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Correct amp for Dynaudio Audience 42?

I stupidly bought a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s for $275 without thinking, let alone auditioning. Now I'm wondering if my decade old Marantz PM7000 (which claims to put out 155 watts with 4 ohm speakers) and SA8001 SACD player will actually get the best from these 150W 4 ohm speakers.

Anyone know?

If my amp comes up short, would I be better off waving goodbye to it and buying a new Marantz PM5004, even though it puts out fewer watts? (It seems like some amps with fewer watts are actually superior, but I don't understand why or how.)

My priority is to have an affordable compact system to play jazz greats, 70s funk records, and, occasionally, the melancholy MP3s of contemporary singer songwriters.

Thanks in advance for any help.

~Eric
emhans
detredwings
162 posts
 
You won't actually look at the specifications for an amp and be able to determine it's ability to drive speakers that like power. From my experience it's trial and reading others comments. As well as the manufacturers reputation.

I used Krell, Bryston and Aaragon at different times to drive mine and they all worked well. NAD may be a good match as well. They are certainly more affordable. I put Adcom in the same class.

One thing I do look at is the ability to drive a 8 ohm load and a 4 ohm load. If the amp is rated at 100 watts into 8 ohms and 200 watts or close to it into 4 ohms. It has a power supply and be able to do the job you want. If it produces 100 watts into 8 ohms and 140 watts into 4 ohms I would personally not want that for speakers that need power.

This is just my experience and others may have different opinions. Hope this helps.
airlocker
1 posts
 
Eric, you did good purchasing the Audience 42. I agree with the others, look for good useable power. Investigate what others are using, for example I have a pair of Audience 50's which I drive with a Cary SLI 80 tube amp. Sounds good with plenty of left over power. Good luck
br3098
994 posts
 
I have a pair of Audience 42Ws for my office system, which have no rear port and can be placed against the wall. I picked these up on a whim with the intent to resell, not thinking to pair them with tube gear as I prefer. I was surprised at how good they sound with a variety of amps.

The Audience speakers seem to be fairly easy to drive, which has not been my experience with other Dynaudio models. I am currently playing them through a Golden Tube Audio SE-40 40w SET amp and using a Peachtree Decco as preamp. They sound great, and the tube amp really tames their slight tendency towards brightness.
miner42
709 posts
 
With my then Audience 52SE I used Rotel electronics (RC1082 & RB1092)and these little bookshelves really belted out the tunes. I had them stand mounted which I really recommned for your 42s. If you go this route mass load (ad sand/lead shot to the stand columns)the stands.
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