Opinions & Comments invited on Cinepro 3k6 III (1 Viewer)

[Sanjay Gupta]

I have been contemplating adding a power amplifier to my existing Home Theater setup and have sort off decided on the Cinepro 3k6 III. Would appreciate it if someone could give me some feedback on the amp before I take the final plunge. For reference purposes my existing equipment is listed below in my signature. Also comments on the Cinepro 2K6 III are also welcome.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I have owned the Cinepro 3K6III for a while. It is a superb sounding amplifier. It is very clean and dynamic. I am not a big believer in well designed amplifiers sounding significantly different however. I have used a Parasound HCA 1500A, Proceed AMP2, Bryston 4BTHX for my main channels. The Cinepro gives a sense of unlimited power and dynamics compared to the others. The support from Cinepro is also great and if you call their offices, frequently you will get Eric A. who is the president of the company. The only downside to the Cinepro is that there is a fan. The fan is audible only within about 4 feet of the amplifier in a quiet room. My amplifier is about 10 feet away and with everything else off, It isn't audible. To put it into perspective, my DVD player can be heard louder from my listening position(same distance away as the amp) than the amplifier can 4 feet from it.

 

[John Morris]

Sanjay: I agree with Bhagi on everything he's said. It is a great amp, but you gotta be able to stand, or not hear, the fan noise in your HT. My seat is about 4-5 feet away from my audio rack, and the fan was audible to me during quiet music and movie passages. Otherwise, I absolutely loved everything about these amps except for the fan and the cost! They ARE worthy of your consideration. Good Luck, and let us know if you get the Cinepro!

 

[John Kotches]

Sanjay,

I have owned a 3K6, Series III for about 6 or 7 months now. To say I am pleased with its performance is an understatement.

To get better performance (and here we're talking incremental improvements) you have to spend a lot more money!

The fan noise that Merc alludes to has never been a problem for me, but I also sit about 3.5m from the rack that holds the gear. There was a conscious decision to use the fan to increase long term reliability. In addition, the mass of the amplifier was decreased, since less heat sinking capacity was required.

It is a very good and underrated amplifier. I think audiophiles look down on Cinepro for two reasons: 1) They came from the commercial marketplace. 2) They are too cheap to be as good as they are.

The 3K6, Series III compares favorably to:

Aragon 8008 amplifiers

BAT VK-6200

Bel Canto eVO amplifiers

This isn't to say that it betters them -- just that it holds its own against them. When we're talking about this level, it's truly a matter of personal preference.

Regards,

 

[MikeAF]

Sanjay,
I have the Cinepro 12KSE 2-channel amp and I just love the open, detailed sound. The fan noise is not an issue for me and, as like some others, my DVD player is noiser than the amp. I just bought a new 2K63 amp off of Audiogon.com and Erik at Cinepro is giving me a 2-year warranty for a small fee. These amps have more power than you will ever need and sound great. Don't hesitate to purchase one of these amps.
Let us know what you decide.
Mike

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I guess I have heard enough and my decision is now officially final, I shall be getting the 3K6 III this weekend.

By the way, how much did you guys pay for your 3K6 III?

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Would appreciate it if some of you guys could tell me how much you paid for the CinePro 3K6 III. Due to some reasons I have not yet made my purchase and it would be good to have an idea of the real world prices before I negotiate with the dealer here.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Kelly Williams]

Hello Sanjay,

I have more of a question. I have the same speakers across the front as you, I just never bought the rears. How do you like the 100's back there, are they over kill, were the hard to place. I'm going to buy 4 more speakers soon for 6 & 7.1 I just can't make up my mind between 40's 60's or the 100's.

I have use a Adcom GFA-555 on the 100's and the CC and found it a little grainy. The second amp I tried was am Aragon 8008 ST, wonderful bass and mid range, very detailed top end, gobs of power but tireing to listen to. Is this what they mean by bright ?.

I have been looking in to B&K Anthem and Bryston but no place near by to audition them. I guess your looking for the same thing I am power like the Aragon with a sweet top end to complement the Paradigms.

Please lut us know what you end up with and how you like it.

Kelly Williams

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

I don't know if it is 'overkill' to have the 100's in the rear, but they do sound great. I just am one of those who believes in having the same speaker all around. Infact I at some point plan to use the 100's for my front and rear center channel also. I knwo it would probably be overkill, but then I'd rather have too much than too little. But I guess if you look at it objectively, maybe the 80's would do just fine for the rears.

 

[Will]

I'm going to buy 4 more speakers soon for 6 & 7.1

I believe the 3k6 III is a six channel amp, not a seven channel amp. At one time it was cool to be one more than a five channel amp. I wonder if soon there will be a 3k7.

 

[John Kotches]

Will,

It's a nice theory, that is, well, not correct.

The xK series have always used stereo modules -- the earlier 5 channel incarnations allowed for a 5th (and 6th) channel that was either an equal power channel, or bridging the module into a high power channel.

It is much easier from a manufacturing perspective to manufacture stereo modules than it is to manufacture some stereo and some mono modules.

They displayed a 7 channel amp at CEDIA 2001 (the X-7) but I don't know when or if it will make it to market.

Regards,

 

[Greg Br]

Whats up Mike,

I have to agree that the amp you have made those Diva's sound very good. Just for an update I whent ahead and bought the 6.1 package, it will not be here till mid-may but I can wait, maybe.

Greg

 

[MikeAF]

Greg,
Glad to hear you've joined "The Church of Diva". Too bad about having to wait until May. And yes I do believe the Cinepro amp really makes those babies sing, as you heard last weekend. Give me a call in May and you can let me come listen to your system! Have a good day.
Mike

 

[Richard Burzynski]

When I saw an ad for Cinepro's new 7 channel prepro (the one that "looks" like the Lex MC12) I gave Cinepro a call and asked when they would release the matching 7 channel amp. Some sales manager told me he didn't even know if there was to be one in the near future. I told them that was interesting, and he agreed.

Rich B.