$1200 for 200wpc
Looking for 200 watt Amp to drive Dynaudio Heritage speakers
Hi Everyone -
BACKGROUND
A few years ago, during Covid and after having worked for so many years without really treating myself to a sound system, I took the plunge and started purchasing audio equipment. Unfortunately, I was a terribly uninformed audio buyer and dove in with some purchases that were not terribly well considered. Oh well.
So here we are today... I have a pair of Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers that I was considering selling.
The Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers require power to open up. Driven at 100 watts, they sound a little anemic and the treble dominates at lower levels. So they ended up in the closet for the last year with plans to sell them. In retrospect, the dealer I purchased them suggested a lower wattage amp than was advisable.
For my primary system, I'm now running QLN Prestige Three speakers with a Conrad Johnson Classic 120 EL34 amp, LTA Microzotl preamp, Merason DAC1 and Innuos Zenith. The sound of this system is wonderful - ethereal, nuanced, great soundstage and imaging. Very relaxing combo.
I'm thinking of cycling the Dynaudio into circulation for a few months a year to change things up. I'm looking for a 200 Watt Solid State Amp. But here's the thing, I'm getting older and lugging heavy things around - especially when stairs are part of the equation - is terribly unappealing. 50-55 pounds is pretty much my limit right now.
I had some Pass Labs amps in for home demos and the thing was a back breaker. I think it was 80 pounds or so. My days of pseudo body building are over... so lugging that thing up and down stairs is something I NEVER want to do again.
QUESTION FOR THE FORUM
Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced solid state 200 watt SS amp - no more than 50-55 pounds - that I can use to enjoy these Dynaudio Heritage Speakers? Class AB or Class D, obviously. For weight considerations, I'm really open to a Class D amp, assuming it sounds good.
Budget is $5K or under - new or used.
In terms of what I'm looking for - and given my weight requirements - I'd say the primary thing I'm looking to avoid is overt brightness. Otherwise, I'm pretty open to what suggestions the forum might have. Thanks in advance!
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- 72 posts total
@som FWIW Dept.: The 100A has nothing to do with the output power just so you know. That’s probably the current that flows when the power supply is shorted for 10ms. I guarantee that if 100A flowed through the output section it would be permanently damaged. The math tells you what is up. Power is mathematically related to speaker impedance and current: P = R x Current squared (R is the speaker resistance) So if we give the amp the benefit of the doubt that it can double power as impedance is halved, and so use a 1 Ohm load, the current squared is then equal to the power. That’s 100 squared or 10,000 Watts. That doesn’t ’square’ with 200 Watts into 8 Ohms if you see what I did there. If it can double power right to 1 Ohm it would be 1600 Watts- to my knowledge no-one makes a 10,000 Watt amp that might be considered hifi. If we use that current rating as a short circuit value (essentially a measure of how much capacity is available in the power supplies) then this makes more sense. We make a tube amp that has 80Amps available by that measure (the MA-2). |
@atmasphere Thanks. that definitely makes more sense as to how they got those numbers. Good old marketing department hard at work again |
I would recommend the Kinki Studios EX-M1 amp 265 watts. I had one, and installed the Sparkos OP amp kit. Brought is very close to a class A amp. I had it paired with a set of Special 40 speakers, and then a set of Capriccio Continuo ad monitor 311 speakers. They are a more musical speaker than the special 40. I sold the Kinki because I got a smoking deal on a Sugden IA-4 integrated from my dealer. But the Kinki Amp and the S40's were a pretty decent pairing. |
- 72 posts total