AudioSource Amps. (1 Viewer)

[Charles J P]

I posted this on another forum, but only got one guy who has ever used them. Its not that I dont value his opinion, but I would like to get some kind of concensus.

What do people think of AudioSource amps? You can see them at www.audiosource.net. They are a Phoenix Gold company. I actually already own one of their monoblock amps, and since it is just a sub amp I dont really concern myself with the utmost fidelity in its case. But anyway, for the price are there stereo amps good enough to use for mains, cc and surrounds? I plan on using one Amp Three to power the mains and then Amp Ones for the rest (All Adire audio kits). The amp threes are rated at 150 wpc at 8 ohms and the Amp ones at 80 wpc at 8 ohms. Their website doesnt list what the power is into 4 ohms but it says they are stable down to 2 ohms.

Any thoughts?

 

[Martice]

Review One

Review 2

Hope this helps.

 

[Charles J P]

Thanks Martice. Yeah, I had seen audioreview, and I realize they got good reviews. It just seems like no one is really using these amps in a main system, which kind of makes me wonder.

 

[RobWil]

I'm currently messing around with amps a little and have two amp ones running monobridged at 200wpc and another one on the way. I'm assuming you're using a receiver as the pre-pro?? What receiver are you using? These will definitely be a noticable improvement over most receiver amps. You can get them for around $100 each on ebay and if you decide to upgrade later you can get what you paid for them. You can probably get two amp ones for less than an amp three and get 200wpc vs 150wpc. I've thought highly enough of them to buy three, but the only thing I can compare them to are other receivers I've owned. The audioreview link, which I also read before purchasing, seems to indicate others like them compared to higher priced amps though. These show up on ebay all the time but you may have to be a little patient to get the really good buys. The main thing I noticed in these amps vs my receiver (at the risk of verbal abuse) is that everything 'opened up' a bit...more 'airy' sounding. The individual instruments are more distinguishable from each other. The sound is 'cleaner'. And the bass is tighter and more musical and not boomy. By more 'musical bass' I mean that on my receivers amps it sounded more like 'one note' bass. On these you can hear the bass notes up and down the scale. And the most difference , of course, is at louder volumes but I think they sound a lot better even at lower volumes.
Hope that helps a little.

 

[Michael R Price]

Uhm, an Audiosource amp is definitely better than any receiver, but definitely not a long term solution for driving Kit281s. I had an Amp One with my 281's... it sounded good, but you need something stronger for the real deal bass and dynamics.

(BTW, Rob, I fixed my big new amplifiers only to damage them again! So, I still have the little Audiosource sitting in the corner for peace of mind, and I'm using the even weaker yet somehow better sounding 15-watt Zens for now.)

 

[RobWil]

but definitely not a long term solution for driving Kit281s.

Even monobridged at 200wpc??? Or the Amp 3 at 150wpc?

BTW, Mike...I think I'm all set anyway. I picked up another one just last week on ebay for $90, so I've got three now. I'll run them all bridged and use an Onkyo M-501 for the either the fronts or the rears..

 

[Charles J P]

Well, I emailed AudioSource, and they said the Amp Ones run at 160 wpc RMS into 4 ohms, and the Amp Threes at 250 wpc RMS into 4 ohms, so I'm surprised that you did not feel that they were enough. Could you provide a little detail on how you thought they were defficient? According to Adire, the Kit 281s are only rated at 150 watts RMS any way.

 

[Geoff L]

The giant killer in the little black box is how some see them.

Very nice in depth review of the Audiosource Amp Two here ....

Same as the current AS-Amp One less Analog Power Meters.

I am also curious of Michaels comment on needing more amp to drive his power hungry Kit-281's...

A single Amp I or II driven stereo, I would think to be border line power with the 281's doing (full-range). Add a large room and it most likely is not enough to get everything the 281's are capable of.
Nice speaks by the way!

But Bridged Mono, a pair of Amp-1's or 2's should be more than adequate I would think!

Anyway, very nice little amps that have lasted the test of time. I also just picked another Amp-II up, and like Rob, will be running them Mono Bridged to drive the bedroom mains.
Impressive little Amps IMO...

Regards
Geoff

 

[RobWil]

Wow! Good one Geoff! I don't know where you dug that up but I've done extensive searching and somehow missed that.
OK Charles...you can get the amp ones (basically the same as amp two) for around a hundred bucks on ebay....you really have nothing to lose.
BTW...what's the rest of your setup???

