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Help what kind of amp do I need...?

M

massimoamici

New Member
I have a 4 speakers and 1 sub in my apartment (one big open space) and I'm in need of an amplifier. Can anyone suggest what my best affordable bet for these speakers is?

Speakers A
Model: Wharfedale 8.1
Power Handling Watts (programme): 100W
Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms
Sensitivity at 1m for 2.83v input: 86dB
Frequency Range: 55Hz-20kHz

Speakers B
Model: Yamaha NS-10M Studio
Program Power Capacity: 60W
Max Power Capacity: 120W
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 90db SPL (1W, 1m on axis)
Crossover Frequency: 2kHz

Sub
Model: Wharfedale Power Cube 8A
Amplifier Power: 100 watts
Input Sensitivity (Line input): 250mv for 75 watts
Crossover Range: 35 - 85 Hz
Frequency Response (6dB Boundary position): 40-95Hz
LF Response (Fb): 50Hz
Maximum SPL (ref 1m): 107dB


Thanks!
 
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Adcom GFA-545 (Mk1) would be my power amp choice.

The Adcom bipolar amp and the NS-10M is a great match by many accounts.
That combo is a common recommendation on many music gear/recording forums where NS-10M's are very popular.
Great "bang for the buck" choice too.

As for a preamp,any number of options exist,from stand-alone preamps to using the pre-outs on an integrated amp or such if so equipped.

Also,you should be careful not to underpower the NS-10M's as that can lead to damage,especially if they see sustained high volume usage.

JM2¢ ~ FWIW

Bret P.
 
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If you are comfortable with speaker level inputs to the sub, you might look at the Sherwood RX-5502 (see attached data sheet). This unit has 4 full range amps! Their ratings are 70 wpc @ 8 ohms and 100 wpc @ 4 ohms.

Your Warfedales could be connected to the main amp and your Yamaha's connected to room2 amp. Each amp has it's own volume and mute control.

The unit cost me $160 delivered, but as I said earlier, you must be willing to hook up your sub with the speaker level inputs. The 5502 has no line level sub out.
 

Attachments

A pair of Baby Adcoms (535, or 535II) would do nicely, while remaining pretty compact, as well as affordable.


Oops! Just occurred to me that you probably meant integrated amp, not power amp. Be specific. And what do you consider affordable?
 
Thanks guys. Everything pointed out so far seems affordable to me, just to clear that up.

Also, I could go either way in terms of just a power amp vs integrated amp. I already have a NAD 1600 preamp I could use. Would that suit?

I should know, but I'm not really certain how I should be connecting the sub in this context, and what is meant by "being willing to hook up the sub with speaker level inputs". I think I would be, right?

A simpler would be better for me (as you can probably deduce).

Thanks :)
 
Freddymac2, Poultrygeist, your hijack has been removed, along with a well-intentioned joiner's posts. If you want to have that discussion, do it elsewhere. Please stick to the OP's topic.
 
massimoamici, welcome to AK. Sometimes passions about our hobby drag a thread off-track.

We return you to your regularly-scheduled discussion.

BTW, do you run all four speakers at the same time, in that big room?
 
massimoamici said:
Thanks guys. Everything pointed out so far seems affordable to me, just to clear that up.

Also, I could go either way in terms of just a power amp vs integrated amp. I already have a NAD 1600 preamp I could use. Would that suit?

I should know, but I'm not really certain how I should be connecting the sub in this context, and what is meant by "being willing to hook up the sub with speaker level inputs". I think I would be, right?

A simpler would be better for me (as you can probably deduce).

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

The NAD 1600 is a very nice preamp; by all means, use it. Notice that I suggested a pair of amps (Adcom 535 or 535II, or whatever other amp you prefer), rather than running all four speakers from one amp.
 
Subs may have two types of inputs - line level that you can hook up with an RCA cable, or speaker level, which you connect to the amp's speaker terminals. Yours may have only one mode or it may have both options.
 
Agree,the NAD 1600 preamp should do fine,it's part of NAD's monitor series of gear and that's all good stuff.
I personally have the monitor series 1300 preamp (and 2600 power amp) as well as the 106 preamp (a later variant of the 1000 monitor series preamp).

