Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Amp for M60s

I'm considering a pair of M60s for dedicated stereo music in a 30'x20' room with cathedral ceilings. The room is divided (functionally) into two areas, each 15'x20'. One of these areas will be the listening area, and the speakers will be approx. 12' from the listening position. Volume levels will be low to moderate.

I'd like a power amp in the $200-$400 range to power the M60's and, occaisionally, some Bose outdoor speakers that came with the house. A/B speaker switching would therefore be a nice feature. I'd like to set up the amp and then forget about it, so a signal-sensing "auto-on" feature would also be nice.

I'm currently considering a used Adcom GFA-535 (conservatively rated at 60W/channel) and an Audiosource AmpTwo (http://www.audiosource.net/2003/03_amptwo.htm). The Adcom doesn't have an auto-on feature.

Any other amp recommendations?

most of us are HT 5.1 type receiver specialists.. i havent a clue about 2ch amp.. but i know someone will.. hang tight, you will get some input..

BTW- 2x6 will try and get you to go with a tube amp.. dont listen.. J/K...

bigjohn

Welcome Nand_T! It is nice to see another stereo fan amongst the HT group that bigjohn mentions.

Of the mfg'ers you mention, the Adcom is one I have had the opportunity to play with - though not that model. My thoughts are that Adcom is a very rugged piece, well suited to driving almost any decently designed speaker. The Adcom you mention was first released in the late 1980's, and ran for about 5+ years as a current model (if memory serves). Assuming the amp is in good shape, it would be a good piece, but of course will not have all of the latest bells and whistles.

Adcom is in a class with NAD, Rotel, just above the mass market mfg'ers that focus on HT. However, no mfg'er can afford to ignore that market, and many of the high(er) end mfg'ers also are working to provide products in that space.

One thought, if the Adcom has pre outs, you could use this in the future to feed a larger amp if required. But your features want/need list will determine the course you take.

Nand T,
Given the two choice you list I would go with the Adcom.There are some other quality used amps Here that would fit the bill for you.

If only 2 channel I would also consider the M80's for that size room. I use the 80's for my 2 channel set up,and they sound great.

Why get an amp two when you can get the more powerful amp four and still be $70 less than your max price?

Looking at your post again I don't see that you mention anything about a pre amp.What would you be using as a pre amp?

Thank you all for your responses. I've been lurking around this forum for a while and have been delighted with the thoughtful, unbiased responses put forth by the community.

wid, I have no idea where to begin on audiogon. Any suggestions? I thought the a/b speaker selector "requirement" might narrow my search. Also, (audiophiles look away) I was not planning on using a preamp. I didn't think that I would need one, as the power amp would receive an input signal directly from a digital music player www.slimdevices.com, which is a life-altering open source device with a great community as well.

Thasp, I don't know how much power I need for my purposes. I'd rather not spend the extra dough if I won't notice a difference. Would a more powerful but otherwise identical amp produce better sound at low/moderate volumes?

You will need a pre-amp. A cheap alternative would be to get a receiver with re-amp outputs like the Onkyo TX-SR801.
It has Net tune, which is a network mp3 client like the Slimp3 but built in. You probably could find a deal on the net. These units retail around $600 to $800.

Just a thought, after you buy an amp say $400.00 and the slimp3 unit $200.00 and then a preamp $???.00. You’re looking at least $800.00 or more.

I personally would go with the receiver. The TX-SR801 does have pre-amp out puts so you could add an amp later.

Just something for you to think about… I too like the amp route.

Tom

I see what you're saying about the Slim devices. In the documentation in says "Digital and analog RCA outputs connect Squeezebox to your home theater, stereo receiver, or amplified speakers. And when you install multiple players, they can play independently or in sync for whole-house audio."

I have an older one in my office that I picked up on Ebay. It doesn't have that feature. You might want to follow up with slim devices to see if this is the case.

Nand T,
Looking at what you are trying to do here I believe Tleigh is right on the mark.A decent reciever would have everything you are looking for and probably save some $$$ to boot.If you were to go with an amp you will also need a preamp.There are alot of decent recievers out there that would fit right in line with your budget.