Help Me Upgrade My Current AV Setup

Keep in mind that if you have a very efficient speaker, like horns (think Klipsch), you only need 50 watts of muscle. On the other hand, electro stats and planars (Martin Logan and Magneplanar, respectively) are very inefficient and need crazy power (200-400wpc).

The first question I always ask is "What is your budget?"

I can recommend amps in just about any tier...I like, for the money, Odyssey, Peachtree Audio, Parasound, Bryston, McIntosh, Hegel all for low to mid priced amps that will actually give you real power (beefy transformers).

Those are all solid state (transistor). I really won't recommend a tube amp for anyone just starting out--plus you will have an impedance mismatch with the preamp/receiver. That is also a factor to look at with solid state--should be around a 10:1 ratio for input/output from pre to power amp (in ohms).

I would really recommend you get a pre amp and power amp together--they will be a better match. You may not realize all that the power amp has to offer running it with a surround sound receiver as a pre amp.

What is the budget?

Haven't set a budget yet because I just started looking around. I saw that the MC302 is around $5,500 or so. That would more than likely be my max especially if bringing other components into the mix in addition to the power amp. I'm just trying to figure out if McIntosh is the end all be all although I do know they sound great the few times I've had an opportunity to listen.

If I were to get a pre amp as well I would have to scrap my current receiver correct?

Definitely came up in here to offer some good advice on AV (Anti-Virus).

Slowly walked out...

No that actually makes sense. Might not necessarily be something I look at getting right away with a powered amp but nice to know I can upgrade even further without ditching all the old equipment at once. Those Macs aren't the cheapest things unfortunately.

Well I looked at that one but (and correct me if I'm wrong) I also looked at the MC301 and MC302. The MC302 pushes double the power and looks like it's around $5,500. If I'm going to spend close to $5K already I may as well get double the power for slightly more. Now if it's actually closer to $8K then that's a different story.

Here are some stats on the Peachtree Audio 220 power Amp...

quote:

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The Peachtree220 has 220 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 400 watts per channel into 4 ohms! This new breed of Class D amplification samples many times that of the original modules making the 220 smooth and extended. Unlike Class D amps of the past, it produces room-shaking bass. The 220 has both balanced and unbalanced inputs and is 90% energy efficient.

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While it is no longer in their current line up, it is a ballsy amp and easy on the eyes!...I own one and drive a pair of extremely hungry Magneplanar ribbons with it.



It retailed new for $1400, but towards the end of the run they were being blown out on Music Direct for $900 new, which means you can get them on audioGon for around $7-800---it is a powerful amp.it just recently went out of production as Peachtree Audio is focusing on integrated amps with DACs built in now.

The MC 302 retailed for $5500 when it launched back in 2010. I believe it is now $6000 or $6200. They had a price increase across the board.

There is a silver lining to that...if you get in early, your gear will not lose much value as McIntosh tends to keep gear current for 8-10 years.

And the MC301 amp was just launched late last year, so it will be current for probably 8-9 more years!

Case in point...I bought my c500c/C500t two chassis pre amp when it first came out in 2010.. It retailed for $11k. In the last 5 years there have been 2 price increases at McIntosh, and the same pre amp went to $12k then to $13,500 in 2015.
I paid $9500 for mine new and if I sold it today on AudioGon, I could get $8000 for it.
So if I sold it today, I would have spent $1500 to use it for 5 years--not too shabby.
Mac gear really holds its value.

Rotel amps are tanks--I have had my 5 channel amp on 24/7/365 for almost 8 years now. Their gear is well built. British company.
Rotel is not going to give you the warmth that Mac will give or for that matter, the fluidity that Bryston puts out, but they are a fantastic value. Their Class D amps are a bit clinical or sterile on the top end, but control the woofers like a mofo. Tight, tight bass.

I would easily recommend Rotel, but I tend to lean toward their classic Class A/B amps.

AudioGon is a forum and buy/sell community of audio geeks. If someone is a retailer, they must disclose it. They also have their own system of sales feedback like eBay.

I usually buy all my gear new, but if I did buy used, I would not hesitate using AGon.



If you want secure used purchases, try Audio Classics just up the road from McIntosh in NY. It is owned and operated by a bunch of ex Max employees and engineers. If you want an Mr-78 tuner from 1978 (best tuner ever made), it will be checked and certified by them by Richard Modeffari--the engineer that designed it! Pretty neat.
You will pay a 15% premium at Audio Classics for used Mac, but they ship it properly and certify it and will stand behind every piece they sell--and they are known worldwide as the premier used Mac dealer.

It doesn't have to be the same brand as long as the impedances are close to a 10:1 ratio from pre to power. However, manufacturers tend to make their pres and amps blend seamlessly when used together. Over the years I have used, more often than not, amps and pre amps from different manufacturers. I tend to run tube pre amps with solid state power amps...it usually warms the transistors just a bit and takes the solid state edge off.

As far as digital sources go, there is NOTHING made today under $4000 in the universal player arena that can hold a candle to the Oppo 103/105 universal players. Their video is excellent, they play every disk format known, have the latest Wolfson DACs on board, will decode DSD and DXD, 32/192, have digital inputs, and have great 2 channel audio (even discrete balanced out on the 105)...

BUT...I recommend it as a source to run into a pre amp. You can certainly use it as a decoder and send the 5.1 signal direct to a 5 channel power amp (or 2 channel for that matter), but you will lose the benefits of having a pre amp in the chain. A pre amp acts as a buffer stage and a very accurate attenuators with an analog volume pot. When you use the Oppo as a pre, you are using its digital volume control--not as silky as the analog volume pot on a true pre amp.