Amp for Paradigm Reference speakers??? (1 Viewer)

[PhillipC]

This is for all you Paradigm Reference owners. If you had a choice between Anthem, Rotel, Parasound, or NAD, which amp which you get that has the best synergy with Paradigm speakers and why?

 

[Yogi]

Parasound, Rotel, NAD, Anthem in that order because of their relative degree of warmth and Paradigms relatively forward timbre. And above all B&K. But thats only because I like my sound warm and laidback. Someone with a forward sound preference might go in the exact opposite order of choice. So let your ears decide. They are all great amps and you will be happy with either one of them.

Best of luck.

 

[Salvador]

How about the Odyssey Stratos? I talked to Klaus on the phone and he mentioned great things about the synergy between the Paradigm Studio Series and the Stratos amp. Anyone have a Stratos/Studio setup? Opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BobRoulier]

I use a parasound 2205 with my studio 100s and I love the combo


Bob

 

[wayne p]

I use the Anthem MCA 5 with my 100's, CC, 20's and find it to be an accurate and natural sounding combination. I understand the MCA 50 is a bit of an improvement as it has more head room.

 

[Chas_T]

Could I suggest the Sherbourn brand as I have it mated with the 100 series? I have the 5/1500A, now retired by Sherbourn. Guess it's old equipment now :frowning:

The new model is 5/5210, which also is a 5-Channel Amplifier.

http://www.sherbourn.com

I like the matching of this amp with the 100's. Great soundstage and not a forward amp IMHO. Yogi has much more experience with amps then I, so I don't know how he would classify the Sherbourn.

Also, I am not trying to confuse and add to your choices. You can go crazy with all the chioces. However, if you have the time and patience, it might be worth your while to give this product line a listen.

To quote Yogi... "So let your ears decide."

Much Luck,
Charles

 

[Khoa Tran]

NAD, it is an extremely musical and warm amp...the sound is just incredible...but i think you'd have to match it with a NAD pre/pro too

 

[James Tg]

I use Parasound 855 with my Paradigm Studio. It sounds great but hums all the time. I would like to upgrade to Odyssey, and want to know if anybody has the experience with Odyssey/Paradigm combination.

 

[Evan S]

I too, like Wayne, have the Anthem MCA-5 amp and love the combo. Can't go wrong here.

James, I too am considering a stereo Stratos for my move to 7.1. I may get an HT3 in order to keep my front soundstage seemless. These seem like killer amps for the price. Awesome looking machines too, especially with the backlit faceplate.

 

[James Tg]

Evan, I am thinking about HT3 from my front and center (Studio 40 and CC). Will Odyssey/Paradigm combination sound too bright? I have Rotel RSP 1066 pre/pro.

 

[Scott_N]

I use the Aragon 8008ST with my 100's and i'm very pleased with the combo.

 

[Levesque]

I use a Rotel RMB-1095 and RB-1050 with my 100's, 40's and 20'S. Never fatiguing, clear sound. this amp is impossible to clip, even at unbearable level.

Rotel and Paradigm is a great combination.

 

[James R. Geib]

I am using an Anthem MCA50 and Studio 100's. It is an excellent combination, but at times I wish I had more than 180 watts/all channels driven. I preferred the Anthem/100 to a Sunfire/100 combination. The 100's like a lot of power, and the power requirements diminish as you move down the line (60, 40, etc).

Again, you may prefer a completely different combination than anyone here. It's a personal choice! I would imagine you could be happy with any of the amps you mentioned.

It's true with most any speaker that the more power you can provide the better the sound will be. If an amplifier has a large reserve, it will cruise along more effortlessly, and the resulting sound will show it! Of course if an amp can provide more watts than the speaker can handle, discression with the volume control is a must!

 

[Evan S]

James, both the Anthem and the Odyssey have reputations for being very neutral. I doubt either one will have a big sonic difference from the other, but from what I have heard, the Odyssey may be slightly warmer sounding than the Anthem. YMMV

 

[Christopher Lyn]

PhillipC, as you can see you will get as many varied responses as there are amps.

I was using a Parasound HCA 1205A amp with my Studio 100s...it was solid but I felt that the sound was not as good as I would like. The sound was not "open" or "airy" enough.

I sold my Parasound and got the EAD Powermaster 1000. The difference was like night and day. The Powermaster is truly a great amp regardless of the high gain at 39dB. My Studio 100s sound better, almost like new speakers.

If you can find a used Powermaster, I would highly recommend them for their sound.

Good Luck with your choice

 

[Dave Ma]

Even though Paradigm & Anthem are one company I think the Anthem is a little to tell it like it is amp, to foward for the Paradigms. Parasound & NAD well, I think you can do better IMO. I would check out ROTEL, B&K & SHERBOURN AMPS.
www.rotel.com
www.sherbourn.com

My choice was the Rotel for my Paradigm Studio's

 

[PhillipC]

WOW!!! Seems like everyone has their own opinion on the amps that I have mentioned. I have the Rotel 1066 pre/pro so I am probably leaning towards their amps. I am looking for something used for about $500 US with about 200 W/channel. Would I be in the right ball park then?

P.S. There are a lot of Paradigm people here. Paradigm rocks!!!

 

[James Tg]

Phillip:

$500 for a decent used stereo 200wpc is not easy to find. If it is the case, I recommend Parasound HCA-1500A. UBid used to have a lot of Parasounds for auction, but they are all gone, and Parasound has new line now. You may find one at Audiogon. Good luck.

James

 

[Martin Rendall]

To not answer your question properly, I can say from personal experience that Bryston works very well with the Studios. Being that you live in Canada, the prices are very reasonable.

Martin.

 

[Massimo N]

I'm using the Anthem MCA50 with my Paradigm Ref. 40s. The MCA50 faired very well against Bryston. I was quite surprised at how much of an improvement the MCA50 was compared to the last generation MCA5. I found very little difference between the Bryston and Anthem (although I did prefer the Bryston, it was a little warmer). The difference in price was just too much for me to go with the Bryston.