amp possabilities for aeoni's

[eaglemanjack]

hi all,

i have what might end up being a crazy question.......but hear it goes anyway.

i currently run my aeoni's with a rotel rsx 1065 surround sound receiver with the aeoni's as the front channels. i'm not deeply into home theater so the rotel does well for that purpose. however, 95% of my listening is in two channel mode. i am thinking that my aeoni's could perform better with a better amp ( i listen to a variety of music, but playing rock seems to get a bit harsh) ...... yet i don't want to give up my home theater surround capablities. my potential solution is to add a quality two channel amp through my rotels pre-outs in order to drive my aeoni's for my two channel listening. seeing how i'm on a budget, does this idea make sense or simply a waste of money?

if this is a good solution, any recommendations on (most likely used) amps in the $2000-$3000 range?

i thought about- bryston
manley snapper (tubes)
mccormack
pass
mcintosh
but i'm wide open to suggestions whether negative or positive.

ps - i should add that i have a healthy distrust of the local dealers as they try to direct me to the most expensive solutions.

ie- the logan dealers want me to ditch the electronics and start all over, and the non-logan dealers want me to ditch the logans ( and i'm not ditching the logans).

thanks,
eaglemanjack

 

[MotorToad]

Why not get a preamp for your 2 cahnnel source material and use the Rotel's preamp out for the main channel as a source for the 2 channel preamp? You'll have to dicker with the level (possibly a lot) but it beats (IMO) using surround stuff as 2 channel, as I've yet to hear a processor that doesn't suck all the music out.

BTW, what in the bloody hell does this guy want you to replace your Aeons with? I can't imagine the gall to tell someone you're trying to limit the budget and him suggesting speakers that he thinks would be better. Not to mention it has nothing to do with your immediate goals.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Jack, I don't know if this would work or not, but I don't see why it wouldn't. I drive my Aerius with a 100wpc tube integrated amp, the Jolida JD1000RC. It has 150wpc at 1k and has plenty of power (high current) and sounds great. If you have multiple outputs on your sources (DVD, CD, etc.) you could just run extra interconnects to the Jolida. When you want to watch movies, switch on the Rotel. Listen to 2channel? Switch on the Jolida. You can get a new 1000RC for just over $2K, maybe even better. Good luck.

 

[eaglemanjack]

hi steve,
thanks for your reply.
the only problem i see to your solution is that my aeons would then need to be connected to two seperate amp sources.....one for the rotel(surround) and one for the jolida(two channel). can two different speaker leads (originating from two different amps) connect to the same set of speakers (the aeons)?

thanks for all replies,
-jack

 

[twich54]

Eagleman, Welcome, FWIW, Motortoad is close to the correct answer/explanation. Ideally what you want to do is get your self both a pre-amp and amp (of your choosing), making sure the pre-amp has an HT passthrough setting which when used in HT will allow your proceesor/receiver to perform all it's 5.1 duties , except that your new AMP will be powering your front speakers and the receiver doing center, L and R Rears with LFE to your sub. The passthrough feature allows for the volume level to be performed by your surround receiver.

Under this configuration when your listening to your two channel source you then are using the pre-amp and amp combo alone.

FWIW, I do believe you can accomplish your mission within your budget.

 

[eaglemanjack]

hi twich54,

i've been looking into what you said and what i've come up with is the krell 400xi. it is a integrated amp with 200 watts into 8 ohms/400 into 4 ohms, and has the ability to assign one of its intputs to a home theater option allowing it to connect to the surround preamp output.

this seems to be the solution i am looking for. the only question at this point would be which integrated to buy for my aeoni's. the krell seems good. anybody with any experience with the krell 400xi, or any similiar integrated?

again, thanks alot to all. i appreciate the replies.

 

[twich54]

hi twich54,

i've been looking into what you said and what i've come up with is the krell 400xi. it is a integrated amp with 200 watts into 8 ohms/400 into 4 ohms, and has the ability to assign one of its intputs to a home theater option allowing it to connect to the surround preamp output.

This would work, but I suggest YOU listen to the Krell (for an extended duration) before committing to purchase. For me I found that amp to be rather fatiguing after only a short period of time. Another thing to remember is greater flexibility with separates.

