BC Acoustique 80w pure class A...anyone?

[gravis82]

http://www.bc-acoustique.com/en/ind...category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=40

I searched for it on this website and received....5 hits....

Looking for an amp for my totem forests. Was leaning towards a peachtree nova 220se, but this may be an interesting option. 80w class a vs. 220 class D. I should really audition them both. But that would defeat the purpose of gathering others opinions as well . I'm not sure I'm advanced enough to know what I am listening for yet either. If you own this, or have extensively demoed, would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

thanks!


edit: Since this is not a common amplifier, and if you know alot about class A amps but may not have heard this one, feel free to comment on purely on this amp based on the specs/price compared to others. It seems to me any comparable amplifier is way more expensive (Think this is under 3000 Canadian).

 

[RossW]

That does not seem like a lot of heathsinking for a true pure class A amplifier. Probably why they recommend the A-A/B bias setting for more than "moderate" listening.

Other than a lot of advertising talk I don't see anything particularly magical about the amp. Another thing to consider is that Forests are only 87 dB efficient which is not super high. My Thiels are 88 dB and it takes 150-200W to really get them going. Given their warnings about not using full class A bias all the time I would be moderately concerned about the amp's ability to drive Forests with authority.

 

[gravis82]

hmmm. thanks. From what I know about myself...if it has a class A only toggle switch I will want to use it all the time. Noted.

The peachtree might be the ticket. But the anthem 225 is also interesting and in the same price range and I think I can demo that one. I really cant spend more that 2500 Canadian.

 

[gravis82]

ok, just a question though. From what I can tell, in an AB amp, when you run out of class A, you can get louder, but it just gets more distorted and sounds generally gets a bit worse as volume increases from that point. Usually most amps in my price range with AB will run out of class A at like 5-10 watts I assume. I am upgrading from a yamaha as801.

But even if this BC acoustic amp is running in AB mode, sounds like it reduces its output by half, which is still 40watts of class A. That still seems like alot. I feel my ears would give out before my speakers did there, and even if I was close to maxing out the 40 class A watts at a not too loud volume because of my inefficient speakers, it wouldn't matter because its all class A clean power anyway ...correct?. But, I am sure for a listening session of an hour or so, 80watts of class A would leave me wanting for nothing.

It seems silly to spend equal money on a 150wpc amp with 10watts class A, where I could get this with 40w of class A...or if I wanted to be really inefficient...80w.

Is my reasoning wrong? I may not fully understand what the sonic benefits of class A are, and how many more watts of class A = what result. There is probably a calculation of how loud 40 watts will get these speakers to. Actually I found it, max sound would be 100db for 40w for the forests and how I listen. That is plenty plenty plenty for my room ( I measure). Is the 39th class A watt the same as the 2nd class A watt? Does that question make sense?

I'm just in a normal 1200 sqft house with finished basement + carpet. So, not a huge space to fill.

I am rambling, I have a little bit of internet obtained information, which is probably dangerous. haha

 

[RossW]

Once you "run out" of class A whether or not it gets noticeably more distorted or sounds worse really depends on how well the circuit is designed. It's entirely possible you won't even perceive the difference.

Your point is valid, most of the time you're probably using <20 watts. That being said, do you ever get the feeling that your speakers are sounding out of breath? You're thinking about dropping from 100 WPC to 80 WPC which is not a trivial drop. It's a trade-off, you may gain on low level detail but you may also lose some of the impact. It will come down to your musical tastes and listening habits.

One other thing to think about, especially if you're not going to be able to audition, is resale value. An obscure amp, no matter how good it sounds, is not going to have the resale value of a big name amp. $2500-3000 CAD is not a small amount of money and if in a couple years you decide that the amp just isn't right you may take a big hit. Case in point, there is an Odyssey Stratos Plus (which is a current and well-reviewed model) in Barter Town right now for <25% of the new price and it has been listed for weeks.

Are you considering used? Not vintage, but maybe 5-10 years old.

 

[gravis82]

hmm, good point about resale. There is so much used stuff out there though. I would be more inclined to buy used in the sub 1000 dollar price range. I start to get a little nervous shelling out 2500 dollars sight unseen on ebay or shipped from across the country somewhere on someones word. I live in a relatively small city, which has a good used market, but not great.

I would be much more inclined to buy used if it still had a transferable warranty. I have been keeping my eye out for an oddessy used amp, but surprise surprise, no one sells those.

 

[whoaru99]

...You're thinking about dropping from 100 WPC to 80 WPC which is not a trivial drop.

All things equal, going from 100wpc to 80wpc is -1dB. That's a pretty small change in perceived overall volume/SPL capability.

 

[gravis82]

All things equal, going from 100wpc to 80wpc is -1dB. That's a pretty small change in perceived overall volume/SPL capability.

I guess it all comes down to, as an example,.... if running 35 watts of power from this class A amp is going to sound better than 35 watts of power from a more well known and established class AB amp (where only the first 5-10, or less, are class A).

From the responses above, sounds like that it may not be distinguishable for some amps, but will be noticeable in others. So essentially, how good a class AB amplifier sounds is how well the designer is at making it sound once it burns though its first class A watts? How about a used bryston 100b http://www.bryston.com/products/power_amps/B100.html. Ill put that one on the list, which now looks like:

BC Acoustique (unless this thread dissuades me..getting there), followed by used bryston 100b (warranty!, but only 100w), peachtree nova220SE new, anthem 225 integrated new.

 

[whoaru99]

Probably asking the wrong guy such questions about amps. I own quite a few, including a couple big names, but don't find much difference in the sound as long as they're operated within their limits.

Put another way, I think there are better places to impact the sound of your system - as long as you're not materially underpowered at present. "Underpowered" as defined by not enough power to cleanly drive your speakers to the loudest volume you desire.

 

[gravis82]

Probably asking the wrong guy such questions about amps. I own quite a few, including a couple big names, but don't find much difference in the sound as long as they're operated within their limits.

Put another way, I think there are better places to impact the sound of your system - as long as you're not materially underpowered at present.

true. I do need an amp for the forests though, as my yamaha is moving to another set of speakers! I don't think spending 1000 is going to cut it. 2000cad gets me a NAD 375bee, meh. Tryring to find something of an end game amp for these speakers for just a bit more than 2. I'll only consider used if it has a solid transferable warranty.