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Best amplifier and preamp for klipsch heresy 3

I am searching for the best solid state amplifier for klipsch heresy 3 and an oppo bdp83 blu ray player.My room is a 12x10 with hardwood floors.I AM CURRENTLY USING AN NAD C370 INTEGRATED AMP AT 120 watts per channel.does anyone know if the 375bee is an improvement over the 370,also looking at Pass,B&K,Aragon,Odyssey Stratos,Mcintosh,Krell,Bryston,and parasound.Would greatly appreciate any suggestions on these or any other amplifiers that matches good with these speakers.
curiousgeorge
curiousgeorge OP
12 posts
 
I wonder if the 275/165 combo seperates would sound better than the 375bee integrated with the klipsch heresy 3.Or a tube preamp with the 275 power amp would be better.Any thoughts?
boband212's avatar
boband212
62 posts
 

I sell Jolida, and Klipsch. Been messing with audio gear for years. The Heresy III speakers really only need about 5wpc to drive to any reasonable volume. Lower powered amps always sound the smoothest. Back in the day most of the best gear- Marantz, Pioneer, etc. made amps and receivers in the 25wpc to 45wpc.  A 100+ wpc SS amp is way overkill for these. and you are just sucking juice from the wall socket. A Jolida FX10 amp, JD301BRC, or JD102CRC would work great. You can check out DECWARE amps- they make a 6wpc class A tube amp that would work great. If you insist on SS look at less then 75wpc, or even less than 50wpc. Yamaha might be good choice. Or Rega Brio R or PS Audio Sprout. Low powered amp with clean, smooth sound. The Jolida JD301BRC 30wpc hybrid amp with level one upgrade will sound better than either NAD mentioned- I would give you a money back guarantee on that. a 20wpc amp hooked to these would achieve volumes able to shake the pictures off my walls.

a Yamaha AS301 might sound better with these than either NAD mentioned. Get one of the Jolida amps and be real happy. And use less electricity. Bob Anderson



bpoletti
1,553 posts
 
A low- to mid-wattage vintage Audio Research tube amp (Maybe a D76 or D79) with an Audio Research tube preamp (SP-6, SP-9, SP-10) would be a good combination with the Heresy III. 

If you really want to try something interesting, try a Dynaco ST-70 or a pari of Dynaco Mk III amps.  Stock, the sound can be very nice.  Modified, these can be quite good.  With the right tube complement  Both have more than enough power for the Heresy's.  VERY VINTAGE.
brian27b
93 posts
 
Have you considered Primaluna. I auditioned the H3's with my Primaluna HP integrated and was sold on the combo. I did not hear that dull sound you mentioned. A very nice match IMO.
mesch
3,502 posts
 
A friend of mine has a set of older Heresy's (mid 80s). Though the IIIs are somewhat better, they are very similar to the originals as I understand. We have driven his version to loudness levels beyond what was comfortable with an NAD 326BEE. That said I believe these speakers are best served by the the more classic tube sound (EL34 type). Regarding a balance between sound quality and budget, I don't believe these speakers command amplification beyond ~$2000 price point.

My friend has driven them with a current version of the Dynaco ST-70 and said they sounded wonderful (I was not present). However, we also plan on driving them with an original version of this amp I had recently refurbished. I will have to get back to everyone on this.

If I owned these speakers I would choose to drive them with a tube integrated. I would consider Jolida or Prima Luna 35wpc integrateds. If going separates and wanted SS drive, I would pair a SS amp with a tube pre. The Odyssey would be a good choice however supplies more power than needed. I don't consider this a problem however as long as one can use the pre at appropriate gain levels.
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