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Pro Amps for Home Use?

d-ray657

d-ray657

Ain't this boogie a mess
Although AK has provided a great education on many audio subjects, I still don't quite appreciate the difference between pro amps and other amps used for household systems.

Specifically, this thought came to mind upon seeing two amps advertised on the local CL. A Peavey PV1200 - rated at 450 WPC at 4 Ohms, so presumably around 250 at 8 Ohms, and a Carvin DCM2000. From the descriptions of these it appears that they can handle high current loads. It also appears that they have harmonic distortion ratings to rival many of the highly regarded home stereos.

How refined would one's ears have to be to appreciate the difference between these and similar power from a vintage era Sansui, Pioneer, Marantz or HK? I seem to recall that 70s Salesguy uses Crown pro amps and swears by them. Has anyone else out there found that pro amps fit in well with their home listening system?

Regards,

D-Ray
 
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almost all my amps are pro amps.. even my tube amps.. I swear by them. Big bang for the buck, and great sound... I like the sound of them better than most my non pro amps.. My quicksilver amps are the only amps I have that give the pros a real run for the money sound wise, but they can't touch the power of the pros...
 
I agree with Similost. I've got two Crown K2's. Since they have no fans (convection cooled) they're dead quiet. I'm not familar with the ones you're looking at but if you can get them for a good price, might be worth trying?
 
Being the cheap SOB that I am, the thought of bang for the buck appealed to me. It seems to me that if the amplification is supposed to be neutral, the high current amps could do that as well as the home versions. I always enjoy the tone I hear when the kid is using a Peavey to power the 4x10 bass cab.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
My neighbor has a Peavey in his garage. It sounds really good. I have an AB International for my Altec Santiagos, and a SoundCraftman for my DQ10s. Both Pro amps, both good sound.
 
From what I've read here, there's quite a few members using pro gear for home use with great results. I even took my Pioneer SX-1050 on the road for 25 years when I DJ'd ............ although that's frowned upon in these parts.:D

Wasn't a lot of pro gear around cheap enough back in the 70's like there is now though. My SX-1050 was used for gigs on the weekends & hooked back up in the mancave sometime during the week. It is still alive & kickin' & still in great shape, although it needs to be re-capped, which is on my to-do list scheduled for sometime this Fall/Winter.
 
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this group tends to be more forgiving of things like discussing pro amps on home systems. try pulling that in other places and watch all the audiophools have a fit!

the funny thing is when you go see a live performance, your listening to pro PA gear, not audiophool gear.

i owned altec pro amps, soundcraftsmen rack amps, and even still have an original american made tapco rack amp at my moms. they all worked fine and put up with lots of abuse.
 
can't say anything about the lower-profile designs with switching power supplies and whatnot, but a lot of the older pro amps (i.e. "big iron") really weren't much different in design than home amps, other than being physically tougher and more centered around getting rid of heat/handling tougher loads. interfacing is another difference which is generally not too hard to overcome. yamaha's home and pro amps had many similarities for a short while in the 80s. hafler as well.

i'm assuming, though, that the OP was more concerned with the aforementioned lower-profile gear. more than any other brand, i've noticed that guys on AK seem to swear by QSC's better stuff.
 
I use a Yamaha P2500S

Specs might not be as good as some home power amps but it sounds great driving my maggies.
 
I run QSC

I like the power but that is not the only reason, the amplification is clean, clear and detailed with dynamic overhead and a ton of synergy, they are very revealing...what goes in is what comes out.
The pro amps are very unforgiving so if its crap in then it will be crap out but at 10 fold so the up stream stuff better be up for the challenge.
 
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Coytee said:
I've got two Crown K2's. Since they have no fans (convection cooled) they're dead quiet.
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.....amazing solid-state amps when used for full-range speakers....500 at 8, 800 at 4....s/n-110db below, plenty....bright, articulate, TIGHT low end....rivals vintage McIntosh on sound quality, I promise.....
 
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Had a Pioneer SX-838 and liked it.
Now its preamp is feeding a Crown PS-400, and I like it even better :thmbsp:
 
All I know is that all the really decent pro amps I have had (yamaha P2100, Hafler Pro1200, BGW system 250d, now a Crest P2501) have all rocked hard and sounded totally awesome.

Other amps? Not so much. Pro amps are good fun and look cool and minimalistic.
 
QSC CX1202V controlling a pair of Klipsch KP301-B-BR Industrial Chorus. They sound great together! I use a Rotel preamp section from an RA 870BX. Without the preamp, the QSC was hard to control. Now, though, I am having so much fun with this setup! Pick up a pro amp cheap and join in!
 
My Infinity RSII's in the basement system have a reputation of being a very demanding load and very revealing of gear. Combined with the Carver PM1201 driving them this system is more powerful, resolute and involving than the B&W/Rotel system in the living room and cost a fraction of the price, even at the used prices I paid for the B&W and Rotel stuff.

You'll likely not be disappointed. Have fun d-ray.
 
I see impressive power numbers for the pro power amps. For those who use pro power, what is your experience with low volume listening?

Regards,

D-Ray
 
My system works very well and detailed at low volume - I rarely crank them. However, the Klipsch are so clear and good at HF reproduction that even at low volumes, they can be heard all through the house. That is more a function of the speakers, though, than the amplifier.
 
d-ray657 said:
I see impressive power numbers for the pro power amps. For those who use pro power, what is your experience with low volume listening?

Regards,

D-Ray
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.....just having a much deeper pool of watts from which to sip makes a worthy improvement at any listening level, D-Ray, but that's a good question for a pro power thread.....
 
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