You can look on the Vandy website for serial / model major changes and time periods for production.
You can also join the owners forum there as well…
Ideas for an amplifier?
Hi Gentlemen,
i was thrilled at receiving a second hand Maraschino Cherry and was looking for another one. A gentleman on eBay had two that were sold for $1,000 pair, less than half price new. Then I found out that the Digital Amplifier Company is essentially defunct with the untimely death of its owner, Mr. Tom O’Brien. RIP
Perhaps people are worried about parts and repair.
I did a lot of reading on amps but I don’t have your experience. There is certainly a lot of hype about class D amps but one also has to watch out for the class D amps that are for low frequency subs only. I’m not married to the idea of a class D amp and am open to suggestions.
When I was young the Krell amps were amongst the best. Judging from the price it seems that is still the case. I have a McIntosh mc2100 but I just need more juice. Most hifi stores think the newer amps have less THD than the older ones.
i was reading something about a kind of impedance that needs to be matched with speakers, not the 4 ohm 8 ohm thing. Something about feedback. I didn’t understand it first time reading through it. I think it wax late before bed.
at the end of this I will put the list of equipment I have. Maybe someone can suggest an amp around $1200 to $1500 on the used market? I, like most men, just came up with that number as what I would like to spend. Once guys pull a number out of their hat it is hard to change it even though there was no logic to coming up with it.
The main reason for reaching out is so that I don’t make a mistake buying an amp that everyone knows to be harsh or a great THD on paper but not smooth.
Ok, here is what I have to play with now, thanks to some earlier suggestions by Dugeon.
Sony HAP Zies 1tb DAC NAS
Speakers: Vandersteens, Maggie III, Monitor Audio Silver bookshelf, B&W Nautilus SCM-1’s.
PS. The Vandersteens are power hungry. All the others are good.
sub: RBH (don’t like it because it can’t handle much power before sounding flop flop from overdriving them) driven by a Yamaha 2500 in mono mode.
Please only nice positive comments. Thank you.
29 responses Add your response
Mine talk… 😎 |
^The Topping had a sound reminiscent of a TV fly back transformer.^
I hooked up the $70 AIYAMA today… Same cables, but as a single stereo amp, so I twisted the bi-wires together and put them into a banana plug on teh amp end. I cranked the volume knob full clock wise, and it is the same volume as the PrimaLuna Dialigue HP Premium was a monumental earlier. Zero hiss… nothing. And it sounds pretty damned good.
Imaging, sound stage etc, are all pretty good.
ASR has It is rated at 83 dB SINAD, so the higher end amps around 100dB (+/- 5dB) should be better. And in reality these class D are always rated into 4 ohms. So halve the wattage when going into 8 ohms... so one likely wants a 250-400W version for powering a speaker like the Vandy, as we then get 125-200W into 8 ohms. I’ll definitely be using this as a benchmark to compare other amps with. And moving it to do center channel work. The preamp probably helps as it is a tube, so maybe it gives it some extra prescience? |
Well I looked like an idiot listening to the tweeters. Then each of the speaker bi-wore posts can get its own channel. I turned the amps to 12 o’clock, which is difficult with no actual mark on the dial… so I used some tape make the mark on. I have the Pre-Amp set at -8dB, and I usually run it at about -30 to -20 dB with most other amps. So I ran a much hotter signal. If I run a 0dB single ended RCA, and rack the amp’s gain knob back it is OK for hiss. The sound is not bad… pretty good really. The gain management could be a challening, but they are designed for a full range signal, and will likely better with an XLR, which is the idea for ANV surround channels. For $120 as a stereo amp, it seems OK for sound, other than the hissing. ASR measured SINAD:
The AIYAMA is half way between say a March Audio and a Topping in terms in SINAD. I think that the state of art class-D should be worth a try based upon the 30dB noisier unit being OK. I see how the AIYAMA goes on the morrow. |
Looks like your Sony HAP has both balanced and unbalanced outputs, so yeah I’d go for it. I’m not a wealthy man, and I’m not even in the market for a power amp right now, but if I had a line on an s/500 for $400 I’d grab it without hesitation. As far as a source for potential service, that’s going to depend on your location, there’s a couple of reputable service centers near me, but I have no idea where you’re at. |
My VTLs (mono blocks) just got a new capacitor and a bad solder joint fixed by a local repair place. So IMO just start with a local place and see if they can do it. |
I wouldn't worry too much about buying a preowned Cherry amp just because Tommy is no longer with us. Solid state amps these days are pretty darn reliable and you may very well be able to pick up an amp that has a tube like midrange with a solid state low end for 50-60% of the list price. But...the same is true of a number of preowned amps these days and if you buy preowned and its not exactly what you want, you won't suffer much depreciation if any when you go to resell it. |
@geworthomd |
@geworthomd Our site is http://www.atma-sphere.com @holmz Thanks! |
Parasound is a well-regarded audio manufacture. John Curl frequently consults with them on their amp & preamp designs. Their current straight amp of choice in your price range is probably the A23+, but they also have models with more channels, HT features, subwoofer crossover, etc. I think most of their amps can be bridged, if you have a real thirst for power and relatively well-behaved speakers, impedance-wise. You could try the A23+ @ 160w/channel into 8 ohms. If you like the sound, but need more juice, buy a second. Run them as monoblocks in bridged mode for 500w/channel! |
Over on USAudiomart someone is selling a LSA Voyager Gan 350. Ive had one for 1.5 years, and continue to be amazed. I just upgraded the coax cable yesterday and the benefit/improvement over my Pangea Premier SE coax is jaw dropping, The sound is now extremely natural. The music just flows. This amp is an absolute bargain at $3000 MSRP, but this seller is only asking $1700. It's already had 93 views so hurry |
@atmasphere Ralph you’ve been mentioned in this thread. |
+1 @russ69 If you need more power than MacIntosh 105watts, very slim choices in the $1-1.5k range. More power requires more/larger/better parts which drive up costs. |
Ralph is owner/designer at Atmasphere. He usually is around here. Top tube amps but out of your price range. He does have a class-D in the $5k new, and wod be surprised if anyone is selling theirs so fast. One company to look into is Audio by Van Alstine. Great comments and reputation within your price range. M225s are getting very good reviews and @markmuse just got a pair (He noted on another thread). I think they are $1.6k new. Their SET 120 is $1k I think. GaN amps are getting good reviews too. Generally in the $2-3k range (new) or higher, but might get the smaller amps from LSA or Orchard closer to your range. It might not be a bad idea waiting some. The new GaN amps are probably going to trigger some folks selling their current amps. Hypex just came out with new modules that apparently make their Ncore 400 look like obsolete so some might get rid of those amps. Technologically surpassed doesn't mean they sound bad, though! |
I have some 2Cs, and they are not really that power hungry. I currently have a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP (88w/ch or 44 in triode, and the sound fine and have plenty of SPL) If you can wait a month, I got some Topping A90 amps ($160 USD) and an AIYAMA ($70) to try with some surround sound speakers.
One the multi $1000 end:
And lots of other amps Vandy users are using on the Vandy forum… so it might be worth asking there?
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