Pro Audio Amps? - Blu-ray Forum

Drew664 · 02-01-2010, 03:47 AM

Read a thread on amps over on AVS and someone mentioned buying a pro audio amp.

Does anyone actually do this?

Seems like it'd be a great way to save some money, but I'm not sure if the sq would suffer...

Thoughts?

ZIPPO · 02-01-2010, 04:06 AM

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/ga...rid=3188#42896

Drew664 · 02-01-2010, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/ga...rid=3188#42896

Wow.

Ha, I've never seen his set up before. Very cool and lots of DIY projects.

Hopefully he sees this thread and chimes in. If not I'll PM him to make a public appearance.

ZIPPO · 02-01-2010, 04:46 AM

This member( https://forum.blu-ray.com/home-theat...s-theater.html ) plans on using pro audio amps in his home theater. His occupation is in the recording/pro audio field, he should have a wealth of information for you.

richteer · 02-01-2010, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew664

Read a thread on amps over on AVS and someone mentioned buying a pro audio amp.

Does anyone actually do this?

Seems like it'd be a great way to save some money, but I'm not sure if the sq would suffer...

Thoughts?

Pro audio has different priorities to consumer stuff. Being bullet proof and able to withstand abuse is very high on their priorities, SQ trailing that. So if SQ is important to you I'd say steer clear of pro audio stuff.

Halcro 1 · 02-01-2010, 05:15 PM

I think if someone does a DIY sub, a Pro Audio amp would be a great choice big power at a great price .... If anyone can find on a Crown DC 300A is an excellent sounding amp.

naturephoto1 · 02-01-2010, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcro 1

I think if someone does a DIY sub, a Pro Audio amp would be a great choice big power at a great price .... If anyone can find on a Crown DC 300A is an excellent sounding amp.

I agree, the Crowns were known as very good amps for Subwoofers. However, as mentioned by Rich Teer, I would not recommend Pro amps for the main speakers as they would probably not sound nearly as good as a high quality Audio amp.

Rich

prerich · 02-04-2010, 03:31 AM

I use a 6 channel pro amp in my set up ( I have it bridged to 325w (x3) only using 2 of the channels) it only runs my Rear back speakers. Its the Yamaha XM6150. It does fine for rear channel duty, but I use non-pro amps on my front array.

Drew664 · 02-04-2010, 04:05 AM

Thanks for the reply prerich.

If you had to make a pros/cons list of using a pro amp for HT use, how would you go about it?

Also, have you A/B tested a HT amp to a pro audio? What are the most notable differences?

prerich · 02-06-2010, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew664

Thanks for the reply prerich.

If you had to make a pros/cons list of using a pro amp for HT use, how would you go about it?

Also, have you A/B tested a HT amp to a pro audio? What are the most notable differences?

Same difference that the others are making. Pro amps provide goobs of power at the sacrifice of distortion. Now my 6150 has very low distortion indeed - but not as low as my M-80 or the MX-830's. There are exceptions to the rule such as Crown amps and QSC's - they are very good amps and the new ones from Crown have built in speaker calibration

. We are putting a few in - get this, a school's weight room

! In a sports town - jocks are king!

I believe that the best canidates for pro amps would be the sub's and the rear channels - the front sound stage however, is best left to consumer gear (unless you go high end pro stuff - like I said - they have some gear that sounds very appealing).
Pro's: Build, Power output
Con's: Distortion levels, and they can be noisy - they have fans like PC's

prerich · 02-06-2010, 04:15 PM

P.S. Whaferdale has some great offerings in the Pro-amp side!!!! Quiet, and powerful!

Deromax · 02-28-2010, 08:43 PM

Hello! I was steered onto this thread, alas a month ago! Sorry, I just saw the private message. :/

It looks like some wants to hear my grain of salt about pro amps in home setup. IMHO, several aspects have to be taken into consideration and this is not something totally black or totally white! I began working in live sound about 20 years ago and got interested in home hifi about the same time. I used to make a clear difference between both categories of audio gear (pro and home) and was drinking a lot of the Kool-aid from audio rags like Audio in the US and Sound and vision and UHF in Canada. I mostly dismissed pro-audio gear, on the criteria that some others have already stated in this very thread.

Now my view is more relaxed and I say "Use what works for you"!

Aspect 1) I think fan noise is unacceptable in a home setup. What good is having a 112 dB of signal-to-noise ratio if your gonna have an amp whose 50 dB fan is screaming all the time! Amp rack in a closet of basement is a workaround for this.

Aspect 2) You will find that curent technology pro power amps will have specs comparable to home audio amps. Bandwith, noise and distorsion specs are all vertually perfect since the early 80s in most respectables power amps, either pro or home. This is a non-issue.

