Hi im thinking of running vintage Marantz or kenwood receiver through a power amp? Can this be done? If so whats best compatible? Im looking at either Adcom or Parasound? Thanks All!
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Adcom,Parasound Or Rotel?
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
The 2252B has pre outs.
I would probably lean toward the Parasound, which model?
Which Adcom?
I would probably lean toward the Parasound, which model?
Which Adcom?
looking AT A Parasound HCA-2003 and a Adcom GFA-5800 at the moment,looking for 200 WPC for under 1k.Any reccomendations?
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
The choices are broad in that price/power range.
Have you considered a pro amp?
200 bucks or so will buy you 300 wpc of class d Crown power, brand new, with warranty, for example.
Have you considered a pro amp?
200 bucks or so will buy you 300 wpc of class d Crown power, brand new, with warranty, for example.
Actually Crown is located here in Beautiful Elkhart Indiana most stuff is made in china in that price range though.How is the Music quality with a Pa amp?Also doesn't Crown amps use 1/4 inch phone jacks?
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
XLR, 1/4 TRS, and RCA inputs.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/crown-xls1000-drivecore-series-power-amp
Just one example, there are almost unlimited choices out there for power right now.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/crown-xls1000-drivecore-series-power-amp
Just one example, there are almost unlimited choices out there for power right now.
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
Quite a few posters here use so called "Pro" amplifiers. I'm one of them.
How can you go from RCA connectors to 1/4 inch jacks .Sorry im a bit confused?And is Pro a brand name or name for crown ,pyle, or PA ,Guitar style amps?
Uncle Paul
Super Member
There are plenty of adapters to go from 1/4" jacks to RCA out there. The crown referenced above accepts two styles of balanced inputs as well as RCA, so you would not need an adapter.
The term "pro" or "professional" means that the amp is designed for sound reinforcement use as opposed to home use. For the most part this means a pro amp will have a rugged chassis and be rack mountable. Typically the power supplies are beefy as pro amps tend to me used at higher volumes for extended periods of time. pro amps also use balanced connectors since many times there are long cable runs that would be noisy using standard RCA cables.
Sound quality ranges from so-so to excellent, just like home consumer amps. In fact, sometimes you will find virtually the same circuitry in both pro and consumer versions. An example is a Yamaha PC2002 and it's Armani suit brother the M-2.
Crown is a highly regarded brand, and I wouldn't hesitate to use one of their amps.
Bowtie - do you feel this pro style amp will work well in a home environment? I notice they do not show distortion numbers in the output specs. I read some of the customer comments and they were all using the amp for stage and other pro. use. If it would work well at home it seems to be an excellent value indeed. Would any pre-amp work with it?
Tom Bombadil
AK Member
I'm a big fan of buying used-in-good-condition Parasounds. They sound fabulous and usually last for many years. Even at new prices they are good deals.
Not particularly good IMHO. I experimented and purchased an inexpensive Crown amp last October. Fortunately, the dealer had a great return policy.
I would vote for an Adcom/Parasound/NAD.
Rex Aeterna
Gigolo of Gigolos
Where it's made doesn't matter. I have a crown ce2000 and xls 2500 and find both of them extremely impressive with crystal clear sound and no graininess. Yea my ce2000 is traditional big iron amp and xls is class d amp but find them both very exceptional and will even run brutal really low impedances all day and will cause circuits to pop lol.
If go used you can probably find ce2000 under 200(I did) or big comtech 800 or PSA( I found psa's locally for less then 150). You can manage a crown xls 2000 for under 300 easily as well. Qsc makes awesome stuff too but locally even used for me they go for much more money than crown amps do. You can find nice Yamaha pro amps for decent prices. Another badass amp that can be have cheap are older altec Lansing power amps or peavey power amps. Crest is awesome too but, might go for higher price than qsc and crown depending on seller.
If go used you can probably find ce2000 under 200(I did) or big comtech 800 or PSA( I found psa's locally for less then 150). You can manage a crown xls 2000 for under 300 easily as well. Qsc makes awesome stuff too but locally even used for me they go for much more money than crown amps do. You can find nice Yamaha pro amps for decent prices. Another badass amp that can be have cheap are older altec Lansing power amps or peavey power amps. Crest is awesome too but, might go for higher price than qsc and crown depending on seller.
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
There are adaptors that allow you to go from just about any connector to any other. In addition you can buy cables with any combination of connectors you could ever want.
The term "Pro" refers to amplifiers from a variety of manufacturers who sell mainly to the professional. Said amplifiers are usually used for sound reinforcement/PA. I use two bridged Crown's to drive my sub woofers.
Guitar amps are for guitar players. They are not generally used for home audio.
Rex Aeterna
Gigolo of Gigolos
Yea they do. Most even provide output impedance, phase response, frequency response vs. Impedance, ect. They even provide FTC and eia measurements. They have to cause the tough enviourments they have to handle and if they don't meet or exceed spec the company can be in big trouble. They're usually much more strict in the pro world than consumer/audiophile stuff. Home stuff usually goes no where near the abuse pro gear does. Even controlled studios gear goes through lot of crap compared to home stuff.
To other question, yuppers, a standard home preamp to work. Rca to 1/4" ts adaptors can be found basically anywhere and even locally. RadioShack, guitar center and, Sam ash to name a few.
