Good amp to go with an Epic 80 sys?

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Looking to get an Epic 80 for a dedicated room. Whats a good amp to drive these guys? Going to use a anthem d2 as a pre/pro, but don't want to spend 6-8k on amps. Any suggestions?

Emotiva baaaaby

I have the mps-1 chassis with 2 epm300 monoblocks for now driving my m80's and my Denon is still driving the surrounds and center for now. I plan to add additional mono's in the future, and then get an Emotiva prepro when they introduce some new models later this year.

How are the sherwoods? It would be nice to get one big 7.1 amp. Or should I just not even bother with the pre/pro and go with a really high end receiver?

I would hang on to the Anthem, and add an amp. Easier path to upgrade later on, if need be. You'd probably end up spending more on a high end receiver than a capable amp.

Randy's suggestion of the Emotiva is a strong price/performance candidate.

Can't help you on Sherwood, never owned their products. Emotiva makes a lot of 7.1 amps at very affordable prices, and they only use the best guts on the inside.

Thx guys I will take a look into them, crazy price diff between these and the anthem amps. Wonder what the sound differences would be.

In theary an amp does not sound like anything, it just amplifies the signal. Now, if you start to introduce any special DSP features, or adjust the EQ stuff, that will affect the sound, not the electronics when adjusted to a flat response.

So what is the real diff between amps? Stablity, power, and the quality of components used to build it? If thats the case I really don't need 10,000 worth of amps to drive 6,000 worth of speakers, its prob over kill esp in a small to mid sized room.

It looks like Rotel amps will fit the bill for you.

One of the big differences seems to be the size of the power supply and heatsinks relative to the power of the amplifier, ie the degree of "design overkill".

In other words, a "high end" amplifier can loaf along at the same levels which an equally rated "cheaper" amplifier can only sustain for a little while without overheating. The bigger power supply also seems to help with stability and keeping distortion #s low at high outputs.

There is also a whole debate about output impedence (aka damping factor) and its effect on the "tightness" of the sound. Big amplifiers tend to have a higher damping factor and, if you buy into the story, can give a tighter sound at low frequencies and high output levels.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that the effect of damping factor has been disproven but I remain unconvinced.

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Emotiva baaaaby

I have the mps-1 chassis with 2 epm300 monoblocks for now driving my m80's and my Denon is still driving the surrounds and center for now. I plan to add additional mono's in the future, and then get an Emotiva prepro when they introduce some new models later this year.

Whats the difference between their pre/pro and your denon with pre-outs?

For some crazy reason I am actually looking at M80s this week...

Check out ADCOM'S web site ADCOM.com! They make some great stuff thats not horribly expensive.

I have had a multichannel Adcom for about ten years and I have loved it.

Mike

Outlaw 7125 or Outlaw 7700

Outlaw makes some great stuff and based on what I've read over the years, you can't go wrong with them. I was really close to buying a pair of Outlaw monoblocks to power my M80's. But I changed my mind and thought I'd give Emotiva a chance, lured by the value of their LPA-1.

Now I'm in sirquack's boat. Take a close look at Emotiva. I purchased their relatively inexpensive LPA-1 to power my M80's and I absolutely love it. It might be the best 500 bucks I've ever spent on my home theater. While I'm sure a $5,000 amp would sound even better, I can't imagine it being worth 10 times the cost.

That said, this is my first and only dedicated amplifier I've ever owned, so I can't compare it to anything other than the AVR's I've had in the past. I'm actually tempted to haul the thing over to my buddy's house and compare it to his Adcom, Rotel, and Audio Research stuff to see how it really compares.

Parasound makes good amplifiers. If you are just needing two channels, how about a pair of Outlaw Audio monoblocks? Lots of power, complete channel isolation. Marantz used to have monoblocks, too, not sure what they offer now, but they were once a great bang for the buck play. NAD has always produced great amps for smaller budgets, as well. Rotel makes good stuff, too.

That should get you started.

This is from the thread about M80s and 400 watt max.

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I just read the article by Alan he says "The lesson in all this is that you can never have too much power , and that big amplifiers rarely damage speakers. Little amplifiers driven into clipping burn out speakers. In the scheme of high fidelity, that last barrier to realism is having enough power and being able to approximate real-life loudness levels"

I don't plan on getting an amp that puts out 400 watts, but close! Adcom GFA 7707 is what I've been looking at.

thanks for all your replies!

Mike

Sirquack how did you get a chasis with only 2 blocks, does the mps-1 come with all 7? Or is that 1700 price tag too good to be true.

By default it comes with 7 amps. However, it can be ordered chassis alone, and any combination of the epm300 monoblocks, or the 2 channel epm2150 modules. I spent $700 for the chassis and 2 mono's for now. Plan to get a 3rd mono for my center, followed by 2 of their 2 channel amps for my qs8's some day.

I have a parasound amp - 400 watts to the fronts and 250+ to the center and surrounds - brings a nicer clarity to all speakers as compared to my Onkyo 801 which I'm using now as my pre/pro...

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Emotiva baaaaby

I have the mps-1 chassis with 2 epm300 monoblocks for now driving my m80's and my Denon is still driving the surrounds and center for now. I plan to add additional mono's in the future, and then get an Emotiva prepro when they introduce some new models later this year.

I've got 80's (and more)on the way and an Emo MPS-1 waiting to feed them. Sirquack and others here as well as several other forums gave the Emo amps a high rating. Since I was starting over with the HT, I also got the DMC-1 pre/pro. Will post results as soon as I get it all hooked up.

Scott

Did you have fun lifting the mps-1 loaded with 7 amps?

i have the Outlaw 7700 and like it.

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Looking to get an Epic 80 for a dedicated room. Whats a good amp to drive these guys? Going to use a anthem d2 as a pre/pro, but don't want to spend 6-8k on amps. Any suggestions?

Seeing how you’re already looking at about 7 grand for the D2, you might want to send Ian an email and ask him about the amp that Axiom is coming out with in the very near future. From what I know, it’s going to set the stage for just about everyone to follow. I think they are gong to run about 3 grand for the seven channel amp. It’s got some sort of circuitry where power is directed to the channels that need it the most. Not your typical amp by any means.

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Looking to get an Epic 80 for a dedicated room. Whats a good amp to drive these guys? Going to use a anthem d2 as a pre/pro, but don't want to spend 6-8k on amps. Any suggestions?

Seeing how you’re already looking at about 7 grand for the D2, you might want to send Ian an email and ask him about the amp that Axiom is coming out with in the very near future. From what I know, it’s going to set the stage for just about everyone to follow. I think they are gong to run about 3 grand for the seven channel amp. It’s got some sort of circuitry where power is directed to the channels that need it the most. Not your typical amp by any means.

Wow that sounds intresting. I am buy no means ready to purcahse anything yet, just in the early planning stages. I'll have to remember to contact him and see when it is coming out.

I am very happy with my OUTLAW990/7500

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Did you have fun lifting the mps-1 loaded with 7 amps?

I went for endurance... I was able to load the chassis empty, then load each monoblock. What a workout!! I had to "modify" the back panel to accomodate the amp - I forgot to take into account that doors have depth, so the amp now sticks out in back. It sure made cable management MUCH easier. I'll upload pics later. I hooked up my old Cambridge satelites (stereo only, no sub) and I don't remember them sounding that good before - of course It's been almost 2 years since I've heard them. What did I listen to? Classic Yo Yo.
Can't wait to hear the M80's...

Scott