Example....... given your max budget of $3000 , you could buy a used Audio Research LS-16 pre-amp ($1000-1300) thus leaving you $1700 - 2000 for a nice used amp and interconnects. Used possibilities include Rotel, Rouge Audio, Parasound, to name but a few.

Again, within your budget you have MANY possibilities !

Good Luck !!

 

[sebrof2000]

hi twich54,

i've been looking into what you said and what i've come up with is the krell 400xi. it is a integrated amp with 200 watts into 8 ohms/400 into 4 ohms, and has the ability to assign one of its intputs to a home theater option allowing it to connect to the surround preamp output.

this seems to be the solution i am looking for. the only question at this point would be which integrated to buy for my aeoni's. the krell seems good. anybody with any experience with the krell 400xi, or any similiar integrated?

again, thanks alot to all. i appreciate the replies.

I had a Krell KAV 400xi driving my Ascents. I believe the Ascents are slightly larger than the Aeons (?).
The Krell had plenty of power for the Ascents, I thought the build quality was excellent, and it was a good looking piece of gear. It does have a HT passthru, which is what it sounds like you're looking for. It could get blazing hot if the air conditioning wasn't on (say ambient of 78 degrees F or higher), even though my rack is open. If you plan to put it in an enclosed rack I'd do a little research.
Sound is highly subjective, but I preferred a tube preamp and a Sunfire amp over the Krell. YMMV, of course.
If you can't audition, the good news is that you can pick one up used for $1500 - $1700 (new @ $2500), and if you don't like it you can sell for between $1500 - $1700.
Mike

 

[eaglemanjack]

mike,

aside from your preference for tubes, how did you like the krell 400xi as far as sound quality?

 

[sebrof2000]

mike,

aside from your preference for tubes, how did you like the krell 400xi as far as sound quality?

I thought it had lof detail, plenty of power, clean with no distortion even at very high SPLs.
But it was also a bit 'thin' in comparison to the tubed pre and Sunfire. They just sounded fuller and more real.

 

[eknuds01]

This would work, but I suggest YOU listen to the Krell (for an extended duration) before committing to purchase. For me I found that amp to be rather fatiguing after only a short period of time. Another thing to remember is greater flexibility with separates.

Example....... given your max budget of $3000 , you could buy a used Audio Research LS-16 pre-amp ($1000-1300) thus leaving you $1700 - 2000 for a nice used amp and interconnects. Used possibilities include Rotel, Rouge Audio, Parasound, to name but a few.

Again, within your budget you have MANY possibilities !

Good Luck !!

Ding, Ding, Ding!

Great advice, as usual, Dave.

Erik

 

[coolcobramatt]

hi twich54,

i've been looking into what you said and what i've come up with is the krell 400xi. it is a integrated amp with 200 watts into 8 ohms/400 into 4 ohms, and has the ability to assign one of its intputs to a home theater option allowing it to connect to the surround preamp output.

this seems to be the solution i am looking for. the only question at this point would be which integrated to buy for my aeoni's. the krell seems good. anybody with any experience with the krell 400xi, or any similiar integrated?

again, thanks alot to all. i appreciate the replies.

I have Aeon i's and ran a Musical Fidelity A300 before switching to my 400xi. Both do a good job, although I am sending the Krell back due to a possible volume problem that may have been caused during a drop while being shipped. A MF A5 would be a good choice as well, this using my experience with the A300 in mind. I love my Krell and will stick with it, as that's been my dream to own a piece of their work for years!

Oh I forgot to mention I had a 1065 for a week and I ended up selling it on Ebay. It had a nice sound but on the Pinnacle speakers I had it just couldn't power them adequately. Good looking piece though!

 

[mbergs9]

I run my aeon i's with a Sunfire Amp (7400) for both HT and 2-channel...I couldn't be happier. I considered getting seperate amps at one point, but after listening to the sunfire, I was sold on one. The nice thing about the sunfire is that you have several speaker connection options. You can run the speakers off the current source for a warmer, more tube-like sound, or off the voltage source for a more crisp, clean sound. Sunfire actually reccomends running the panels off the current source and the woofer off the voltage source with 2 seperate runs of cable, which is actually how I have configured mine after experimenting.