If you have a 950 and had to buy any amp but an Outlaw... (1 Viewer)

[Steve K.H.]

what would it be? This is not a wish list, just think that for some reason you were not allowed to buy an Outlaw amp to go with your 950 pre/pro...

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

My dream amp is a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature . I have always thought very highly of Bob Carver's amplification products. I currently own an older Carver 806x 6 channel amp, and it is an absolute workhorse. If I could buy any amp, that would be it. Of course, I do not think you would consider it to be in the same class as the Outlaw, price or performance wise.

Andrew B.

 

[John Morris]

Steve: ATI, Sherbourn, Parasound, Marantz, NAD, Sherwood Newcastle, and Cinepro are all amps that I owned and all amps that I could recommend depending on your speakers and other room needs.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Rotel and B&K are also two brands you should consider.

 

[Will]

My dream amp is a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature . I have always thought very highly of Bob Carver's amplification products.

I have a Sunfire Cinema Grand (non Signature) and while I like it, I will need two more channels of amplification to get to 7.1. And I'd like it to turn on and off via the pre/pro's control.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

what speakers do you own? There's no point recomending a bright amp if you own bright speakers etc. That said you'll likely get more bang for your canuck buck by buying a rotel, ATI or bryston etc that are cheaper here then american models.

 

[Mike Witko]

I am interested. I have Def Tech speakers. I am hearing recommendations for the parasound amp for these speakers. Anyone have any other suggestions.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Good Point with Bright and Bright...

I've taken a sabatical on the room for a bit. Other items took precedence (like building a bicycle that would retail for 2K)

Anyway, the speakers room is wired (in wall) for the rears. 2 on the side, 2 at the back (up higher than the sides) and all are planned on Klipsch R(F,C,or S)3-II's.

No idea on the sub yet. (I'll toy with that as I need it and it's wholly off topic).

So, essentially I'll need something that will support 6.1 or potentially 7.1 but that is not a priority. The two rears are leaving the option open and can be wired in series at the source (separate lines, equivalent lengths).

On that note, considering this will be 70:30 HT vs Music, the choices if this were up to you would be...

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

Sorry to ask this, but why not an Outlaw amp?

--Steve

 

[Michael Mohrmann]

"Sorry to ask this, but why not an Outlaw amp?"

I was wondering that myself. I noticed that Steve lives in Canada, so maybe that's it, given the "shipping to Canada" thread somewhere around these parts.

Michael

 

[Sihan Goi]

BAT VK-6200, Theta Dreadnaught, Cinepro 3K6SE-Gold or Earthquake Cinenova Grande...

 

[Martice]

Rotel and B&K are also two brands you should consider.

I agree on the Reference B&K models. Excellent bass control even at extreme levels.

 

[Karl Englebright]

RAF has compared the Outlaw 755 amp to the Marantz MA700's. I've heard the MA700's before and would not consider them bright at all. Anybody care to comment? I know I'll have to listen to all the amps I'm considering (Rotel, BK, Parasound,Outlaw), I would just like to reduce the risk of not being happy with the outlaw amp and then have to ship it back.

BTW, I'm one of those with Def Tech powered towers.

 

[chung_sotheby]

If anything, I have always found the Marantz amps to be very punchy, and very warm for solid state amps. Rotel amps, I think, tend to be a little less bassy, but mouch more detailed and neutral, and overall better amps then Marantz, albeit costing a bit more. I have never heard Outlaw amps, but from what others say, I think that they are an exceptional values, especially if you could find one on the used market. I have never been impressed with B&K amps, I find them overly bright, much more so than Rotel and Marantz. As for Parasound, I have had some problems with their equipment, so I dont really trust anything that the produce (a little biased, yes, but I'd rather be safe than sorry).

 

[Steve K.H.]

Hmmm...
Yep, the reason considering not an Outlaw Amp is you should be able to get an Amp that works well with the Klipsch's here in Canada and avoid the excess costs involved with duty and shipping.
Can't do that for any other pre/pro though... hence the 950 with a locally available amp that I can bargain on.
If it's a bright amp, then it ain't good... Klipsch is bright enough... brighter than me anyway

 

[Gifford L]

I've never ever heard B&K's amps described as bright so thats new to me. I say they sound smooth. I also would recommend Anthem which seemed neutral to me.

 

[ManojM]

Hmmm, B&K amps are really not bright at all, they have a very smooth sound with laid back midrange and good bass. At least the ones I have heard...

As for a good suggestion for an amp, I would recommend a Rotel 1095 or a Sunfire Cinema Grand. On the used market, the Rotel could be had for $1200, and the Sunfire for $1500. Also, a Classe CAV-75 can be had for about $900 used.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Good Input... thanks!

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

I'll go ahead and be the one ridiculed poster who chimes in to say that the notion of amps having a particular sound is WAAYY overrated.

In fact, if I were retired I would be touring the country right now with 5 different 200 WPC solid state amplifiers in the back of a custom audio-enabled RV and park outside high end audio stores across the continent offering $100 to anyone who could differentiate between them in a blind test using the same speakers, same pre/pro, same volume level, and the same listening environment.

Even assuming I'd lose my shirt, it makes me wonder (1) why even the people who claim that amps have a distinct sound can't agree on whether that sound is warm or bright and (2) why I have never seen an advertisement from an amp company where they claim that their amps are bright.

--Steve

 

[Steve K.H.]

Point well taken...

...it make more sense that changes in the pre/pro with the same amp would have a much greater impact on the warmth of the sound.

The amp is the engine, the pre/pro is (by definition) a "processor" of the engine's output.