Pro amps

[bottlemech]

Does any one use Pro amps such as Crown or qsc to power their logans? I see this done a lot with magnepans. Also I will be purchasing a pair of vistas or vantages in the near future, because of the price of these speakers I will not be able to purchase separates untill later. I was thinking of either going with Yamaha or Marantz for an avr Yamaha models with the same amount of power are less expensive, but do they sound good paired with Martin logans? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ryan

 

[jtwrace]

Does any one use Pro amps such as Crown or qsc to power their logans? I see this done a lot with magnepans. Also I will be purchasing a pair of vistas or vantages in the near future, because of the price of these speakers I will not be able to purchase separates untill later. I was thinking of either going with Yamaha or Marantz for an avr Yamaha models with the same amount of power are less expensive, but do they sound good paired with Martin logans? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ryan

Ryan,

IWalker powers his system with Crown. I will tell you that I brought my Pass Labs Aleph 30 over and it did help but for the cost it's a no brainer if that's what you can afford. The great thing about them is they have plenty of power....they just lack in all areas but do sound great for the cost. You will be happy if you decide to get them. I would PM IWalker and he will tell you ALL about them as he uses two of them.

 

[ralflar]

I'd stay away from AVRs

I used to use a Yammy 1600 with my Aeon-i. Bought the Yammy because it sounded better than a Denon 3805 in the shop. No matter, the Yammy did not do the Logans justice. It was no good even when used as a pre-amp. In my experience a pre-amp's impact on sound quality is much bigger than a power amp's.

For the last week I have been listening to an awsome and cheap pre/power amp combo by Emotiva. The combo cost me $1150 shipping included during the July sale. Regular price for the pair is $1300, I think. This combo is hot. The RSP-1 pre-amp is nice pre-amp and sounds good too. Most people would be quite happy with it, I guess, but I happen to prefer passive line stages.

The RPA-1 power amp, OTOH, is really nice. I have not yet compared this amp with my current much more expensive mono blocks in a systematic manner. My first impressions are that I may not be able to tell them apart. Even at its regular price of $713 (incl. ship.) the RPA-1 is an absolute steal.

 

[bottlemech]

I used to use a Yammy 1600 with my Aeon-i. Bought the Yammy because it sounded better than a Denon 3805 in the shop. No matter, the Yammy did not do the Logans justice. It was no good even when used as a pre-amp. In my experience a pre-amp's impact on sound quality is much bigger than a power amp's.

For the last week I have been listening to an awsome and cheap pre/power amp combo by Emotiva. The combo cost me $1150 shipping included during the July sale. Regular price for the pair is $1300, I think. This combo is hot. The RSP-1 pre-amp is nice pre-amp and sounds good too. Most people would be quite happy with it, I guess, but I happen to prefer passive line stages.

The RPA-1 power amp, OTOH, is really nice. I have not yet compared this amp with my current much more expensive mono blocks in a systematic manner. My first impressions are that I may not be able to tell them apart. Even at its regular price of $713 (incl. ship.) the RPA-1 is an absolute steal.

I would consider that but I'm going to be using these as ht speakers also, But I was on their web site and saw the lmc-1 for 499.99, wonder if the sound quality is comparable. Thanks for the help.

 

[wallacefl]

before I purchased a Bryston I was using a Carver PM 1.5 ....quite good sound/ stable as a rock.. but mine was not the typical road warrior...only caveat is the fan is loud if not mounted in a cabinet

 

[ralflar]

I would consider that but I'm going to be using these as ht speakers also, But I was on their web site and saw the lmc-1 for 499.99, wonder if the sound quality is comparable. Thanks for the help.

Ryan, the LMC-1 is a pre/pro, not an amp. The LPA-1 is a 70 pound Class A/B 6/7 channel $500 beast. It stays cool too, unlike my Yammy which cooks even when idling.

The LMC-1 may have issues depending on what you intend to use it for. Check those threads at www.emotivalounge.com. There are also those who are very happy with their LMCs. From superficial glances at the posts I got the idea that those guys like the sound quality of the LMC.

Personally I'd rather buy a $1000 LMC/LPA combo than spending $1500 on an AVR, especially after my negative experience with Denon and Yamaha AVRs for 2 channel use. Yech.

Instead of the LMC-1/LPA-1 I went with a DMC-1/LPA-1 combo. The DMC-1 is essentially the same as the Sunfire Theater Grand IV, only much cheaper.

Whichever Emotiva processor you buy, you'll be eligible for the 40% upgrade deal. It means that you may upgrade to any future Emotiva processor for 60% of that processor's price, and keep the one that you already have.

 

[bottlemech]

Ryan, the LMC-1 is a pre/pro, not an amp. The LPA-1 is a 70 pound Class A/B 6/7 channel $500 beast. It stays cool too, unlike my Yammy which cooks even when idling.

The LMC-1 may have issues depending on what you intend to use it for. Check those threads at www.emotivalounge.com. There are also those who are very happy with their LMCs. From superficial glances at the posts I got the idea that those guys like the sound quality of the LMC.

Personally I'd rather buy a $1000 LMC/LPA combo than spending $1500 on an AVR, especially after my negative experience with Denon and Yamaha AVRs for 2 channel use. Yech.

Instead of the LMC-1/LPA-1 I went with a DMC-1/LPA-1 combo. The DMC-1 is essentially the same as the Sunfire Theater Grand IV, only much cheaper.

Whichever Emotiva processor you buy, you'll be eligible for the 40% upgrade deal. It means that you may upgrade to any future Emotiva processor for 60% of that processor's price, and keep the one that you already have.

Yeah I actually meant the combo of the lmc/lpa which is what I am going to get, at just under 1k it seems like a great deal. Thanks for suggesting emotiva I would have never found them without your suggestion. I have read over the current issues with the lmc and there is nothing I don't think I couldn't deal with. I would really like a dmc-1 but I have 2 problems with it. 1 my wife won't let me get a $2000 processor and amp plus a pair of vantages at the same time, and my current cabinet won't allow for the depth of the dmc but the lmc will fit.

 

[Bimotarich]

Crown

I used a crown amp for years and loved it... It was an Ugly beast but it has a powerful yet pleasing sound and proved to be bullet proof (I DJd with it many times). I wasnt on the ML band wagon yet though so mine was powering Klipsch speakers at the time. But I did love it.. and miss it now that it is gone... (sold it to make way for other gear). I am curious to see how they sound with ML...

 

[ralflar]

Emo

Ryan, I think you will like LMC-1/LPA-1 combo. For instance, while the LPA is certainly very cheap for a multi-channel amp, it is built very well. I can stand on it (I tried). The case is spec'ed for 200 pounds. With age comes weight but fortunately I can still stand on a LPA-1 and not leave dents . The LPA also looks like it means business. Not cheap at all.

One or two tips for dealing with Emotiva: they don't know how to use email. Do not send them any because it will likely go unnoticed. You need to call them on the phone. That is not a problem because the people you will talk to are competent, and you never have to wait more than a few seconds until someone takes your call. "Lonnie" seems to be the guy to talk to when you have technical questions. He knows the ins and outs of their gear, he does.

As of today and until the end of the month the MMC-1/LPA-1 combo ships for $1575...