I have a Harman Kardon 2.1 amp, need more? (1 Viewer)

[Joe Wilmore]

I currently have a HK 2.1 5 channel amp. I am wondering with all of the used 5 channel amps available around the thousand dollar mark, can I make a signifigant upgrade? If I buy another amp in this price range, will it be a noticeable improvement? I saw a Chiro 500 amp for $800, anyone have any info on this amp? Well, any recommendations in the $1000 dollar area would be appreciated.

 

[John Tompkins]

Joe,

I had the chiro c-500 and c-300 for awhile and Ive also owned the hk 2.1. Do NOT give the hk up for the chiro. The chiro seemed to lack dynamics and didnt seem as powerful as the 140 watt rating(pretty tame amp)in my opinion. I have owned carver a 753 and 4.0t, hk 1.5, 2.1, rotel rb-993,citation 7.1,rotel rb-985,sherbourn 1500,Sherwood am9080,McCormick dna1 deluxe plus a few others. I currently have a parasound 2205 and 855 and prefer the sound of the parasounds over all the others because it can do music as well as ht (warm, detailed,dynamic,smooth and great bass)..

Having said that I found the hk 2.1 GREAT for music but I also found on my system anyway that the dialog on movies wasnt quite as good as the parasound..(Parasound better for movies)..I guess it also depends on the sensitivity and characteristics of your speakers..My speakers are Nhts all around.

 

[ling_w]

The HK amp is a HK amp. Chiro is a excellent unit.

A Classe CAV-75 6ch amp is another good amp in that price range, with 6 channels which could be configured as 3,4,5,6 channels via bridging of adjacent channels.

These 2 amps are not powerhouse amps, but amps that excels in playing music. But if you want reference level out of low efficiency speakers, these might not do for you. I guess it comes down on what you want in an amp and what you are willing to trade off.

 

[Sihan Goi]

For $1000, you're probably not gonna notice much of an improvement over your HK 2.1's. Those are pretty capable amps despite their modest 100Wpc rating.

 

[Chu Gai]

Assuming the 2.1 is functioning properly , if you're currently not driving your speakers into clipping there is no need to consider another amplifier. Reasons to perhaps consider another or an additional amp(s) would revolve around such matters as:

you wish to venture into tubes
you're looking at biamping
you drive your speakers into clipping
you're tired of the appearance
you want something more exclusive
you've been reading too much Stereophile
your friends are talking up their new amps
you're a charitable type of person and desire to take a financial beating by selling your amp on ebay so some lucky person can benefit
you've become bored or perhaps have outgrown your present system and believe changing the amp will restore new life.
what you really want are new speakers, but the amp is cheaper.
you or someone else has made a change in the room...added carpeting, had it removed, window treatments were added/changed...and you realize something is different about the way your system sounds.

Feel free to add to the above list.

Everyone's reason for upgrading is different. Rarely are our choices motivated by one single factor and the marketing that is done serves many purposes. The advertising tells us how great Company A's product is. They provide links to reviews and user testimonials that serve to make us happy with our purchase. Next year, or sometimes afterwards, the ads are telling us how the new line of amps are better than ever. Why they now have subtle improvements! New circuitry! Why they've even paid for the use of someone's name to put on their ads! Harley says this new whatever comes closest to the chicken soup my mother used to make!

I'm sure your 2.1 is quite musical and well suited at producing good sound.

I don't know about the Chiro other than the following:
its made by kinergetics
their website no longer opens....hmmmmmmmm
sunshineaudio.com in florida carries it
zip at sunshineaudio raves about it. he's the same guy who stated Pass amps are spectacular and he could pick them out in a crowd. zip was visited by Tom Nousaine and both zip and his wife were unable to distinguish the Pass from an old Yamaha integrated amp under somewhat controlled testing in zip's home.

hey its your money...knock yourself out!