Aspect 3) In a sub application, any consideration of transparency, articulation, soundstage, grain, refinment, warmth and other more-or-less esotheric qualifications of a power amp are overwhelmed by the need for raw power (by mean of actual high RMS power but also high curent capability in low impedance) and the need for a high damping ratio to control the behavior of the sub cone. So in this application, a pro amp will shine, not because it's any better, but because it can be had for a reasonable cost! I intend to replace my sub amp for a more powerful and it will be a pro-amp, most probably a Crown K2, which is the only fan-less 800 watts per channels amp I know of. Else, I know that the Yamaha P7000s have very silent fans and can be had for below 500$ (for 2 X 1100 watts/4ohms). Both works with Class-D operation and are are way more efficient than home audio amps.

The price argument on home stuff however is changing since the damn of internet direct outfilt. Emotiva and Outlaw audio have products very powerfull and affordable. Quite the contrary to the 20 000$ 20 watts tube amp...

Aspect 4) For full range application, my deep home hifi roots are somewhat keeping me out of the pro-amp camp for now but that may change someday! Your mileage may vary!

Aspect 5) Like in most other domains in life, entry level equipment may not deliver. You will find some brand of pro amp have loosy specs. Great pro amp brands are Crest, Crown, QSC, Yamaha, Lab Gruppen. However, Peavey, Behringer, Mackie and Yorkville are somewhat less regarded as great and you won't find them on major touring acts.

Note : The Bryston amps I'm using really were/are really home audio amps. The company began puting XLR input connectors on them and calling them Pro when they saw that people were actually using them in clubs and on tour in the early 80s, because reliable 800 watts amps were scarce then. This is a rare company with products well regarded in both home and pro circles.

I hope that can help some. Regards,

Drew664 · 03-03-2010, 04:14 PM

Thanks!

Cool, well this was an interesting topic for me. I appreciate the comments from everyone.

guitarist155 · 05-22-2010, 04:32 AM

wow I just got the PM. I have been working on my theater majorly in the past few weeks and havn't been able to really sign on. I will try and get on tomorrow and post my thoughts.

Big Daddy · 05-22-2010, 06:37 AM

I recently bought a Behringer Europower EP4000 and used it in bridged mode to power one of my DIY 15" subwoofers. The amplifier generated so much power and the results were so impressive that made think that I was wasting the amp on just one subwoofer. Therefore, I moved the vintage DBX subwoofer amp that was powering the other DIY 12" subwoofer to another room and used the Behringer in stereo mode to power both DIY subwoofers. I also replaced the fan with a low noise fan. The EP4000 only has XLR and TSR inputs. I used the amp briefly in my two-channel room as the main amplifier and the results were very promising.

Recently, Behringer introduced a new amp, Europower EPX3000. It uses a relatively lower noise fan and has RCA inputs in addition to XLR and TSR. I ordered one a few days ago to power the other two Hsu 12" cylindrical subwoofers in my HT room.

You can find more information about the amps in https://forum.blu-ray.com/pre-pro-am...rs-thread.html.

02-01-2010, 03:47 AM	#1
Drew664 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:South Dakota Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:68	Pro Audio Amps? Read a thread on amps over on AVS and someone mentioned buying a pro audio amp. Does anyone actually do this? Seems like it'd be a great way to save some money, but I'm not sure if the sq would suffer... Thoughts?

Similar Threads
thread	Forum	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
Polk Audio DSW PRO 600.......good enough?	Subwoofers	mr.hidef	6	12-31-2009 04:01 AM
Please explain pre/pro, seperates, amps. ect...	Pre/Pro, Amplifiers and Separate Systems	painted_klown	5	12-08-2009 02:45 AM
Outlaw Audio Amps lower price!!	Receivers	Opips2	49	03-13-2009 01:03 AM
Receivers, amps & pre-amps?	Receivers	camper	15	01-24-2009 04:27 AM
pre-amps, amps, and receivers...HELP	Home Theater General Discussion	resmonkey	13	07-18-2007 02:45 AM

02-01-2010, 04:06 AM	#2
ZIPPO Blu-ray Guru Member since:May 2008 Location:Columbus, Ohio Home Theater Gallery:148 Blu-ray collection:472 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:3	https://www.blu-ray.com/community/ga...rid=3188#42896

02-01-2010, 04:46 AM	#4
ZIPPO Blu-ray Guru Member since:May 2008 Location:Columbus, Ohio Home Theater Gallery:148 Blu-ray collection:472 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:3	This member( https://forum.blu-ray.com/home-theat...s-theater.html ) plans on using pro audio amps in his home theater. His occupation is in the recording/pro audio field, he should have a wealth of information for you.

02-01-2010, 05:15 PM	#6
Halcro 1 Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Everywhere Home Theater Gallery:12	I think if someone does a DIY sub, a Pro Audio amp would be a great choice big power at a great price .... If anyone can find on a Crown DC 300A is an excellent sounding amp.

02-04-2010, 03:31 AM	#8
prerich Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Home Theater Gallery:50 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:2	I use a 6 channel pro amp in my set up ( I have it bridged to 325w (x3) only using 2 of the channels) it only runs my Rear back speakers. Its the Yamaha XM6150. It does fine for rear channel duty, but I use non-pro amps on my front array.

