Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Stereo amp recommendation?

I like the HK 3480(120wpc) but looking for more oomph for my M22ti, I've look at a few, Subwoofer output is a must.

1)Cambridge Audio Azur 640A, it appears to be a good buy but only has 65wpc so it's a bit wimpy, I'll more than likely disappointed with the ouput I can from this IA.
2)NAD C272 150wpc and the HK 3480 as the pre/pro, not sure if this is a good setup.
3)NAD C372 150wpc IA, a complete replacement and I don't have to keep the HK 3480.
4)Outlaw M-200 200wpc monoblocks, use HK 3480 as pre/pro.

budget is under $700.

well, if you HK is already rated at 120 watts, then the NAD C272 at 150 watts will not be much of an improvement..

i would go with the 200 watt monoblock, if you really want a significient diference in power level and sound output.

just my opinion.

bigjohn

reason why I'd considered NAD C270 or C372 is the dynamic power rating, 220w/340w/460w @8ohm/4ohm/2ohm. I could be wrong but the real world performance it's probably close to the Outlaw monoblocks.

Hi demasoni,

Keep in mind that "dynamic power" ratings are measured in milliseconds (a few thousandths of a second). It does not mean that the amplifier will deliver sustained power output at those levels for more than a fraction of a second.

Generally speaking, the power supply and heat sinking of a basic power amp will be more robust than any integrated amp, so you could expect greater sustained power output in real-world terms than an integrated amp would deliver.

Dynamic power ratings tend to be very misleading. They are often quoted at low impedances as well. The amp may deliver that power for a fraction of a second and then shut down from overheating into a 4-ohm or lower-impedance load.

Regards,

The HK3480 has 120 watts per channel, and low impedance capability to 150 watts.
The M22's have two 5" drivers and a tweater. Thats like a center channel speaker.
It's SPL is 93db. Just how much power is needed to adequately drive such a speaker?
It seems to me that the HK3480 is overkill already.

Dan

thanks for all the great advices, it looks like the monoblocks should give me the most improvement over the HK 3480.
Dan, no doubt the M22ti are very efficient and it doesn't need that much power to drive them, generally 50wpc is enough for moderate listening level, though the M22ti are rated up to 200w, I was under the impression that either match the power rating or overpower them a little should get the most out of these very fine speakers.

Honestly I do not know for sure if I could hear any difference, but I'm expecting about 2~3 dB of headroom and overall music dynamic improvement with 200+ wpc amp. Underpowering the M22ti for extended period of time can't be good, especially when I crank them up couple times a week, no? maybe you were right about the HK 3480. The volume level of this receiver can go from -80 to +18 dB and I have never drive them past the 0 dB mark, moderate level stays somewhere between -40 to -25 dB, at night it stay at around -50 to -40 dB, and -15 to -5 dB is pretty much the reference level I prefer, anything higher will make my ears bleed.

Sorry, I just had to smile when I saw your post.

A month ago : "I'm just gonna buy some little speakers for my office, let's try these Axioms".

Today : "Not sure my rock-solid 120 W/chan receiver has enough power to get the very best out of these speakers, maybe I should add a separate power amp"

Seriously, my first thought would be that spending $$ on a sub would make you far happier than spending $$ on a new amp. With bookshelf speakers and no sub you tend to turn the volume up higher to get bass... and with a sub you find that you don't need to turn the volume up so much.

I'm not even talking about high-pass filtering the signal going to the M22s yet, which reduces your power requirements even more, just having the sub run "in parallel" with the mains makes a big difference in the way you will listen.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

JB

I don't have M22s but have M60s. All I know is that after I switched from my NADs 70 watts/channel to two outlaw monoblocks, I noticed a distinct improvement in dynamics and 'punchiness' (forgive me). It was worth it. Although its a fine amp, I'm not necessarily recommending Outlaws, just recommending more headroom.

I know someday I will move up to a better amp and the best thing about having the separate amps is that in the future, I will move these babies to my stereo upstairs.

Bridgeman(JB).

I know, it's funny isn't it? ever since I got hooked on the Axiom I've found myself keep looking for excuses to upgrade stuff, it's like a black hole that you just can't seems to filled up, this hobby is addicting!!

As for the Sub, you're definitely right, I've already narrow down to the Onix Rocket UFW-10 and SVS PB12(aka PB1). I'm leaning more toward the SVS and I'll make my decision tonight and order either one of the sub tomorrow :-)



Riffman,

I'm going to take my time to look around more, the Rotel RB-1080 appears to be a very nice 200wpc stereo as well, I'm still trying to decide if it's worthwhile to sink another chunk of money on something I might not need.

DE, as Dan pointed out, your 3480 should have plenty of power for your M22s. No, the maximum power rating that a speaker can handle without going up in smoke has nothing to do with how much it needs, and no "match" of the maximum rating is needed. Note that at a comfortably loud level your M22s will use 1 or 2 watts; it's unlikely that even split second peaks will use more than a hundred watts. Unused headroom just goes to waste.