Amp recommendations (new or old) for HPM 100

[JoeESP9]

What can I say? I have and use two GFA-545's. I also have a DH-200 as a spare whatever.
OTOH, there is nothing that guarantees that any older/vintage amplifier will not have a problem. The pieces that are being discussed are 30+ years old. With gear this old almost everyone recommends replacing the electrolytic capacitors at a minimum. This applies equally to vintage Pioneer integrated amplifiers.

 

[Hyfi]

How did the OP make out?

 

[kvining]

I'm looking at a carver m400 and don't see a dial for level.
Am I crazy? How does that work?

I'm running a Carver PM-175 to push my HPM-100s, 175 watts a channel with gain controls. 1/4 inch jacks, you'd need adapters. It's still the best sounding amp out of any other power amp I've used in that price range. You can usually pick one up on Ebay for less than $300. The thing is a tank. Cockroaches and Carver amps will be the ultimate survivors of a nuclear war.

 

[Stereognat]

Here are pictures of my NOS Onkyo M-504 and Onkyo P-304 matched with my NOS Pioneer HPM-100's in various system configurations. You can't go wrong with Onkyo and Pioneer HPM-100's ; however, I've moved to McIntosh and JBL since then for reasons best left unsaid.

 

[jozeppy26]

It’s my understanding that a lower power amp pushed to clipping is the most dangerous thing anyone can do to a speaker, so I get where your head is at with wanting something with a higher wpc.

I’m pairing my HPM-100s with a Pioneer SX-3900, an amp rated at 120 wpc with THD below 0.005% but I’ve read a spec test that showed over 150 watts with distortion still far below 0.01%. From what I’ve read, the HPMs really sound best with pioneer gear from that era (the crazy high priced SX-1980 being directly tuned for these speakers). I was also reading about damping factor and how this affects bass output. Cheaper units may sound like they have better bass output due to a lower damping factor but it’s actually a distortion you’re hearing.

 

[rwartner]

I have a couple higher wattage (integrated) amps so understand the love. I am running my HPM-100s with Pioneer SX-750 and works fine. Point is that you don't need gigantic amp.

 

[Bodyblue]

There are so many speakers out there that it is difficult to hear them, but I finally heard a set of HPM 100s yesterday. They were advertised in a local ad and the guy had them setup for demo in his garage. They were driven with a SX 1250. I am glad I finally got to hear them but a garage is hardly the best place to demo something. I will have to reserve judgement until I can hear them in a better environment. They did get really loud however.

 

[wlgrant6]

HPM 100's are very efficient speakers. You would be amazed at how a 15 watt tube amp would sound with them.
Bill

 

[restorer-john]

...They were advertised in a local ad and the guy had them setup for demo in his garage. They were driven with a SX 1250. I am glad I finally got to hear them but a garage is hardly the best place to demo something. I will have to reserve judgement until I can hear them in a better environment. They did get really loud however.

So, did you buy them?

 

[Bodyblue]

So, did you buy them?

Nope.....I did not like how they sounded at all. My everyday speakers are all two way (Imperial 6/ Small Advents) and the Pioneers sounded just strange to my ears. Too bright on the upper end and tubby bass. That is why I said that I needed to hear them someplace other than a garage.

 

[ClaytonD]

Nope.....I did not like how they sounded at all. My everyday speakers are all two way (Imperial 6/ Small Advents) and the Pioneers sounded just strange to my ears. Too bright on the upper end and tubby bass. That is why I said that I needed to hear them someplace other than a garage.

Unfortunately, this is how the Pioneer HPM-100 behaves, and is the reason why I sold them.

 

[Bodyblue]

Unfortunately, this is how the Pioneer HPM-100 behaves, and is the reason why I sold them.

I am sure I will be flamed for this but if I was looking for that type of speaker I think I would go with Mach Ones. When I heard the Pioneers I realized they just are not my kind of speaker. (Neither are the Mach Ones)

 

[gdmoore28]

I was also reading about damping factor and how this affects bass output. Cheaper units may sound like they have better bass output due to a lower damping factor but it’s actually a distortion you’re hearing.

I got this off the internet concerning damping factor. Is it true? I have no idea.


"It should be obvious at this point that the quoted damping factor of an amplifier is important only if the figure lies somewhere below 20 or so. Changing the damping factor from 2 to 20 does change the performance of the loudspeaker system (for better or for worse, depending upon the speaker). But trying to prove that a damping factor of 200 or even more is somehow better than one of 20 is pretty unconvincing because the effective difference in the practical case cited is only that between 1.25 and 1.32.

But someone is bound to insist that exhaustive tests have been made with such and such amplifier and that a very high damping factor is better than one down around 10 or 15. "The bass is just a little cleaner, just a little more natural and open" is the way the argument usually runs.

In a given situation, this may very well be true. Rs is a byproduct of negative feedback. The more such feedback that is thrown into a power amplifier circuit, the lower the generator impedance and the higher the damping factor. The point is simply that if a lot of feedback has to be used to lick the distortion in a particular circuit, fine - use it. But don't believe that the reason it sounds good because of some astronomically high damping factor.

When I get a letter from someone who is worried about buying a certain amplifier because it has a specified damping factor of "only" 15 to 16, I can't help but remember an old, old joke. It goes like this:

A scientist is giving a public lecture. During the course of his speech, he predicts that in 100 billion years human life will become extinct. A man in the audience, obviously upset, asks the lecturer to repeat the statement.

'I said', quotes the professor, 'that in one hundred billion years, human life will no longer exist.'

'Oh, thank goodness', replies the man, much relieved, 'I thought you said one-hundred million!' "

Source: http://www.butleraudio.com/damping1.php

GeeDeeEmm

 

[markoh]

Hello,

I tried HPM-100 with Denon Pma-920. It has power enough to drive them normally, expect that harshness in high frequences driving mad me everytime..
How do you think if I use any pre-amp in couple with Pma-920 (like Kenny Basic C1) should this be a right decision for runaway from trouble?
Or any other options?