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Amp recommendations (new or old) for HPM 100

B

Brian Bee

Member
Got a good deal on a pair (the 200 watt version, (marketing!) ) but having trouble finding an amp to pair with. With my set up (everything is on a pre amp), I'm looking for a compact power amp and don't care if it's new or old. No more than $300.
Would do an integrated amp or receiver if it's on the smaller side.

I have a Realistic STA 2100D that I think would work nicely with them, but ideally I'd like to use this receiver somewhere else.

I also know a lot of you pair all sorts of different amps/set ups to these things without issue...but I'd like to stay as by-the-book as possible. 8 ohm amp, 150wpc ideally.

Grateful for any help.
 
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I have the 2100D and it sounds ok with the Pioneer HPM 100's. It's a tad light on the bass and gives a bit faster in delivering the music. It seems in a rush.
I also have a Sony str 7055 which sounds even better. The Sony has a better bottom end a bit more bloom or fullness to the music and seems to mellow some of the brightness of the HPM. It has a better cadence to the music.
That's all I can give ya. Good luck.
 
Brian Bee said:
I'm looking at a carver m400 and don't see a dial for level.
Am I crazy? How does that work?
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You would use a separate preamplifier to adjust Volume level. Stand alone power amplifiers lack volume control. They may have gain control available but that's not the same thing.
 
darkblue94 said:
You would use a separate preamplifier to adjust Volume level. Stand alone power amplifiers lack volume control. They may have gain control available but that's not the same thing.
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Thank you, of course. Makes sense.

If I'm pushing all the power of the amp into the speakers, I'd probably want 150 Watts max.
Does carver or hafler have something you'd recommend?


Or am I misunderstanding the relationship between the the power and input volumes ?
 
JoeESP9 said:
Yes.
What preamp are you using?
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This one's a classic dj set up. I have turntables with built in pre amps (line) that feed into a mixer. Would my mixer effectively become the master volume control?

How does any pre in affect power levels of the power amp? If i flip the switch on a power amp, isn't all that wattage immediately going to the speakers?
 
Yes, your mixer is the "master" volume control.
No, all that wattage is not immediately going to the speakers. The wattage output of any power amplifier is governed by the level of the input signal. No input signal no output. Maximum input signal maximum output and anywhere in between depending on the input signal level.

Think of an amplifier like a car engine, and the preamp/mixer (yes, a mixer is a preamp) as the gas pedal. You don't step on the gas you go nowhere. Press the gas pedal all the way you somewhere fast. Between nothing and all the way there are varying levels. This is how a preamp and power amp work.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Yes, your mixer is the "master" volume control.
No, all that wattage is not immediately going to the speakers. The wattage output of any power amplifier is governed by the level of the input signal. No input signal no output. Maximum input signal maximum output and anywhere in between depending on the input signal level.

Think of an amplifier like a car engine, and the preamp/mixer (yes, a mixer is a preamp) as the gas pedal. You don't step on the gas you go nowhere. Press the gas pedal all the way you somewhere fast. Between nothing and all the way there are varying levels. This is how a preamp and power amp work.
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I'm visual, so I appreciate this break down. Thank you. Super helpful.

Back to the speakers, Even though I'm not going to push them to the max (without going deaf), I still would rather not be hooking them up to a 200w+ amp.

In terms of size, the Carver M400t is perfect though.

I also found a Carver TFM 15cb decently priced online.

Can someone assure me I'm probably never going to approach the 200w limit of those speakers, even with a 200w amp?
 
As long as you pay attention to how things sound you can safely use a 500WPC amplifier with your speakers. Too much power will not instantly kill a pair of speakers. If you push to many watts through a pair of speakers they will sound strained and in distress. Just lower the volume. The same common sense applies if you're using a low powered amplifier. In this case at higher volumes the amplifier will sound strained. Once again just lower the volume. The whole point is to pay attention to what you're hearing. If you hear signs of distress lower the volume.
 
JoeESP9 said:
As long as you pay attention to how things sound you can safely use a 500WPC amplifier with your speakers. Too much power will not instantly kill a pair of speakers. If you push to many watts through a pair of speakers they will sound strained and in distress. Just lower the volume. The same common sense applies if you're using a low powered amplifier. In this case at higher volumes the amplifier will sound strained. Once again just lower the volume. The whole point is to pay attention to what you're hearing. If you hear signs of distress lower the volume.
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Yeah, thank you. Sometimes stating the obvious is still helpful.

For space alone, I'm really leaning towards the Carver M400T. Am also considering an SAE 2200 and Adcom GFA 545...
The Adcom is a close second here, mainly because they're tanks and I'd rather not have any issues.

I know these all different character and sound, but that's not a huge factor for me at this point.

Anyone have a preference to the units above?
 
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Adcom GFA-545's are 100WPC amplifiers. I have two of them driving my rear speakers and a passive sub via an electronic crossover. One of them is driving a pair of Acoustat Model One's. They are not an especially friendly load. It (GFA-545) barely breaks a sweat.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Adcom GFA-545's are 100WPC amplifiers. I have two of them driving my rear speakers and a passive sub via an electronic crossover. One of them is driving a pair of Acoustat Model One's. They are not an especially friendly load. It (GFA-545) barely breaks a sweat.
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My typo, thank you. 100wpc

What do you mean, not especially friendly?
 
The impedance curve on the Acoustats dips pretty low. It can be tough for an amplifier to deliver enough current on demand to reproduce low frequency content.
 
UncleBingo said:
The impedance curve on the Acoustats dips pretty low. It can be tough for an amplifier to deliver enough current on demand to reproduce low frequency content.
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I'm not familiar with the Acoustat Model Ones, but I'm guessing they're not quite in the same realm as the HPM 100's I'm trying to power...
 
Brian Bee said:
I'm not familiar with the Acoustat Model Ones, but I'm guessing they're not quite in the same realm as the HPM 100's I'm trying to power...
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Nope, but the Adcom's he mentions would drive the Pioneers very nicely. Only drawback (for me anyways) is no protection relay for the speakers iirc.
 
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