$1 per watt, good deal? (1 Viewer)

[VinhT]

Say I could get a used, well-regarded current-model multichannel amplifier at a price where the price/power ratio is $1/watt. Would that be considered a pretty good deal?

 

[JohnSmith]

What a strange question.

 

[Terry St]

Okay, I'll bite. Is that $1 per watt into all channels or $1 per watt per channel? Is that manufacturer's claimed wattage or tested?

e.g. Would a Bryston 9BST 120Wx5 that tested to output 155 watts per channel cost $120, $155, $600 or $775?

 

[Jimi C]

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!! BUY IT NOW!!!

(kidding)

 

[VinhT]

$600 for the Bryston.

Or more specifically, perhaps a Rotel RMB-1095 (200Wx5) for $1000. Would that be pretty good?

Pardon my vagueness - I don't want someone else getting it if it's a good deal.

 

[Ricky T]

Get the Bryston for $600 before it's too late!!!

 

[Kevin. W]

I paid just about $1.50CDN$1.15US per watt for my Rotel RMB-1095.

Kevin

 

[DanaA]

So, we're talking $1150 U.S.???

 

[JeremySt]

At $1 per watt at 2 ohms, my amp is worth over 10 grand!

 

[Drew_W]

Would you buy a car buying in horsepower per dollar?

Example:
A $15000 car has 100 horsepower, $150 per horse (think compact, Corolla, Focus or the like...I'm using convenient numbers).

Now consider a $70000 car with 200HP. Now you're paying $350 per horse. But the car is a Benz, or BMW or something like that.

Which would you buy? The cheaper one? Or the more expensive one (per horse). What if we entered a $52500 car into the equation with 150HP. That's still $350/horse. The car could be turbocharged though...who knows.

This logic is useless. I'm sure if it's a good well-regarded amp that it's been discussed thoroughly on these forums already. The Search feature is your friend. And knock it off with this dollars per watt business. If you buy something based on that you're an idiot.

 

[NickSo]

And also, you must remember Watts does not=Good sound. There are many other factors that add to a good sound than just wattage ratings.

 

[Drew_W]

Watts=Good sound ? Not following...

Anyways, I could go and get some crapola thing from Best Buy (cheapest they have) which puts out 100x5. I'm sure if we compared that to a Parasound HCA-855A which is 85x5, I'm sure the Parasound would win hands down.

But then again...if what the original poster is talking about is well respected, well then it's probably not a bad item. Why not check eBay auctions to make sure you're getting a good deal?

 

[VinhT]

Well, this is what I was looking at:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ult&1086138681

I decided to pass.

 

[Drew_W]

The guy is selling that Rotel for $600 incl. shipping? He must really want that thing gone...

 

[VinhT]

Wow, looking back over this thread, you guys are a tough crowd! Just so my credibility isn't totally shot, I will address why I brought up this issue.

During the past few weeks, I have been looking for a low-end five-channel amplifier. Brands I researched were Adcom, Outlaw, Parasound, and Rotel. Meaning: I read every possible publication on the Internet and read nearly every thread that the HTF search function returned. Imagine my disdain when I am simply told to use the search feature. I did not look into Acurus, Anthem, ATI, Classe, B&K, or Sherbourn.

Amps of interest:
Adcom GFA-7605 (125Wx5)
Outlaw 755 (200Wx5)
Parasound HCA-1205a (140Wx5)
Rotel RMB-1075 (120Wx5)

Now being a college student, I can't just buy any amp - it has to be a good amp at the lowest possible price. When you look at the brands that I mentioned, the overall consensus is that they are all good and that I will be happy with any one of those. Well that's the problem. They are all so similar that there is simply no way to subjectively choose. One way to break it down is to try to get the maximum amount of power for the lowest possible price.

 

[Drew_W]

Power means absolutely nothing. Doubling it results in a +3dB gain. That's it. And when you consider that you'll rarely ever need that much power continuously, those amps are pretty much all on par with each other. If you're looking for loud, then go to Best Buy and buy the thing that cranks the loudest. If your ears are bleeding, there's no way you'll be able to tell the difference.

Since you haven't bought anything, keep one eye looking out here for good deals (but as always, caveat emptor). But you *ABSOLUTELY* have to go and visit dealers and *HEAR* these amps. The relationship between you and your amp will go far beyond a one night stand, so you should really put the effort into travelling to various dealers, hearing these things, seeing what you like, what you don't like. And get prices. Absolute best prices. Negotiate, lowball...do what you have to to get the best price you can new on these things. The differential to me with my 1075 was $250CND. That got me a 5 year warranty (you roll the dice when you buy used as to whether or not the warranty will still apply), a reputation with my dealer, a brand new amp, the amp in silver like I wanted (all the used ones at the time were black), and I didn't have to hold my breath until it got here hoping that it would arrive just as promised. And considering the amp will last a while (if you choose properly), $250 means nothing. If you're as price conscious as you appear to be, why are you risking buying blind?

 

[NickSo]

Ahhh whoops watts does not = good sound

 

[Ricky T]

Vinh,

What are your speakers? Prepro/receiver? Sub? Room size?

I am selling a Parasound 806 80x6 (see the hardware for/sale forum). The 6th channel can be used to drive a passive sub, or the 6.1 rear center.

http://www.parasound.com/service_inf...d/hca806A.html

 

[Ernest Yee]

Hi sir -

I would like to order a 1/4lb of speaker + 32oz of amp watts... Oh yeah, could I get fries w/ that?

 

[Kevin. W]

That is correct.

Kevin