Audiophile Question. How Much Power ?

[Scooby Blu]

So I put down 500 bucks on the new Rotel RSP-1570 7.1 Home Theater Surround Processor/Preamplifier. I can't wait till this baby comes in sometime late October I hope !! Now the question I have is Rotel also has two new Class D amps. The RMB-1575 has 250 watts x 5 and the RMB-1565 has 100 watts x5. This is my first long awaited venture into the world of seperate components So how much power do I need ?? I hear talking about head-room. My speakers are the B&W 600 series. Also, some say Class D is not as "sweet" sounding as an A/B amplifier. Any thoughts ??

[sokrman14]

You don't need lots of power if your system is for TV and some movie watching. Music is more taxing on speakers, and require more power for those peaks of power requirement to hit certain notes without distorting. If your system is geared towards music, I would say get some decent power, if not, then most movie and TV watching is only using 20-25 watts at a time.

As far as the class D vs Class A/B, I prefer class A/B, as will most people who can afford one. class D has improved on sonics over the last few years, seems to require less energy, and puts out less heat, but most will prefer the sound of A/B

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

You don't need lots of power if your system is for TV and some movie watching. Music is more taxing on speakers, and require more power for those peaks of power requirement to hit certain notes without distorting. If your system is geared towards music, I would say get some decent power, if not, then most movie and TV watching is only using 20-25 watts at a time.

As far as the class D vs Class A/B, I prefer class A/B, as will most people who can afford one. class D has improved on sonics over the last few years, seems to require less energy, and puts out less heat, but most will prefer the sound of A/B

I will be using it for both movies, concert BD's and two channel CD or SACD. The list price of the new RMB-1575 is 2,799 So I'm thinking after I listen to them both over a period of time I might be able to get a Class A/B amp that is quite good for that same price????

[RUR]

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

I will be using it for both movies, concert BD's and two channel CD or SACD. The list price of the new RMB-1575 is 2,799 So I'm thinking after I listen to them both over a period of time I might be able to get a Class A/B amp that is quite good for that same price????

New, or used?

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by RUR

New, or used?

Going to stick with new !

[mdabb]

Class A, A/B all the way!!! Class D may put out some power in a small box with low heat but with that comes distortion.

I have a Pass Labs X150.5 (class A/B) 300W x 2 into 4 ohms and love the darn amp. I have yet to push it into distortion and yeah it may put off some heat but as long as you give it some breathing room or if in cramped spaces a couple of 12 volt DC cooling fans will do the job.

My Dali Helicon 800s came alive when I connected the Pass X150.5. I use the the amp on the main L/R channels and an Onkyo TX-SR875 on the center and surround channels. Works fine when watching movies and now I'm blessed when I want to listen to music. (Also have a 2 channel tube pre)

As always class A/B amps can cost some $$$ but AGON can help with that if you don't mind. Since you are picking up a Rotel pre/processor cost shouldn't bother you too much. Should be able to find a great amp(s) for +/- 3K.

You will be glad you went class A/B!!!


Edit: New amps will cost some $$$ per watt.

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by mdabb

Class A, A/B all the way!!! Class D may put out some power in a small box with low heat but with that comes distortion.

I have a Pass Labs X150.5 (class A/B) 300W x 2 into 4 ohms and love the darn amp. I have yet to push it into distortion and yeah it may put off some heat but as long as you give it some breathing room or if in cramped spaces a couple of 12 volt DC cooling fans will do the job.

My Dali Helicon 800s came alive when I connected the Pass X150.5. I use the the amp on the main L/R channels and an Onkyo TX-SR875 on the center and surround channels. Works fine when watching movies and now I'm blessed when I want to listen to music. (Also have a 2 channel tube pre)

As always class A/B amps can cost some $$$ but AGON can help with that if you don't mind. Since you are picking up a Rotel pre/processor cost shouldn't bother you too much. Should be able to find a great amp(s) for +/- 3K.

You will be glad you went class A/B!!!


Edit: New amps will cost some $$$ per watt.

Cost does not bother me "too" much. But sometimes the wife is a tad surprised to say the least ! You also have a 2 channel tube pre ??? Lucky you! That must be a very sweet set up !!!

[mdabb]

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

Cost does not bother me "too" much. But sometimes the wife is a tad surprised to say the least ! You also have a 2 channel tube pre ??? Lucky you! That must be a very sweet set up !!!

Pre is a Modwright Instruments LS36.5 which has a home theater bypass circuit. Home theater and two channel in one setup I am happy to say the least!!!

Barely used really is fine. There very well may be a warranty from the manufacturer still. AGON will allow more amp for the price and sooner than later prices will go up because AGON has tacked on a 1.5% fee to the seller so that will most likely be added to the overall cost.

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by mdabb

Pre is a Modwright Instruments LS36.5 which has a home theater bypass circuit. Home theater and two channel in one setup I am happy to say the least!!!

Barely used really is fine. There very well may be a warranty from the manufacturer still. AGON will allow more amp for the price and sooner than later prices will go up because AGON has tacked on a 1.5% fee to the seller so that will most likely be added to the overall cost.

