the difference in price is worth?
http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=8

 

[ManishKasera]

davidtree I forgot to mention about separate apm for center and rear. I defenitely want seperate for Center and Front. Was not sure about rear. Actually I can buy 2 mono Outlaw for rear that will be cheaper too.

 

[Seth=L]

davidtwotree you are right.
Outlaw does not come into the same price range as other two but I kept is intentionally their as I wanted to see if someone have very good opinion about them and prefer them in term of price (7 monoblock for $1,850 good deal).
Regarding Parasound and B&K I'm little confuse because they are both higher end of budget and in some forums people have opinion like B&K roll off at higher volume. Pricewise B&K is better than Parasound.

What about comparision between Parasound Halo and Classic series? Is the difference in price is worth?
http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=8

I gotta ask, why not just buy a 5 channel high power amplifier from any of these companies? While using monoblocks has a slight advantage in ensuring that seperation is complete, but that shouldn't be a problem with any well designed and assembled multichannel amplifier. What is great about multichannel amplifiers is that if any channel demands more power than it's specified all channels driven rating it can output far more than a mono block with the same power rating. Consider the amplifier linked below. It is rated 200 watts x 5. The Outlaw monoblock is rated 200 watts. If more power is demanded of the monoblock the power supply will be unable to surpass the rated power (in theory, it may have some extra dynamic power). But say the multichannel amplifier is suddenly asked to output 400 watts to a particular channel and is fully capable of doing this without even taxing the power supply because it is much larger than the mono block's power supply.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7500.html

The difference between the Parasound Halo and Classic series is cosmetics and build quality. The SQ between the amplifiers should be none, unless one line is faulty. The Halo series may have a lower noise floor or something of that nature, but they wouldn't be technically better or worse sounding than one another.

I would also say that people saying that the B&K rolls off the top end is BS.

 

[Swerd]

I agree with the others who said B&K and Parasound are both excellent. I would also say that the B&K amps are more similar in build and component quality to the Parasound Halo amps. They both have larger transformers and MOSFET output devices. The less expensive Parasound Classic amps do not use MOSFETs. I would ignore the often repeated, but untrue claims that B&K amps are warm sounding or rolled off at the higher frequencies. People often just repeat what they hear, and stories like that are a good example of how the internet spreads myths as well as good advice.

Are you sure you want or need 200 watts for the center and rear channels? You may find that 125 watts is plenty.

Did you say you are buying new or used? There are good bargains to be had in used amps on AudiogoN. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the View Classifieds link.

If you want to buy new amps, you might consider Audio by Van Alstine. The OmegaStar EX solid state amps are made in the USA, are in your price range, and in my opinion are at least as good as B&K or Parasound, and maybe better. Note that the OmegaStar 240/3EX is a 3-channel amp that might be what you need for your center and rear channels.

 

[PENG]

The A21 should get you the best out of those big Studio 100s. I think 1 & 2 channel amps are better in terms of flexibility, and theorectically SQ/noise/heat concerns.

IMHO, a 5/7 channel amp is not well utilized most of the time. Mamy of the best recordings are still done in two channel CD and vinyl albums. I have quite a few SACD and DVDA and found none deserves high end separate amps/speakers for the surround channels. As for the power supply advantage mentioned, it depends, many of the high end gear use individual power supplies for each channels so you don't always get the benefit of having one large power supply. Also, you are still limited by the 15 or 20 circuit.

For surround channels, Outlaw, Adcom, or the Parasound NewClassic amps should do well.

 

[cfrizz]

I have had an Outlaw monoblock for my center channel & it did the job just fine. I also had a Parasound 1500A Classic amp & it was outstanding as well.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those companies, but I'm leaning towards a multichannel Parasound. Take a look at the classic 5 channel as well as the others.

All of your speakers will LOVE getting 200wpc to power them. You will be pretty happy as well.

 

[Warpdrv]

I have the exact same Speakers as you, I am running them off of a Rotel RMB-1095 (5x200) Sounds awesome... I bought my used for $1200.00 off Audiogon... There were also people saying that the Rotel tapered of the highs, I'm not finding that at all, these speakers are very clear in the highs.

Also another brand - Anthem which is Paradigm, hasn't been mentioned. Not sure whether it would fit into your price bracket but you are looking at Parasound, so I figured I would throw that out there..

The Studio's really deliver with that amount of wattage, so don't hesitate..

 

[ManishKasera]

Seth, I'm not looking at multichannel amplifiers becasue of same issues mentioned here heat, interference etc. And to cover the high power demand I'm considering 250W continuous power instead of 125W that should be plenty of power to satisfy any dynamic powere demand.
If Halo and Classic are different only in Cosmetics (except XLR input) Classic is a good bargain.

Swerd, I sure want to have equal power for Front L/R and Center channel, for rear I can defenitely think about 125W.

Warpdrv, I also considered Rotel becasue of there good reputation but I'm not sure if they come with 110/240V universal voltage supply and for this huge investment that is must for me. Anthem is out of my budget and again it is a multichannel.

