monitor amp

aaronmcoleman

aaronmcoleman

The truth is out there!
looks like i'm going to be picking up a pair of ysm-1 passive monitors next week thanks to brother rat!

so i'll be needing an amp for it. any suggestions...prices?

i've never used any passive monitors so i have no idea what to do with them.

thanks!
 
cool. thanks. I know nothing about this, so which ones should i be looking at for a pair of 70w monitors?
 
For 70W monitors look for an amp with about 100-140W per channel. Go for something with passive cooling (just heat sinks with no fan).
 
Looks like they discontinued the one I'd suggest specifically - But I've heard a bunch of good stuff about the new "mini" amp (can't remember the model - Only one they have).
 
For Yorkies? It'll take 'em down if you crank it up.

That said, if you want more oomph, I'd look at used Bryston (2B's - Again, "only" 60 watts, but they bring my Tyler D4M's to well over 105dB @2m without breaking a sweat) or high-current Rotel models.




And yes -- I *am* suggesting that you stay away from the general Guitar Shack fare and get something more of an 'entry-level audiophile' amp instead. You won't regret it.
 
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Massive Master said:
For Yorkies? It'll take 'em down if you crank it up.

That said, if you want more oomph, I'd look at used Bryston (2B's - Again, "only" 60 watts, but they bring my Tyler D4M's to well over 105dB @2m without breaking a sweat) or high-current Rotel models.




And yes -- I *am* suggesting that you stay away from the general Guitar Shack fare and get something more of an 'entry-level audiophile' amp instead. You won't regret it.
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cool. thanks. what does that mean "it'll take em down"?
 
aaronmcoleman said:
cool. thanks. what does that mean "it'll take em down"?
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Well, even a somewhat undersize amp can burn up the voice coils if you drive it way into clipping, but it will start sounding horrible long before that happens. I'm not sure what that has to do with it.

Normally an amp of about 1.5x to 2x the rated power of the speakers is about right in order to drive the speakers to their max output without clipping the amp (because clipping sounds bad, not because it's inherently harmful to speakers), but if 60 watts gets the speakers as loud as you'll ever need them to be that's perfectly fine.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Well, even a somewhat undersize amp can burn up the voice coils if you drive it way into clipping, but it will start sounding horrible long before that happens. I'm not sure what that has to do with it.

Normally an amp of about 1.5x to 2x the rated power of the speakers is about right in order to drive the speakers to their max output without clipping the amp (because clipping sounds bad, not because it's inherently harmful to speakers), but if 60 watts gets the speakers as loud as you'll ever need them to be that's perfectly fine.
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The caveat here is that it is possible to over-power a speaker with clean signal, which can cause excessive voice coil excursion.

How much power is needed to drive near-field monitors to around 87dB spl at the listening position? It can be calculated if you know the sensitivity of the speakers.

Paul
 
aaronmcoleman said:
cool. thanks. what does that mean "it'll take em down"?
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Keeping in mind that I generally *agree* with the 1/1.5/2x the rated power as a rule of thumb, the Emotiva stuff (and I'd imagine it goes without saying the Bryston and high-current Rotel models also) are rather conservatively rated and run ridiculously clean until they just can't take anymore -- which is probably far beyond where you're ever going to try to push them.

"It'll take 'em down" just means that you'll probably liberate the voice coils before the amp delivers a nasty signal.

I just found a Rotel RB-1050 and a RB-1070 on the 'bay for silly cheap (well, so far. There is a BIN on the 1050 for like $370 or something incredibly reasonable).


(EDIT)

DAAAAAAYYYYYUMMMM -- I guess the days of the "reasonably priced Bryston 2B" are over... Maybe scratch that one off. Well worth the bucks - don't get me wrong. But spending several times what the monitors are worth on the amp probably isn't ideal...
 
Massive Master said:
Keeping in mind that I generally *agree* with the 1/1.5/2x the rated power as a rule of thumb, the Emotiva stuff (and I'd imagine it goes without saying the Bryston and high-current Rotel models also) are rather conservatively rated and run ridiculously clean until they just can't take anymore -- which is probably far beyond where you're ever going to try to push them.

"It'll take 'em down" just means that you'll probably liberate the voice coils before the amp delivers a nasty signal.

