2 Channel amp needed. (Canadian advice prefered) (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Peddle]

I am looking to improve my 2 channel music listening. Let me get my listening preferences out of the way. I listen to ROCK MUSIC. Loud ROCK MUSIC. Now I know Rock music isn't the most clear, or have the best separation, but I like it and I'm sticking to it. I listen to music like Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Kid Rock, Kiss, Neil Young, U2, Tom Petty, Beastie Boys, Rage against the Machine. And so on. Now, listening to this music at the volume levels that I do, I feel I am sometimes putting a strain on my Yammy Rxv800 receiver. I am interested in buying a two channel amp, or 2 monoblock amps to not only improve the sound quality but to possibly add a few SPLs in the process.
I have been looking at Anthem, Parasound, Marantz.
BTW, the speaker setup I am using are Paradigm Mon7v2s, coupled with my PW2200, running off my Yammy Rxv800. I am trying to keep it under 1000 Canadian, about 650 US.
Can you help me decided? I need help in knowing what to look for. I listen to my music very loud.
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?
[Edited last by Ryan Peddle on July 23, 2001 at 09:26 PM]

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I have an Anthem MCA 3(don't know if it is series I or II) and a Parasound HCA 1500A. I really like both of them. The advantage of the Anthems is that they can turn on by themselves when they sense a signal on their inputs. They also have a trigger input as well as output(most amps only have trigger inputs) so that you can daisy-chain amplifiers if you decide to get more amplifiers later.

 

[Mike Gariepy]

I'm also into Hard Rock/Metal and my amps of preference are BRYSTONs. Canadian made, so you get the most bang for our buck, and they've got an unmatched 20 year warranty. Unfortunately it'll be virtually impossible to find anything for $1000 Canadian unless you try eBay.
I also agree with Ryan's selections above. I've listened to the Anthems (another fine Canadian brand) and they can crank out the tunes better than many amps out there.
Bang Your Head!
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[Ryan Peddle]

I've looked at the Bryston, but unless I could get something like the 4b used, they are a little bit outta my price range right now. College comes first.
That's why I am looking at the Marantz MA models. I like the MA 700, but still might be a bit price, so I might go with the 500 or 6100. Has anyone had experience using these amps at very high levels?
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?

 

[Steve_D]

Ryan,
Right up my alley....
Even if I didn't happen to have one for sale , I think an excellent amp for you would be the B&K ST series. You can pick one up on the used market between $200-350 depending on age and cosmetic condition. They are bulit like tanks, have a very smooth and "dark" sound, and are very conservatively rated between 105 and 125 w/p/c. B&K still supports them, and many mod shops offer upgrades if/when you want them to be something different.
I have them paired with Paradigms, also.
I liked mine so much I upgraded to the B&K dual mono Reference series, albeit at much higher cost and in certain ways the ST sounds "better", in that it is very smooth at the expense of some high level detail that the reference provide. For your tastes in music, this is excellent bang for the buck.
I can let you know how the MA-500's compare, as I have some coming in this week for my surround channels. I have an MA-700 on my passive sub and it has sounded great for 2 years...now I'm tracing down a possible problem with it (or my sub connectors)
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[Andrew Pratt]

Ryan YGM

 

[Shawn Solar]

Well I just bought an anthem mca-2 for my mains(paradigm reference 40's) about a month ago. I think I got it for $950 plus tax canadian. It is a brute of an amp. it really makes a huge difference over the amps in my reciever(marantz sr-7000) it plays alot cleaner at high volumes,not as strained or forced like from the reciever. voices were the biggest difference they sounded more natural and open like they were in the room and not sounding like their singing above the speaker. the same goes for instruments they just seamed to have more depth or realism. for the money it was worth it.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

ryan FYI I think its a 3B
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[Ryan Peddle]

I just wanna make sure that the amp that I buy will really help me with Rock music. Most every review I read or person I talk to listens primarily to Jazz or classical. I like to consider myself a listener of white trash music. Good loud rock and roll. I will do my best to listen to the amps b4 I buy. The store I buy from sells Bryston, Anthem and Marantz. So I will be able to do in house demos with my own room and equipment.
I'm just not sure what is better for Rock music....
The Anthem MCA2 has more power, but the Bryston seems to be heald in higher regard...man, this is a dilly of pickle.
I also want to point out that most people talk about any weaknesses of the amps to be only audible at high levels...I listen to everything at high levels. High levels are what I am all about, but trust me, I am NOT what Parker Clack funnily calls a Rollerboomer.
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?
[Edited last by Ryan Peddle on July 24, 2001 at 08:29 PM]

 

[Rick P.]

Ryan
If you listen to everything loud and only have $1000 to spend, try to find a monster used NAD amp with their soft clipping feature. It might not be in the same league as a Bryston but I'm sure it would do a much better job than the one built into your receiver. Assuming that you can find something like a 218THX or 208 amp (there aren't too many out there) you should have money left over for new toys.
Rick
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[Graeme Shiomi]

I've got an MCA-3, but I've also auditioned a 3B-ST (and might get one to run my mains).
The Anthem and Bryston will both give you that Big Sound you're looking for. They both go nice and loud. The main difference is that the Bryston does it with a little more refinement, lower noise floor etc.
In other words, the Bryston will not be "head and shoulders" over the Anthem. But it will be better.
Graeme

 

[Chris PC]

What is the ROOM and ANECHOIC sensitivity rating of your speakers?