 

[Ben LG]

There are refurbished Amp Ones at buy.com for $125.

http://www.buy.com/retail/clearance/...009361&loc=114

I was curious and was browsing around the forum on info about seperates and stumbled onto this one. I just bought a Marantz 6200, would this do me any good? To me it looks like a great deal/ a good entry level unit.

 

[JimPeitersen]

I used an AmpThree for a few years and found that it worked just like an amp should (plenty of power, and I couldn't "hear" it.) You really can't go wrong with Audiosource amps, IMHO.
JP

 

[Michael R Price]

I initially noticed something was wrong because the VU meter lights would dim with the peaks in the music, there was significant stress on the power supply. The amplifier started to sound harsh above 90db, which is strange since the 100+ watt power rating would indicate output of 105db in room... it provided this output at clipping, but even when not clipping the amp the sound was a little distorted. At low volumes it sounded really good. It does not sound as lively or clear as my larger DIY amplifiers. Also, the bass is a little boomy. (Only a little.) So, I recommend that Kit281 users and others wanting to drive 4 ohm speakers loudly should hold off until they can purchase a stronger amplifier. (Maybe the Amp 3 is better.)

Well, I complain too much! It's a $120 amplifier and it's pretty darn good. Go buy it.

 

[Charles J P]

Maybe yours was deffective, Michael (trying not to grasp at straws, but this is one of those deals where I have now collected about 2 dozen positives, and only one negative). I will report back when I get them up and running. My current speakers are Paradigm Monitor series, but as has been mentioned, I will be phasing them out with Adire speakers as building time and funds allow. The amps are basically because my receiver supposedly supports a 4 ohm load on the mains only but the LCC is also 4 ohms, plus, I just dont trust that my receiver wouldnt burn up.

 

[Charles J P]

Oh, PS, my current plan (which you will see is one of the reasons I was attracted to the AudioSource amps) is to purchase one Amp One and hook it up and test it, then I can buy another Amp One, and then finally, and Amp Three for the mains.

 

[Michael R Price]

I haven't used any other amps in the price range of the Audiosource, but I would assume it would be difficult to get a much stronger amp at that price anyway. As far as I can tell, the amp was not defective... I checked the power supply voltages and the output stage, after destroying and replacing the transistors once. Besides, the sound was still pretty good, even when loud, and the amp clipped at its advertised power of 100w+ into 4 ohms. I don't think it's something to worry about, since big power costs a good bit more (unless you build an amp yourself).

 

[RobWil]

since big power costs a good bit more (unless you build an amp yourself).

Or monobridge them......at $100 a whack you can get two and have a pretty decent sounding 200wpc (into 8ohms) for ony $200.

 

[Charles J P]

I dont think I will need to worry about clipping the amps. At my average listening level I probably only need about 40 watts for 92 dB effeciant speakers to reach 100 dB peaks at 3 meters. I suppose I listen to music a bit louder, which is why I will go with the Amp Three for the mains. Also, I have never clipped my Amp 5.3 that I am using for my SVS, and I am running the LFE signal through a BFD and have a few boosts set in, which means I am requiring even more from it.

 

[Chu Gai]

seems like a ballsy affordable amp. no doubt taking an approach similar to Outlaw and if you think about it, RedRose too where they get them overseas. i can't think of a reason why they wouldn't be capable.

 

[RobWil]

Charles...there's an amp one on ebay right now for the very reasonable 'Buy it Now' price of $80.
The seller states $12 will be added for secure packaging, insurance and shipping but that seems a tad low. Don't know if he means $12 for packaging PLUS shipping or what!? Looks like a nice one and he provides 3 pictures. For some reason he also includes one of himself which I don't quite understand. If I looked like that I certainly wouldn't advertise it!

If I hadn't already gone overboard I'd grab it. That's not going to last long at that price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=39783

Sheesh! I hope he doesn't frequent this forum! Every time I look at his picture now he looks like he's really pissed! :frowning:

 

[Charles J P]

Thanks for the heads up, Rob, that is a bargain, but I think I'll pass. The new Amp One/A does not have the meters on the front which I'm actually not a big fan of. Small detail I know, but you know how finicky hobbyists can be.