I just found a Rotel RB-1050 and a RB-1070 on the 'bay for silly cheap (well, so far. There is a BIN on the 1050 for like $370 or something incredibly reasonable).


(EDIT)

DAAAAAAYYYYYUMMMM -- I guess the days of the "reasonably priced Bryston 2B" are over... Maybe scratch that one off. Well worth the bucks - don't get me wrong. But spending several times what the monitors are worth on the amp probably isn't ideal...
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Yeah especially since I'm getting them for free, I don't want to spend a ton on an amp...don't get me wrong, I don't wanna skimp, but I also don't want to drop $1000.
 
I'd go the Rotel RB1050/1070 route then. Uber bang-for-the-buck ratio, high quality componentry, good deals on the used stuff.
 
I don't know how recommended they are but I recently happened upon a leak delta 70, a yamaha AX590 and a Denon pma355uk.

I'm certain they aren't up top of the list, but they certainly crippled any cheapo amps I've ever used.
I currently use the delta70 with wharfedale dovedales for my 'real world' monitoring.

Again, I don't know how recommended that kind of setup is, but it worked for me for next to nothing.
If I ever need another amp on a budget, I'll probably pick up an old Denon for £30 on gumtree. :)
 
I use a rotel ra 931
It might not be in the same class as the one massive is talking about but it does me.
it seems like a really good amp and for not much money too. I know its a hifi system amp and probably not the best for critical listening but at the price point i got at it'll do for now
just my 2 pence, not that i'm an expert.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
The mini looks cool, but it's only 50w per channel, so it won't work for me.
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sure it would ..... the site says 80 watts into 4 ohms so it's gonna put out enough.

And in near field monitoring I'd be surprised if you ever got over about 10-15 watts.
 
Massive Master said:
DAAAAAAYYYYYUMMMM -- I guess the days of the "reasonably priced Bryston 2B" are over... Maybe scratch that one off. Well worth the bucks - don't get me wrong. But spending several times what the monitors are worth on the amp probably isn't ideal...
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you've got me seriously looking at that Emotiva mini ..... as a Stereophile reader I was aware of Emotive but didn't realize they put anything out that cheap.
Plus they've got that nice looking 6 input preamp with phono stage for under $500. May have to get that too.
 
I know its a hifi system amp and probably not the best for critical listening
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Assuming you're not messing with tone controls (if it even has them) I'd feel much more comfortable with a quality hi-fi amp than with just about anything else.
Lt. Bob
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Yeah, I've tried a few pieces of their stuff and I almost hate to say (because they're so freakishly priced) that it was all pretty friggin' good for a $5 milkshake (Pulp Fiction reference).

I bought the (XPA2? - the big 2-channel unit...) as a backup when my Pass X-250 needed repair and found that the thing could actually compete. I was not expecting that - not for $800... I was expecting something that I could "get by with" for a month or so but wound up with something that can hold its own up against $4-8,000 amps. "Just as good?" No. "Pretty friggin' good?" Absolutely.

The bummer is they used to have a higher-power / lower-current (Class D) amp that was very nice and just plain goofy-cheap -- Like $299 or $399 -- and now it seems to be gone and only the new mini-thing in its place.

I have their XDA-1 DAC also -- Unfortunately the output voltage is just too low to make it truly usable for everyday use (which bummed me, as it does have AES/EBU input and XLR output), but it really does sound good. I use it in the "reality reference" chain and for certain input switching stuff (AES-Optical-Coax-USB - It covers the "miscellaneous" stuff very nicely).
 
Lt. Bob said:
sure it would ..... the site says 80 watts into 4 ohms so it's gonna put out enough.

And in near field monitoring I'd be surprised if you ever got over about 10-15 watts.
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man, you guys are all so smart. I just stopped reading when it said 50w per channel. I didn't even see that it switches between 4 and 8 ohm.

thanks!
 
could someone hit me with some watt/ohm knowledge?

If the amp is 50w at 4 ohm and 80w at 8 ohm...my speakers are 6 ohm, how do I figure the amp wattage? Or in general how do I figure amp wattages.

I've also got an old amp of my dad's I'm going to be using for a bit and it says 4 ohm 125w (which is enough for me for now) but how do I figure out what it is at 6 ohms, just out of curiosity?

thanks
 
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