My friend who installs HT’s and whole house audio systems came over yesterday to visit. He brought with him an Inter-M R300 professional Reference Power amplifier. This thing is rated at 150w@4 ohms and is a 2 channel amp. He said he uses it for his whole house audio because it’s very stable.
I know this is a pro amp because it doesn’t have RCA jacks on the back, just ¼ and XLR’s (he uses ¼ to RCA adapters for home use). I am assuming this is the type of amp that is used in recording studios, or PA applications. It looks like it belongs in a rack for Eddy Van Halen or somebody. He said this cost is around six hundred Canadian (although I have found in on the internet for half that).
Anyways, we hooked it up to my Rotel preamp and fed it to the M80’s. I was surprised at how good this thing sounded and how loud it would go before the clipping light started to briefly blink. Good solid tight bass with a nice punch. MIds were rich and full. The snare got me right in the gut. I like even more than my Rotel 6 channel amp which costs sig more (although the Interm had almost double the power of the Rotel).
Here are my three questions.
1. What does it mean when a company puts the word “reference” on amplifiers? Who decides if the product is “reference”, or is it just a marketing thing?
2. I read Alan Lofts great article’s on amplifiers on the Axiom site. So all things being equal is it better to have multiple 2 (or even 1) channel amp(s) then to have one 6 channel amp. I am thinking power supply requirements here.
3. This Interm amp we tested yesterday is not what you would typically see in an HT rack, however it sounded really really good, and is not expensive at all, at least compared to the Brystons, Rotels, and Krell’s of the world (keep in mind, I have never tested a Krell power amp). Am I missing something, why don’t more people look at professional style power amps for their HT’s. Is a home amp different than a professional amp? Or were my ears deceiving me yesterday and I might as well be on another planet.
