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LS50 + Amp Power

Yet another LS50 thread...  My apologies :).  Quick question on power ratings.  I have a Pioneer VSX1120k which provides 120w to L & R.  I've read a few threads about power "quality" and I wondered what I might be missing.  Does the Pioneer supply well rated power? 

The 1120k has pre outs so I could technically drive L/R with a separate amp (center too as I have this in a HT setup).  Wondering what everyone thinks?  I've been looking at Outlaw audio or Emotiva.      
martinman
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,289 posts
 
Youd be much better off with something like Elac debuts with that avr.  The LS50’s will not sound good on that avr.  The Elacs will sound better and work better for you I believe. The LS50’s sound good with about $5,000 in front end electronics driving them
yyzsantabarbara
5,021 posts
 
Best amp I had on the LS50 is the Benchmark AHB2 amp.

The Peachtree Nova 150 with the LS50 was rather good but not great.
The cost of that unit made me happy for the given sound quality. Check out the $1500 amp500 from Underwodhifi. That should be excellent with the LS50.
https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/peachtree-audio

I say excellent because for a few months I used the amp section of the Peachtree Nova 150 (not the preamp part) with a Benchmark HPA4 preamp. It was much better than the Nova 150 alone. So I figure the new amp500 (no preamp) will also be a big winner for $1500.

At the end of this month I should get delivery of a Krell K-300i. I will be pairing that with the LS50 and that should be a little nuts.
dbphd
1,632 posts
 
Jon Atkinson used Parasound JC-1 monoblocks (800 watts @ 4 Ω) with LS50 Metas for his review in Stereophile. But LS50s sound very good with my Ayre A7e integrated (120 watts @ 4Ω).  I haven't tried pairing my JC-1s with the LS50s.
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
These are great recommendations, but my budget isn't quite there.  Emotiva or Outlaw are under 1k which is where i'd like to stay.  This includes possibly even going with a new AVR (stretching the budget a bit).

I'm mostly happy with the AVR I have now, but like most upgrades, I'm wondering what I'm missing.  The LS50s in a HT config, so I'm thinking of just offloading L/R to a separate amp.  
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