soulrider4ever

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I purchased 2 of these from a classified section on this forum. I ended up paying $35 each. Of course this was a STEAL of a deal! I paird these up into Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 front, Diamond CS center, and 9.0 surrounds.

I was running a Onkyo 540 rated at 130wpc (LOL) to this running 90wpc to L/R/C and 2x45 to the backs. Let me just say that the improvement over the receiver was INCREDIBLE!!! Even my wife was like, wow that sounds so good! These things love to sing, the headroom is huge and the musicality of this amp is astounding for the price. I enjoy just listening to stereo music with these, the detail and soundstage / clairity destroyed the Onkyo.

I hear a lot of small details now at lower listening volumes. IE - foot steps or shuffling of clothing or gum wrappers, it just brings those details to life.

I tried pairing 1 up to my Diamond 9.6's in the other room and well, it ran out of steam trying to power these - granted it does a much better job, tighter bass and clearer dynamics than the receiver, but these are rated for 200w RMS. But for bookshelfs / surrounds it's PHENOMENAL.

Price Paid:  $120.00 from PAWN SHOP!!!!

Summary:
Last month I was buying some snake food and walked next door to the pawn shop waiting on my shop to open as i was browsing through the Apex and sony products.I ran across a PAIR of these amps along with a NAD THX amp. The price was insane 120$ a piece , or 100$ for the NAD that was missing the power button. Well I picked up one of these ampilfiers and a week later I went back for the second.. These guys sound like they have TONS of headroom. Wide open through my martan logans and B&K's these amps sound like they have another 40 watts left in them. I cant really comment on the low end performance , as 100Hz and lower goes to my veltronic sub. These boys run fairly warm but the sound is very very clear. even after a 5 hour house cleaning, zeppelin, bob seger episode they had no stand- bye noise. The highs are very clear and not as harse as I would expect. Alot of detail comes through on these fella's if you want a amplifier that will fill the house with a sturdy full midrange and allow you to hear fingers on the frets these amps will not dissapoint.
I'm using 2 of them both bridged as a 2 channel amp.

Strengths:
very very healthy midrange. supurb detail, HEADROOM. I cant tell you just how much these amplifiers put out in the way of detailed power. They sound half way on at full volume.

Weaknesses:
I do have a few gripes, but for the price I paid I have no room at all to complain.
1. non-grounded plugs. . . can we get a 3 plug power cable on a 500$ amp?
2 no pre-outs . With a pair of these and no output on them, I needed another Pre-amp splitter for more pre-outs. 1 for my sub 1 to power my B&K's and 1 to power my Logans and another set to my patio system.. Can we get some pass throughs on a 500$ amp?
3. options? Well.. They are just amplifiers but all you have is a power button. inputs, outputs, and a gain control. How about a clipping light. or a pair of tone controls, or read above, pre-outs.
4. The gain controls seem very flimsy. very.. BOSS car stereo amplifier'ish... They could be more presentable. or more sturdy. or even on the face..

Similar Products Used:
NAD ,Martan logan, veltronics,B&K,Rotel,Infinity,Marantz, Marshall

Price Paid:  $150.00

Summary:
A good basic amp , quite flexible , good for centre channel and rear speakers , not tremendously strong unless bridged , runs well , standby current only 140 ma, about 40 watts , doesnt eat electricity , runs very cool , no excess heat , no noise in standby mode , input sensitivity controls a bit fiddly and dont feel to strong ,not quite up to Rotel standards , but at the price what a bargain .I wouldnt swop it for any other audio video amp .

Strengths:
low power consumption , quite in standby , no excess heat .

Weaknesses:
fiddly gain controlls .

Similar Products Used:
Rotel , Sony , Onkyo , Sanyo , Marantz ,

Summary:
I was given this and a very nice processor by a friend who was upgrading. These are my first experience with separates, and they really do outperform any of the receievers I have had.

I'm using the amp in the four channel mode, (phantom on the pro.) and there's plenty of power to make my speakers sing with well amplified delight. The bass is powerful yet subtle, the highs are clean and bright, without being brazen.

I'm never going back to a receiver or Int. Amp.

Strengths:
Plenty of power, clean, clear, smooth

Summary:
I'll agree with what the previous reviewer had to say. I was also looking for an amplifier that could power my center and rear speakers, and fell into a used AMC 2445 at a local hi-fi shop.

The amp is very flexible in configuration:

Two channels: Two channels at 90W each
Three channels: One at 90W, and two at 45W (what I use)
Four channels: Four at 45W

I haven't listened to the amp critically, but it works great for my center and rear speakers.

The power cord on the unit is permanently attached, and is probably the wimpiest cord I've ever come across. Mine also has a 220V to 110V adapter on the end of it. Apparently, AMC made the amp for the US market, but put a British cable on it.

I don't get any "thunk" when I turn on the amp, by the way.

I only paid $149 for it, so at that price, it's a good deal.

Strengths:
Flexibility of configuration

Weaknesses:
Wimpy power cord