Crazy question. I see some folks that mix and match components. One fear I have is that the design of one component will conflict with another. Is this fear of mine valid ? For instance, I think if I by a Rotel preamp I should stick with a Rotel amp. Not only will they have the same look which is silver and I like that because most components are black, but they will share the same sound design. More true or more false ??

[Lucy Diamond]

ps-I also believe in matching components

(Pay no attention to the Mesa/Boogie Amp head sitting on top of the Marshall cabinet in the side room )

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

ps-I also believe in matching components

(Pay no attention to the Mesa/Boogie Amp head sitting on top of the Marshall cabinet in the side room )

Picture.......missing ????

[Scooby Blu]

Any more feedback would be helpful. Thanks in advance !!

[richteer]

There's nothing wrong with mixing components, but there can be advantages to sticking with the same brands, particularly if one likes the house sound.

Within reason, you can't have too much power (you're more likely to damage speakers with an under powered amp than an over powered one).

Finally, put me in the "prefers Class A/B" camp!

[prerich]

Class A or A/B that's my preference - I'm not as high end as you chaps ( I use vintage Yamaha amps). I would like to have 5 M-80 power amps (they run at class A on low powered passages and Class A/B when more power is needed). My MX-830's have this function called auto class A but the M-80 is a much more powerful amp! I will mix and match depending on what I'm powering. I like for my front array of speakers to have the same maker and amp characteristics (all Yamaha in this case). I make exceptions for the rear and subwoofer amps. For the subs I like to get the most powerful amp that I can get at the time (remember I'm in the middle of a rebuilding stage - I'll get back eventually) I bought that Sony TA-N80ES (class A) for a song - (paid about $50.00 for it - it sells on ebay at an average of about 500.00 - used). I'm not big on Sony, but that amp is great for my subs - lots of snap and power (its currently bridged). My weaker amps usually power my surrounds - presently all of my amps will do over 170 watts per channel into 8 ohms minimum RMS per channel at extemely low distortion 0.003% or less (the xm6150 is bridged into three channels at 250w each). Lots of head room - all amps greater than 270 watts for dynamic power into 8 ohms (M-80 is at 250 min/380 dynamic) All of them are 2 ohm stable - so I rarely worry about ample power. I like to bring the heat

[welwynnick]

I've had three class D amps in my system (in addition to countless class A/B).

There are poor class D amps just as there are poor linear amps, but class D does have some advantages of its own.

I don't care if I'm a club of one here, but I think class D can be fantastic, and I'm unlikely to go back to class A/B.

There are ranks of professional reviewers out there who are saying the best class D amps are as good as the best solid state amps at any price. have a look at the reviews on Nuforce.com website.

Very convincing.

Nick

[mdabb]

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

Crazy question. I see some folks that mix and match components. One fear I have is that the design of one component will conflict with another. Is this fear of mine valid ? For instance, I think if I by a Rotel preamp I should stick with a Rotel amp. Not only will they have the same look which is silver and I like that because most components are black, but they will share the same sound design. More true or more false ??

Mixing brands has not been an issue for me and some manufacturers do have design characteristics that tend to sound best when paired with other equipment in the same series. Some but not all, I really don't think it's an issue however.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

I've had three class D amps in my system (in addition to countless class A/B).

There are poor class D amps just as there are poor linear amps, but class D does have some advantages of its own.

I don't care if I'm a club of one here, but I think class D can be fantastic, and I'm unlikely to go back to class A/B.

There are ranks of professional reviewers out there who are saying the best class D amps are as good as the best solid state amps at any price. have a look at the reviews on Nuforce.com website.

Very convincing.

Nick

This is true - no doubt. I just prefer the warm sound of Class A amps. It's just personal taste - I'm sure the Rotel class D amp is a fine piece of work !

[Clark Kent]

How is your listening room's electrical wiring? Seriously one of the best audio upgrades I made was getting dedicated 20 amp circuits installed by an electrician to power everything.

[welwynnick]

I love class A too - I used to have a musical fidelity amp that was absolutely magic on the right type of (gentle, melodic) music, but fell over where something dynamic was required. I now have a Sony DA9000, which seems to have the best of both worlds.

The specific advantage of class A is that it doesn't suffer from cross-over distortion. Therefore the way they amplify signals remains the same as the signals get smaller and tend towards zero. I think this is very important for music (as long as you're not of the mind-set that MP3 is good enough).

Class D doesn't suffer from this problem either, as switching distortion is borne at the totally inaudible switching frequency, and filtered out anyway. My impression is that helps you to hear all the small signal simultaneously with all the big signals, and that's really important.

Anyway, if class A has a warm sound, then that must be because its how the music should sound. If you add cross-over distortion and it sounds different, then that can't be right. So class A is ideal for me, but has the disdvantage of cost, heat, weight and space compared with a class B amp, and especially with a class D amp.

Turn things round and ask how much power and quality can you buy for a fixed budget, and I think the answer is turning TOWARDS class D as the optimum solution. Sure, there's nothing warm and fuzzy about Flying Moles or some other early examples, but it does depend on the implementation, and good ones are good because they're good, not because they're class D.

BR, Nick

[s_corroon]

When playing music through my receiver at about 50 - 60% volume, sound begins to distort. Does this mean my speakers are not able for my receiver? This volume is perfect for blu ray movies