Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo eyeing on the A1400-8

Hello guys,

I have been looking for a class-d amplifier for my m80v2s for a while. For people who have the privilege to audition both the A1400-8 and a Rotel 1092 (for 2 channel) how do they compare?

The other question I have is, I have a tube buffered DAC and I am also looking for a Stereo preamp to use with the A1400-8, any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

I'm curious, how does a tube 'buffer' a DAC?

Personally i'm waiting for the A1400-2 to arrive, if ever before giving it a whirl.

Not sure how it really works but it sounds really great. I'd say it's my best HiFi investment ever. It really makes a big different if you use iTunes or any lossless format. First auditioned it in a friend of mine's place with Accuphase preamp/amp. Plug-in airTune to this little guy, even though it's only got unbalanced output but it's just... spectacular!

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue38/mhdt_paradisea.htm

I'm also looking to get the upgraded version - Havana
http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/messages/3/33069.html

cheers,

P.S. a A1400-2 would be really nice

I would think that an A1400-8 would fit as an A1400-2. By the nature of its design if you are only driving 2 channels then you get the 1400W total power in 2 channels, or 700W each channel. If you really needed 1400W for each channel then you can just get 2 of them.

I would love an A-1400 but don't want to drop that kind of cash on an amp.

I am likely going to buy an emotiva xpa-2 which will give me 500 wpc to my m80's.

Heck, I might even buy 2 of em and use them in bridged mode for 1000 wpc.

My 3 channel 400 @ 4ohm rarely goes above 7 watts at ear bleeding levels.

You must be in a church to need 1000 wpc!

No, I absolutely have no need for it at all... just sounds cool to say 1000 wpc!

I think my denon 3808 does a fine job of driving my m80's in my space... but the xpa-2 is relatively cheap. I will buy one more than likely... not two.

I have auditioned the RB-1092 (2x500W) with an Anthem prepro and the RMB-1095 (5x200W) with the Lexicon MC12 in two different rooms of a high-end shop. They both sounded great. I think the the RB-1092 was $2500.

I auditoned the A1400-8 in my house with the Integra DTC-9.8 and M80s. This is a much different setup, but I thought the Axiom amp sounded spectacular in stereo and multi-channel modes. The clarity, speed of attack, and power delivery into dynamic peaks were simply superb (and superior). I also discovered that the M80s are capable of a lot more performance in high volumes than I was used to with my previous 110W/channel receiver. As Dave mentioned, the Axiom amp can divert all of its power into the number of channels driven. You can technically get 700W per channel in stereo mode. If you are using a 20A circuit, power on tap is even more. For an additional $1300 outlay, the Axiom amp provides six additional channels compared to the RB-1092 and obviates the need for a separate 5-channel amp to derive the usual 7-channels for an HT application. For me, the Axiom amp was the clear choice.

I don't have much personal experience with stereo preamps to give a meaningful recommendation.

John

But who wants to pay the extra $$ if you only want two channel capability and not 8?
I for one would prefer a 2k or less model before considering it.

I dunno, 1/4 of the channels, 1/4 the price. Right?

Oh yeah, there's the cabinet and r&d, too, huh....

Any more than $1500 and it would be very hard for me to bite on a 2-channel amp. Yeah, I still plan on having a 2-channel setup at some point, probably not with Axiom speakers. I figure I can have the awesome Axiom home theater, then have a little different sounding speakers for 2-channel music. Eventually....

Traitorous pig!


5000 points to anyone but Peter who knows where that comes from.

"Mr. Belvedere"?

That's -7000 points to Sean..

See below.

Princess Diaries 2?

I'm going to guess it was from the Dixie Chicks scandal of 2003.

There is no "2-channel music", Charles.

I just imagined JohnK as Neo saying there is no spoon.

Regular Neo or Neo:6?

Mr. Anderson Neo

Wasn't Neo Young the 14-and-under Neil Young cover band that played the same TV variety show as Negative Orange back in 1974?

I don't know, but I bet CV has the tear-stained Menudo t-shirts to prove it.

menudo-stained menudo shirt. Mmmm... beef tripe.

Thanks for sharing your experience. This gives me some idea about the differences between Icepower and the A1400

What is a 20A circuit? is that something that's built into the hydro transformers near by? sorry I have no idea haha

LOL - check you panel in your house. Most are '15 AMP' but your Dryer and Range will be '30AMP'. You can also put in a '20 AMP' and that's what he's talking about.

Now, for the rest of you. Man, you guys are cheap! Why are you here??? Listen, you get what you pay for for. And if this was a rudimentary, $1500 7 channel amp, I wouldn't even look at it - I can get those at Walmart and won't hear any sonic differences.

You want Emotiva?? Go for it! I'm not saying they're crap, I am saying amps like that are a dime a dozen and they offer nothing new in technology.

Nothing like stirring the pot eh? But hey, if you want the same sound as everyone else, go for it. I'm not saying they're 'bad' amps or anything. But if you want to get to that 'next' level, Emotiva won't do it. Not sure if the A1400 will, but from what I've read it will.

Well, I would hope that the A1400-8 wouldn't change the already perfect sound I get from my Onkyo.

What would you guys recommend for a compatible preamp/processor for the A1400? Would something like the Anthem AVM 2 be a good candidate?

I listen to music a lot and I'm going to need something that I could use an external DAC with, like analog stereo bypass mode.

thanks.

Kap, I long ago realized that "you get what you pay for" was simply a slogan contrived by sellers of high-priced goods or services who had no objective way to justify themselves. It has no more reality in audio than anywhere else and specifically relating to amplification, the great thing about the present scene isn't multi-thousand dollar receivers or separate units, but rather the excellent quality available to us in units priced at a few hundred dollars. Transparent amplification(flat frequency response from 20Hz-20KHz, with inaudibly low noise and distortion)is all that's possible and throwing more money at the issue can't change that. Controlled blind listening tests show that when the labels and price tags disappear so do the alleged sound differences which were previously described in extravagant terms("huge", "night-and-day", "blows away", etc.).

You first need to pin down exactly what you want IE: what sources will you be using, do you want to get into Lossless/HD audio?? Do you want video processing???

Personally, I'd wait a few months. I'm very curious to see how well the new Cary Audio Cinema 11a Pre shakes out. It’s been delayed time and time again waiting for the Cirrus Logic chipset they are using to pass DTS testing with DTS/HD:M. Cirrus just passed testing a couple weeks ago, and the 11a is getting real close to being released. Cary is saying September now. For more info: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=809659&page=32

I listen to lossless through airtune sometimes but most of the time it source is from cd player spdif out to my DAC and RCA and than to the mono blocks.

When it comes to video processing I currently use a Yamaha rx-v1700 it sounds great except I think it's missing a signature sound like the Accuphase/Mcintosh.

For the A1400-8 I honestly don't need 8 outputs, would be nice to have the similar power but 2 channels only. It appears though Axiom will not have the 2 channel version anytime soon. The question is what will be the difference between the 8 and the 2 in "sound"?

From suggestions I've gather so far I more lean towards getting a Mcintosh solid state stereo preamp and just use one of the Line in to do the HT bypass. But, I have no idea how it would sound once it's hooked up to the A1400-8/M80v2s lol anyone has auditioned a similar setup before?

You want your receiver to colour the sound??