2. amps-preamps
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what's going on with specs?

I'm having a hard time buying a power amp. I'm in the 5-10k range and whae I'm finding are things like PS Audio BHK 250. Specs show 250@8ohms and 500@4ohms. Then the Parasound JC5 shows 400@8ohms and 600@4ohms. Looks like PS Audio doubles at 4 ohms which makes me think it's a stronger amp until I notice the PS Audio spec is at 1 kilohertz and the Parasound measures 20 to 20 kilohertz. That is very confusing and I don't understand why PS Audio doesn't give full power measurements. Anyone with knowledge of these two brands or others. I have the Elac Vela 409s to drive. 
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mrklas
441 posts
 
@unsound specs matter until they don't

Audio research has stereo watt amplifiers rated at 75-85 watts that can deliver sound quality, quality and dynamics comparable to may amplifiers rated much higher.    
unsound
7,329 posts
 
@mrklas, specs don’t matter until they do,

I confident that in some situations that vey same amp won’t perform as well as many amplifiers rated much higher.
And the specs sure come in handy for such considerations.
alucard19
363 posts
 
You can also put the Anthem P2 power amp onto your list if you want and priced with the rest of your list around 4.5K
crustycoot
644 posts
 
If you’re discussing Watts, the room size, its acoustic liveness, and most importantly YOU and your musical choices and volume demands all matter in determining how much amp you want. SS amps generally have low output impedance and ones on your list have high current, so the 3.4 Ohm minimum of your speakers will not faze any of them nor cause major tonal surprises.
Even a Naim 80 W amp can deliver incredibly dynamic music reproduction. People love the Pass Labs 25 W amp. If you’re looking for nightclub volume you need all you can get…and bigger speakers. 
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guy-incognito
169 posts
 
I have a JC5 running some Revel F208s and it sounds amazing. My buddy has a BHK 250 running some Sonus Faber Olympica Nova V's and it also sounds amazing. You need to figure out what you want. Both amps are different variations of awesome.
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