As far as the sub integration goes...
As was said there are line level inputs (connects to the preamp outputs via RCA) & speaker level inputs (connects to the amps speaker outputs via plain speaker wire).
There is also the option of using something like a minidsp2x4 or such,but that brings it's own learning curve and additional hardware.
Either way that sub can be integrated in there pretty easily,it's just a matter of working out what's best for the given gear you end up using.
Some subs also have outputs to pass the signal thru the sub as well,so that too often needs to be considered as well.
It might help to post a pic of the inputs (and outputs if so equipped) of the sub for more detailed advice.

As for running one pair of speakers @ a time -or- both pairs of speakers together,there are a few ways of doing that.
A. Is to get an amp with A/B speakers outputs.
B. Is to use a speaker selector switch.
C. Is to use some combination of both of those.

So you dont really need to let that situation drive the amp selection process unecessarily.

HTH

Bret P.
 
OP, your sub has both line (low) level inputs and speaker (high) level inputs. According to specs it also has line (low) level outputs. It does not have speaker (high) level outputs.

That means it can be connected as follows:

1. to speaker outputs of your amplifier - less than ideal if you want to use only one amp and also connect 2 pairs of stereo speakers to the same amp, most amps only have posts for 2 pairs of speakers.
2. to pre out of your preamp:
a. via RCA Y splitter - one wire running from the preamp to the power amp, the other wire running from the preamp to the sub
b. between the preamp and the power amp - pre out of your preamp connected to sub's line (low) level input, sub's line (low) level output connected to the power amp.

I would try option 2a. first.

If you want to run both pairs of speakers at the same time, I would suggest using 2 separate power amps, especially that you want to fill "big open space" with sound. If you choose to use a single amp, you will need a speaker selector for both Adcom and Hafler (both have posts for only one set of speakers), or an amp that allows to connect more than one set of speakers. A decent and affordable example is Inkel MD2200 (also sold as Sherwood S-6040CP and LXI AM 4222). NAD 2100 is also quite good and would match your pre, but it has less power. NAD 2600 has more power, but connectors for only one pair of speakers.
 
Thanks again everyone. Yes, I would like to run all 4 speakers (and sub) at once in the 100mq (about 1000 square feet I think) open space apartment. Of course, having the option of turning two off (while still having the sub run independently of which of the two I select) would be advantageous.

I hadn't understood the suggestion was to use two power amps so thanks for clearing that up.

rlisin, thanks for the connection details, very helpful.

In terms of power needed, would 2 amps @ 100W per channel be sufficient to run the 4 speakers and sub?

Thanks -m
 
Any active/powered sub is gonna have it's own amp,so it really does'nt factor into things in that respect.
If the given amp were a passive sub then that's a whole other situation.

If you were gonna opt to use multiple amps here,probably the easiest way to do this would be to use power amps with a line level pass-thru (daisychain capable).
Amps like that are the Adcom GFA-5002 & GFA-6002,Onkyo M-282,or the Parasound 275 (though this last one also has A-B speakers as an option too) among others.
But just about any two 2ch amps could be used with Y splitters in the pre-outs of the preamp,that's done alot & it's NBD most of the time.

As for 2x 2ch 100wpc amps each driving one pair of speakers,that surely is one way this could be done,but it's not the only way either.
And sure you could get away with a bit less than 100wpc,but some will say that a bit of additional headroom is always a good thing.
But there's also a lot to be said about the benefits of a beefy PS & some nice big caps too.

FWIW

Bret P.
 
Thanks Bret, I just realised the sub doesn't need amp power as it has its own. I should have realised that given that it's so heavy and needs to be plugged in. Duh.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice, and amp suggestions.
 
Just how loud do you expect you'll be able to play the system in an apartment? That will factor into how much power is reasonable for the purpose.

Point being, if you have neighbors who will protest if the system is played beyond a conversational level, there really isn't much point of buying much power.
 
massimoamici said:
Thanks Bret, I just realised the sub doesn't need amp power as it has its own. I should have realised that given that it's so heavy and needs to be plugged in. Duh.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice, and amp suggestions.
Click to expand...

Does your sub allow for speaker level input? If so, I'd still recommend the Sherwood unit I mentioned earlier that has 4 internal full range amps rated at 100 wpc @ 4 ohms.

The HUGE advantage of this amp is your speakers differ greatly in sensitivity. Since the Sherwood has separate volume controls for each amp, you can very easily bring your speakers into balance.

You cannot do this simply hooking your speakers in parallel using A and B terminals.

Hope this helps...
Regards,
Jerry
 
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