Hello,
The MA-500's in my system sound great! They are smooth and warm yet detailed. I use the big ADS 1590 digital towers with 8 more ADS for surround. They like power. The nice thing about monoblocks is that you will get a constant 125 watts. Receivers are notorious for losing power the more channels you use. So for a 5.1 surround you will lose up to 40% of your power. The power ratings are based on only 2 channels driven. Over the years, I have acquired 11 Ma-500's. I bridge two for the left and 2 for the right front speakers. I get about 385 watts per channel with bridging. I have not experienced any negatives with the MA-500's. I plan to aquire two more for my 7.2 system and later another 2 for 9.2. I wouldn't keep buying them if there were any negatives.
Go for it you won't regret it. Better than Adcom? Can't say since I have not owned one but if you think it sounds tinny, this will not be an issue with the MA500's.
I hope this helps
Foxxnet |
Alot has happened since I originally posted this thread. I got a classe ca-150, running xlr's between that and my classe ssp 25 pre amp, got some better speaker cables, upgraded from studio 10's to studio 20's to studio 60's and also added an svs sub. Whew! Can anyone say upgradiates!! If the classe ca-150 didn't pop up locally and in my price range, I would have gone conrad johnson mf 2250. |
I used to have Paradigm Studio 60's and was bi-amping them with 4 Marantz MA-500's so I'm typing from experience.
The MA-500's are not bad sounding at all and the dynamic punch was excellent in this setup. But in the end, between needing two extra preamp interconnects, two extra speaker cables, and the cost of two extra MA500's my opinion is you'd be better served by putting this extra total-cost-of-ownership money towards a superior amp to the MA500.
I moved onto a Conrad Johnson MF2250 and am now ready for a tube amp. |
I Just bought an MA500 last week for my center channel (two 6 1/4 and 1 tweeter by Polk audio) and I just want to know from you guys if this is enough for a center channel? I like how compact it is and how good the price is. |
Jeffreybehr, sorry about the confusion. I was planning on bi amping with the mono blocks, not the adcom as I was trading the adcom as part of the deal. I read that bi amping, in most cases, is better than bridging your amps even if they were designed with bridging as an option. I read that you can run into problems when bridging amps and that the sound quality was worse in some cases due to bridging (even bridging two of the same mono blocks).
Hudsonhawk, what kind of b&k did you have? I've been looking at those also.
Thank you to everyone who has posted! I've decieded to not buy the mono blocks as I am looking for a very "musical", high powered 2 channel amp to power my paradigm studio's and I don't think the ma 500's are going to satisfy. Ideally I will leave my system alone for a long time once I find an amp that I'm happy with. Thanks again! |
I used to have the MA500's. They're good for the money, and a really fun conversation starter and form factor.
But as an amp, they're great for home theater, punchy and powerful, but I didn't find them satisfyingly musical. I replaced them with a similarly cheap B&K amp which was much more satisfying. |
"I'll be blunt, the MA500's were dogs, plain and simple." Well, no wishywashyness from Tmsorock this morning!
I disagree. I've had dozens over the years and feel that they're good- but not great-sounding amps.
B_limo, in your original post, you jump subjects from biamping to bridging instantly. You do realize they're 2 different things?
Also, you don't indicate which amps you might use for biamping, 4 MA500s or one pair plus your Adcom. Biamping can be succesfull but also very frustrating; using 4 identical amp channels is certainly the easiest way to do it.
. |
I'll be blunt, the MA500's were dogs, plain and simple. |
I'm not saying the MA500's are bad, they aren't. They were very good for their price point, however so is your Adcom from what I remember.
If you bi-amp then I suspect you will see an improvement. You should also try bridging a pair of the MA500's and see how that works. I always wanted to, but couldn't afford a second pair of them while I owned them.
Check out the MA700's too... those were also very good and a bit more power than the 500s. I see them show up on here every now and then.
Let us know how you like the 500s!! |
Hmmm, I've read some reviews of the ma500's and they all say that they are pretty decent little amps for the money. I've been told that they are going to produce more bass and I was hoping that they'd produce more power too, especially since I'm planning on bi-amping. I'll take your advice and hook them up and listen to them first if I can, and if I can't, maybe I'll hold off. Thanks! |
I've owned MA500's and I doubt they will be a big improvement over your Adcom.
If they are local, give them a try and hear for yourself, maybe you'll like them. |
