Martin Logan owners what amp? (1 Viewer)

[Brad Jay]

I just bought a Martin Logan HT setup and need a few answers for amp selection. This is what I own.

Denon 3802

Fronts = Ascents

Center = Cinema

Rear = Scripts

SVS 20-39cs+ Samson S-1000

HTS 2500 (clean power)

I know I need a seperate amp to power the Ascents but what Make, Model would you guys recommend, and can it be done for under $1000. Also if you can get the amp online the website would be helpful.

Is the HTS 2500 a good enough clean power supply and will it have enough inputs with the equipment I have above plus another amp, dvd, vcr and satellite. Thanks guys!!!

 

[Eric_Lakes]

WOW!!! Martin Logan's... I envy you... If you have kids, do your self a favor and throw away all metal coat hangers. I had a dream once that I had some Martin Logans, only to have it turn into a nightmare because my kids had stuck metal coat hangers through the panels. Just one of those strange dreams.

You are going to need a very very good Warm and Powerful amp. IMHO, I suggest Bryston or Rotel. Parasound makes good amps also but they tend to be on the bright sound and the Martin Logans will be make it even brighter. The $1000 price limit makes the model search a little harder. New or Used? 2 channel, 3 channel or 5 channel? You're going to need alot of power so look for the above 200watts/channel for stereo and above 150watts/channel for 3-5 channels. Sorry, but I'm too lazy to look up all the model #'s and prices for you.

 

[Brad Jay]

Eric,

Thats funny about the coathangers because after buying these I thought, these wouldn't be very good speakers if you had kids. Currently just the wife and I.

We went around and looked at 15-20 different speaker lines and found it to be very dissapointing time after time. I don't know if it was room arrangement or poor equipment combos because we even looked at speaker lines that people rave about on this forum and they just didn't do it for either of us. Some were real good but they didn't just grab your attention.

Keep in mind I wasn't listening to speakers in the ML price range either. Well by chance we got to listen to some ML's and as soon as we heard them we both looked at each other and said these are it.

It is more than we were planning to spend and that is why I am trying to find a good amp at a reasonable price. I was hoping I could go with a 2 channel but I'm thinking I might need a 3 channel.

 

[Doug_B]

Odyssey Stratos HT3, $1500 base unit
Doug

 

[Chris Barker]

I've been using a McCormack DNA .5 Deluxe Edition for the past several years and have been very satisfied with them powering ML Aerius i's.

-CB

 

[Chris Carswell]

Try Acurus, A200x5. It will do 300 x 5 at 4 ohms. You can get them for $800 to $1000. Check Audiogon as well as eBay.

They also make an A200x3, A200 (2ch), A125x5, and an A100 (2 ch).

 

[Lee-c]

For under $1,000, I'd go with an Adcom GFA-5500. 350 WPC into 4 ohms. That's continuous power.
Very nice amp with plenty of power for a great price. And no fans to break or wear out or
make noise. Just big beefy heatsinks.
It's a two channel amp, which is what I assume you are talking about. A amp with some clean power to
drive your mains.

 

[Carl Gaff]

I also have an all Martin Logan setup. I've had B&K amps from the start. I auditioned lots of other amps but always stayed with B&K's. They are warm, reasonably priced and work excellent at 4ohms. I'm curently using a three channel 4430 for the mains and center ($1000 new on ebay)and a two channel 3030 ($500 demo at a local audio shop).

Carl

 

[Brad Jay]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. What do you guys think about me returning the Denon 3802 (its unopened) and gettin the Outlaw 755 (5 channel) 950 combo instead. I bought the Denon with a different speaker in mind. With the ML's it looks like I need to buy a stout amp for the front 3 speakers and then hope the Denon will handle the rears ok.

This would probably work but for less money I could get 200wpc to all 5 speakers by going with the Outlaw combo. My room won't be done for another 2 months or so, do you think realistically the Outlaw will be ready by then.