Question for Alfalfa or others -- rack mount Mixer & amp replace my Pioneer?

[Jedman]

Alfalfa, you are right about the Pioneer receiver...I just don't think it's going to cut it. For the money I paid for this, I'm thinking about taking it back and getting a rack mount amplifier. But I needed all the inputs...
...so, I was thinking if I get a rack mount mixer, like the Alesis 12R or something similar, between that and the Delta 1010, I'd have more than enough inputs and mic pres. Then couldn't I get a rack mount amp to hook up to my JBLs?

Wondered what you thought of Crown, Nady, Pyle, Pyramid, or Peavy amps? There are some rack mount styles of those on Ebay and MF in my price range.
Thanks for your opinion,
Jed

EDIT: How noisy are the fans in these pro amplifiers? I hope not too loud?

 

[alfalfa]

My advice if sound quality is your priority and you are using the amp in a home environment, is to get an accurate hifi amp rather than a rackmount 'pro' amp. My opinion is most rackmount amps trade off accuracy/sound quality for reliability or power at the budget prices we home recordists can afford.

Goto your local hifi store and check out some integrated amplifiers from Rotel or NAD. Have a chat with them, there are many other decent budget brands (Marantz, Arcam etc). You will probably need an integrated amp for the volume control (power amps do not have volume control) and for headphone amplification.

Whatever amps you are considering, borrow them so you can do an extensive listening test at home to compare them. Or take your speakers to the store. That way you can tell if they match your speakers and have enough power (power ratings are very ambiguous).

 

[Jedman]

Ok. Thanks for the info on the amps, and I'll do some checking around. I hear ya about the mixer vs dedicated mic preamp, so if I get a mixer, it will be for the added flexibility.

Jed