New Amp needed. what do i need? (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone, im new here. found your forum while pulling my hair out trying to work out what i need...


Right now i have a mx-nh1000 amp. it is some aiwa rubbish and the fan has stopped working so its getting way to hot.


I cant fix it so i need a new amp for the speakers that came with it but i cant work out what i need.

on the back of the speakers it says (sx-navh1000) 6 ohm but no wattage. Any ideas?


Many thanks


Tom

I forgot to mention, online i did see people selling them stating that they are 50Watt each. but i guess that is only the RMS so it hasnt helped me much on working out what amp i need

Yea it was an old stack system home theater type thing. i did away with all of it except the amp and speakers.


Thanks for your reply

I don't mean to nitpick, but it sounds like you're looking for a "receiver", not an "amp". An amp is just that - an amplifier with nothing else. A receiver adds in surround sound decoding, audio/video switching between sources, etc.


If you've been searching for "amps" and not finding anything, try searching for receivers.


You mention "home theater type thing" - does that mean 5.1 speakers? Or is this just a stereo system (two speakers)...


Regardless, wattage numbers have virtually no meaning whatsoever when trying to find out what receiver to pair with your speakers. Wattage ratings on receivers are bloated to the point of being worthless, and the wattage rating of the speaker bears no resemblance to the (false) wattage rating on the receiver box.


You already identified the speaker's impedance (6 ohms) which means it's most likely that these will work with most A/V receivers out there.


The second (and equally important) number you should look for on the speakers are their sensitivity (measured in dBs). If not on the speakers, it may be in the manuals. If you can't find any information, from what you describe of the system, I would expect them to be in the mid 80's or lower, which is not very good.


The higher the sensitivity, the less power the speakers need to "get loud". It takes double the power to achieve 3dB increase in volume (SPL), so speakers that are 89dB require half the power of speakers that are 86dB, and speakers at 92dB require 1/4 the power of the 86dB speakers.


Really, it's best to spend more money on decent, sensitive speakers so you don't NEED much power behind them, and you can save money on the receiver. After all, you'll replace your receiver many more times than speakers, so it sort of makes sense.


Do you have a budget in mind?

Yes it sounds more like a "receiver" rather than just a stand alone Amp.


Yeah, its stereo.


There is no sign of the dB and i dont have the manual.


I believe it was bough in the late nighties (it was my mothers, i was young when it was new)


My budget right now is pretty low, thats why i was hoping to keep the speakers and just replace the amp. The receiver does work right now but its getting really hot due to the fan not working.


If i upgrade, i may go for some active monitors as i do produce music every now and again. Right now though, i just want something to use for my pc gaming and standard listning.


Many thanks for the reply

What sources are you hooking up to this "receiver"?

Personally, if just a PC...

Buy a 25wpc T-amp and call it a day.

i run my audio through an audio interface but from that it just runs through rca phono to the amp.


Do you think that will be sufficient for what i need?


Thanks

Yep. I wouldn't spend much on the amp.

THIS is the type of amp being suggested above. It sounds like you don't need a full receiver, just an amp with a volume control.

Will that be ok as it says that is for 2 x 20Watt but apparently these speakers are 50W?


Thanks

Yep. Wattage is, essentially, meaningless. I doubt you ever use more than 5 watts.

As long as you're not cranking it, that will be fine. I have a bunch of those amps at work for background music. The more important fact is, anything more will probably cost 4x as much, and those speakers aren't worth that cost.

Thanks very much. I will buy one of those then.
I do have games and music loud but I wouldn't say I "crank it" so it should be fine. I had heard you are meant to have a higher watt amp than the speakers but hopefully it will be alright. Can't afford to blow them up just yet lol

Thought i better come back to let you know this thread is solved.
I took your advice and bought a "lepy LP-2024A+" (just in case anyone else is in a similar situation as me)
I paid £17.99 for it and im actually shocked at how good it is, sound quality is actually better than the original amp! turned the amp up pretty high, no clipping or loss of sound quality.
Thanks for all your help