More power or more upscale amp ? (1 Viewer)

[Chu Gai]

I think that would depend to some degree on the capacitors you've in the amp with larger ones have more reserve. Like anything else, they too can be depleted.

 

[Eric A]

John,
You have heard my opinion on this over and over. Amps are the least important part of the signal chain behind your 1) Speakers 2)Source 3) Prepro. 2 and 3 are interchangeable as the prepro does so much of the processing now anyway. I personally have a 70/30 rule of thumb for my electronics. 70% of funding goes to 2 and 3 and than then the remaining 30% goes to the amps. You have reached a certain level with the Bryston amps but as you told me privately, this money may be much better allocated and you can definitely achieve 98% of the performance you have had. Does that additional 2% equal the same as say a 25% increase in quality of your video system. IMHO I do not think so. Now what do you do for amps? Well, I think you need to concentrate more on the pwoer for the front 3 speakers than you do on the back four. Look for some amps that will satisfy your needs for power and then have a matching lower powered amp in the rear. God forbid you consider a Parasound 2003A or 2205 for your fronts again. These seem to hit you right where you need them to. You have had them in your system before and know their sonic qualities. A smaller 806 (see Ricky) or 1205 woudl drive the rears perfectly. I am sure there are other options as well. As Ricky stated, an Aragon for the fronts and Acurus for the rears may be a great combo. Anyway, this is my opinion and we know that changes daily as the wind blows. I will say this though, I believe as often as I have changed gear I am not the amp slut you are. I have held fairly firmly to my beliefs about amps and their impact. I am more of a prepro slut. Maybe you can give me some advise in this area.

 

[Mike SJ]

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[John-Tompkins]

Mike, Yes sir I do ..The only upgrade I will do in the speaker department would be Aerial's...but thats not gonna happen anytime in the forseeable future.

Amps seem to be the hardest thing to evaluate, unlike sources where you can a/b on the fly at the push of a button. With amps I gotta stop switch speaker cables connections etc..then calibrate..theres just to much time in between and Ive came to the conclusion that I dont know if I trust my own ears.

Is HT any different then two channel when it comes to choosing an amp..Wouldnt you want the most powerefull, punchiest most dynamic amp you can have for HT (read more watts), while on the other hand if its two channel your mainly concerned about then perceptions like smoothness,channel seperation, tonal qualities etc become more important therefore you may be more concerned about the first 50 watts (read quality) more then just mega-watts ?

 

[Mike SJ]

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