 

[Seth=L]

Seth, I'm not looking at multichannel amplifiers becasue of same issues mentioned here heat, interference etc. And to cover the high power demand I'm considering 250W continuous power instead of 125W that should be plenty of power to satisfy any dynamic powere demand.
If Halo and Classic are different only in Cosmetics (except XLR input) Classic is a good bargain.

Swerd, I sure want to have equal power for Front L/R and Center channel, for rear I can defenitely think about 125W.

Warpdrv, I also considered Rotel becasue of there good reputation but I'm not sure if they come with 110/240V universal voltage supply and for this huge investment that is must for me. Anthem is out of my budget and again it is a multichannel.

Interference in modern amplifiers isn't much cause for concern. I have not noticed heat problems with multichannel amplifiers either. Sunfire may be your ticket, as they produce very little heat and have tremendous amounts of headroom.

 

[tomd51]

I previously owned an Outlaw 755, a 5 x 200w amp and it did a great job with everything I threw at it.

For the money, Outlaw and Emotiva make some pretty solid amplifiers. For a bit more, Sherbourn, Parasound and Rotel have some nice multichannel amps as well.

I've been more than happy with the performance of my Sunfire Cinema Grand. New it was a bit out of my price range, but AudiogoN usually has some good deals on amps if you're patient and don't mind buying used. A quality amp can last a very long time, so there's less to concern yourself with in comparison to processors and receivers... -TD

PS
The Sunfire runs as cool as a cucumber, even after working it hard for a good hour or so w/music...

 

[dorokusai]

I'm with Seth on this as well....get a multi-chanel amp from Parasound or B&K. They are built well, honestly spec'd and neither will disappoint you. I've been running a B&K AVR317 for years and haven't felt any need to upgrade. The only thing that WILL cause me to move on is HDMI, and that's down the road.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

 

[ManishKasera]

I'm with Seth on this as well....get a multi-chanel amp from Parasound or B&K. They are built well, honestly spec'd and neither will disappoint you. I've been running a B&K AVR317 for years and haven't felt any need to upgrade. The only thing that WILL cause me to move on is HDMI, and that's down the road.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

That's why I'm going with Amp so I do not have to upgrade my receivers so frequently.
I still lean toward seperates because of flexibility.

 

[Seth=L]

That's why I'm going with Amp so I do not have to upgrade my receivers so frequently.
I still lean toward seperates because of flexibility.

Yes, but what is the advantage of having one mono block and two stereo amplifiers?

 

[ManishKasera]

Yes, but what is the advantage of having one mono block and two stereo amplifiers?

I'm not sure, but do you see any problem with that?

 

[PENG]

Yes, but what is the advantage of having one mono block and two stereo amplifiers?

Advantages:
- Easier to cool, almost always without a fan.
- Less electromagnetic interference within a box.
- Flexibility, e.g., a cheap Outlaw monoblock to take care of the movies' center channel, a Halo A21 to give critical music listening the best SQ potential, and one or two Parasound 2125 for the rear (or defer this part altogether if you are still using a 7 channel receiver).
- The option to place the amp closer to the speaker(s), resulting in shorter cable runs but longer interconnects.
- More future upgrade options, say you want to get really serious about your front speakers (like getting a pair of the big B&W 800 series), you only have to upgrade your stereo amp.

Main disadvantages:

- Need more room, mess up the look with gear everywhere, unless they are nice looking gear such as McIntosh, Classe, Halo types.
- Typically cost more.
- Seth will come up with something.

A 5 channel amp is not bad in that you can always add a better 2 channel amp for the front speakers whenever the need arises. It is the 7 channel amp that I have a little difficulty with.

 

[ManishKasera]

Advantages:
- Easier to cool, almost always without a fan.
- Less electromagnetic interference within a box.
- Flexibility, e.g., a cheap Outlaw monoblock to take care of the movies' center channel, a Halo A21 to give critical music listening the best SQ potential, and one or two Parasound 2125 for the rear (or defer this part altogether if you are still using a 7 channel receiver).
- The option to place the amp closer to the speaker(s), resulting in shorter cable runs but longer interconnects.
- More future upgrade options, say you want to get really serious about your front speakers (like getting a pair of the big B&W 800 series), you only have to upgrade your stereo amp.

Main disadvantages:

- Need more room, mess up the look with gear everywhere, unless they are nice looking gear such as McIntosh, Classe, Halo types.
- Typically cost more.
- Seth will come up with something.

A 5 channel amp is not bad in that you can always add a better 2 channel amp for the front speakers whenever the need arises. It is the 7 channel amp that I have a little difficulty with.

Thanks Peng.
Exactly these are the reasons I'm planning to move with amplifier. Currently I have YAMAHA RXV2500 but again since it does not have HDMI I might upgrade it but do not want to spend a lot of money every time there is change/upgrade in preprocessor so I'm deciding to go separates way.
And whatall I read on audioholics and other places is that in general having separates produce more solid/tight/clear sound.
It's big investment.

Does anyone know and good online retailer from whom I can buy these brands (except audioadvisor and audiovediolegacy)?