Sherwood AM9080 vs Harman Kardon Sig 2.1

[Gil D]

I have the H/K PA5800 and considering upgrading to the Sig 2.1 or maybe the Sherwood.

Another option is the Sherbourn 5/1500 but it's twice the price. Not sure I really need it since I don't plan to power floorstanders.

 

[Sihan Goi]

The Sherbourn will obviosly be the best, but the Sherwood and HK will probably perform fine too. There's not a lot of mention of the HK unit, but its probably because of its age and its discontinued status.

 

[Philip Hamm]

A disadvantage to the Sherwood is that it uses a proprietary on/off remote switch. It will only automatically turn on and off with a Sherwood pre/pro. It is a great sounding unit though that I really enjoy.

 

[John Tompkins]

Gil,

Sent you an email. Not much difference between the 2.1 and pa5800 to my ears. Both great amps for the money but if I already had the 5800 I wouldnt bother to upgrade to the 2.1. The hk pa 2400 is a different matter. It is 170 X 2 stereo amps with 100 amps of current. It is everything the pa5800 is and much more (power, warmth) great match for yor pa5800.

The Sherwood is nice and smooth also and a great deal for the money.

I prefer the parasound 2205 over the sherbourn 5/1500 (having had both) mated with my nhts

 

[Gil D]

Phil,

Is their any way to come up with some sort of adapter to provide the Remote trigger signal for the Sherwood? Any ides if it just needs a particular DC voltage or is it some sort of digital interface.

It would also be nice to know if the new Sherwood pre/pro due out in the fall will be capable of triggering the 9080 amp.

I can't seem to find any Sherwoods available new. Are there any left with full warranty at a good price?

Another possibility is a used Citation 5.1 or 7.1 priced somewhere between the 9080/Sig 2.1 and the Sherbourn but they are only 4 channels and not sure how they compare to the HK sound.

The PA2400 sounds like a good amp but it's only 2 channels.

Gil

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

i have both(using the sherwood for my fronts(bi-amping my def tech 2002)and my center speaker and using the 2.1 for my rears and the one thing i have noticed is that the 2.1

sounds a little brighter-more detail maybe?

I have flip-flop using the amps(sherwood-rears 2.1-fronts) and i still feel the same about the sound the 2.1 seems a little brighter but i do like them both.

you can still find the 9080 on E-Bay for a good price(AV stores selling them to close them out).

 

[Ricky T]

Gil,

YGM.

Ricky

 

[Jeff]

I've been looking all over the net for an AM-9080. They just aren't around anymore. Sometimes a used one comes up on Ebay or Audiogon but unless it's a lightly used dealer demo, I'm not interested.

Jeff

 

[Gil D]

Well, I decided to try the Sherwood. Seems like the logical choice for 5 channels at the pricepoint. Wish it did have remote trigger though.

Jeff, I don't know about lightly used but there's one at Spearit that they have been trying to unload on ebay w/out success.

 

[Camp]

I haven't missed the remote trigger at all. I just leave my 9080 on all the time. I haven't experienced any problems at all.

 

[Jeff]

Yeah, I emailed the guys at Spearit last week. It's been a demo there for 4 years. They say it hasn't been used much but four years is still a long time. They also said it has some light sratches on the front.

Jeff

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

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Yeah, I emailed the guys at Spearit last week. It's been a demo there for 4 years. They say it hasn't been used much but four years is still a long time. They also said it has some light sratches on the front.

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i can understand not wanting to lose money on it(i run a furniture store)but wanting $750.00 for something used for that long is crazy-i bought mine for $400.00 new off Ubid 4 months ago,if someone was going to spend that much i say spend a tad more and get the ATI 1505 brand new from One-Call for around 350.00 more-the person at Spearit might be holding on to it for a while.

 

[Tim Baldwin]

Gil,

FWIW, there is a Sig 2.1 for sale right here (the board, not me) at $500, and a Sherwood at Audiogon for $600. At that price range, I've also seen Parasound 855 and Adcom 7000 very recently.