Will Audiosource AMP -100 be enough to power my Heights (1 Viewer)

[sean1976]

Hey all - Just looking for opinions on whether this amp ( 50 wpc @ 8ohm ) http://www.audiosource.net/products/electronics/amplifiers/amp-100/tech-specs/ will be enough to power my Heights that I'm going to be adding to my set up to make it 9.2.. I've currently got 7.2 speakers, driven with an X -4000 (125 wats x 2 channel @ 8 ohm ) .. The heights I'll be purchasing are PSB b4's with a sensitivity of 89. The amp itself has a THD of less then 0.2 so I figure it should be good to run full power, however I'm concerned about over driving it when listening to music in multi channel surround or Dolby PLiix + DSX Heights.

I got a great deal on it ( 30 bucks regular 170 + tax ) so worse comes to worse I can always sell it for more then I bought it for. Option 3 is to buy a matching amp and run them both bridged ( 160watts ) and have them power my Front Left and Right separately leaving the AVR amps to power the rest. Thoughts?

 

[schan1269]

Your 4000, all channels driven, probably only produces around 50wpc anyway...you are good.

 

[sean1976]

Your 4000, all channels driven, probably only produces around 50wpc anyway...you are good.

Awesome - Thanks!

 

[Glen B2]

A single AMP 100 should work fine. If it turns out to be not enough, just get another one and run them both bridged. I ran three of them bridged in my party system, and they worked great.

 

[sean1976]

A single AMP 100 should work fine. If it turns out to be not enough, just get another one and run them both bridged. I ran three of them bridged in my party system, and they worked great.

Well it works well enough - but I've got to have the volume turned up to 100 percent during calibration to match the levels of the rest of the speakers.. I set it half way and Audyssey set it at +12 - which is the maximum, and obviously wasn't matched properly. Bummer is at full volume it picks up some noise of the inputs when not engaged ( so switching between speaker configs on the AVR you'll hear some feedback, but not bad ) .. I'm keeping my eye out for another or a better one used on Kijiji FWIW - but will most likely sell this X 4000 next year and get an AVR with dedicated 9.1 amps.

 

[schan1269]

If you are picking up noise, put composite cables in(which is the same as subwoofer cable and digital coax).

 

[sean1976]

If you are picking up noise, put composite cables in(which is the same as subwoofer cable and digital coax).

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it out and let you know how it goes. Do you think this will necessitate running Audyssey again due to different cable capacitance or what not? ie will the signal strength change when I switch cables?

 

[schan1269]

How long are these cables?Under 3ft it won't make any difference.I use component(you know the video cable) between my SACD/DVD-A players and AVRs.

 

[sean1976]

How long are these cables?Under 3ft it won't make any difference.I use component(you know the video cable) between my SACD/DVD-A players and AVRs.

Yup, I know the cables you're talking about. I took a ride out to the surplus store and got a couple:

They did the trick - the noise is gone, bonus!! Thanks for the advice. As far as length goes they're 6 feet - I have no idea if they are louder or not then my other cables to be honest, they sound about right. I'll have to run Auddysey again just in case, I'm curious now. ( maybe tomorrow though I'm getting sick of running through it, I've done it like 20 times since I bought this )

 

[sean1976]

Yup, I know the cables you're talking about. I took a ride out to the surplus store and got a couple:

IMAG0205.JPG

They did the trick - the noise is gone, bonus!! Thanks for the advice. As far as length goes they're 6 feet - I have no idea if they are louder or not then my other cables to be honest, they sound about right. I'll have to run Auddysey again just in case, I'm curious now. ( maybe tomorrow though I'm getting sick of running through it, I've done it like 20 times since I bought this )

Well I ran it anyways - didn't make too much of a difference, seemed to adjust my heights by .5 lower for both the left and right, but that could just as well be a slight variation in the mic positioning. In any case - noise is gone, good stuff!