02-04-2010, 04:05 AM	#9
Drew664 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:South Dakota Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:68	Thanks for the reply prerich. If you had to make a pros/cons list of using a pro amp for HT use, how would you go about it? Also, have you A/B tested a HT amp to a pro audio? What are the most notable differences?

02-06-2010, 04:15 PM	#11
prerich Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Home Theater Gallery:50 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:2	P.S. Whaferdale has some great offerings in the Pro-amp side!!!! Quiet, and powerful!

02-28-2010, 08:43 PM	#12
Deromax Active Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jun 2009 Location:Shawinigan, Pq, Canada Home Theater Gallery:108 4K collection:6 Blu-ray collection:1794 DVD collection:76 Blu-ray reviews:1	Hello! I was steered onto this thread, alas a month ago! Sorry, I just saw the private message. :/ It looks like some wants to hear my grain of salt about pro amps in home setup. IMHO, several aspects have to be taken into consideration and this is not something totally black or totally white! I began working in live sound about 20 years ago and got interested in home hifi about the same time. I used to make a clear difference between both categories of audio gear (pro and home) and was drinking a lot of the Kool-aid from audio rags like Audio in the US and Sound and vision and UHF in Canada. I mostly dismissed pro-audio gear, on the criteria that some others have already stated in this very thread. Now my view is more relaxed and I say "Use what works for you"! Aspect 1) I think fan noise is unacceptable in a home setup. What good is having a 112 dB of signal-to-noise ratio if your gonna have an amp whose 50 dB fan is screaming all the time! Amp rack in a closet of basement is a workaround for this. Aspect 2) You will find that curent technology pro power amps will have specs comparable to home audio amps. Bandwith, noise and distorsion specs are all vertually perfect since the early 80s in most respectables power amps, either pro or home. This is a non-issue. Aspect 3) In a sub application, any consideration of transparency, articulation, soundstage, grain, refinment, warmth and other more-or-less esotheric qualifications of a power amp are overwhelmed by the need for raw power (by mean of actual high RMS power but also high curent capability in low impedance) and the need for a high damping ratio to control the behavior of the sub cone. So in this application, a pro amp will shine, not because it's any better, but because it can be had for a reasonable cost! I intend to replace my sub amp for a more powerful and it will be a pro-amp, most probably a Crown K2, which is the only fan-less 800 watts per channels amp I know of. Else, I know that the Yamaha P7000s have very silent fans and can be had for below 500$ (for 2 X 1100 watts/4ohms). Both works with Class-D operation and are are way more efficient than home audio amps. The price argument on home stuff however is changing since the damn of internet direct outfilt. Emotiva and Outlaw audio have products very powerfull and affordable. Quite the contrary to the 20 000$ 20 watts tube amp... Aspect 4) For full range application, my deep home hifi roots are somewhat keeping me out of the pro-amp camp for now but that may change someday! Your mileage may vary! Aspect 5) Like in most other domains in life, entry level equipment may not deliver. You will find some brand of pro amp have loosy specs. Great pro amp brands are Crest, Crown, QSC, Yamaha, Lab Gruppen. However, Peavey, Behringer, Mackie and Yorkville are somewhat less regarded as great and you won't find them on major touring acts. Note : The Bryston amps I'm using really were/are really home audio amps. The company began puting XLR input connectors on them and calling them Pro when they saw that people were actually using them in clubs and on tour in the early 80s, because reliable 800 watts amps were scarce then. This is a rare company with products well regarded in both home and pro circles. I hope that can help some. Regards,

03-03-2010, 04:14 PM	#13
Drew664 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:South Dakota Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:68	Thanks! Cool, well this was an interesting topic for me. I appreciate the comments from everyone.

05-22-2010, 04:32 AM	#14
guitarist155 Special Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2008 Location:nashville Home Theater Gallery:45 4K collection:11 Blu-ray collection:134 DVD collection:3 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:1	wow I just got the PM. I have been working on my theater majorly in the past few weeks and havn't been able to really sign on. I will try and get on tomorrow and post my thoughts.

05-22-2010, 06:37 AM	#15
Big Daddy Blu-ray Champion Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Southern California Home Theater Gallery:79 Blu-ray collection:122 Trading Score:1	I recently bought a Behringer Europower EP4000 and used it in bridged mode to power one of my DIY 15" subwoofers. The amplifier generated so much power and the results were so impressive that made think that I was wasting the amp on just one subwoofer. Therefore, I moved the vintage DBX subwoofer amp that was powering the other DIY 12" subwoofer to another room and used the Behringer in stereo mode to power both DIY subwoofers. I also replaced the fan with a low noise fan. The EP4000 only has XLR and TSR inputs. I used the amp briefly in my two-channel room as the main amplifier and the results were very promising. Recently, Behringer introduced a new amp, Europower EPX3000. It uses a relatively lower noise fan and has RCA inputs in addition to XLR and TSR. I ordered one a few days ago to power the other two Hsu 12" cylindrical subwoofers in my HT room. You can find more information about the amps in https://forum.blu-ray.com/pre-pro-am...rs-thread.html.

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals