2. amps-preamps
  3. 1320195915

First foray into separate 2-channel amp, 200wpc

Hi, I am thinking of purchasing my first powerful 2-channel amp, to use with my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver. This is kind of an experiment, so I don't want to spend a fortune. I need to see if a powerful amp will take better control than the Yamaha of my Monitor Audio Silver 9i speakers I just picked up. I am thinking of a minimum of 200 watts/channel. I am looking at spending up to around $500. I will probably want to find something used here on Agon.

So far, I am most drawn to an Adcom GFA 5500 here on Agon, although I am aware there are many other brands in that level of amp. I am aware of Emotiva, and wonder if anybody feels a new or newish Emotiva will be better in any significant way than the 5500. This will need to be a good performer on both music and movies.

Or, since the Yamaha is fairly powerful for a receiver, is there a likelihood that the Adcom of something similar will not make a detectable improvement?

Any other suggestions? Thanks.
mtrot
waterzlife
119 posts
 
Mtrot,
So what's your experience with the McCormack DNA-1 RevA ???
mtrot OP
642 posts
 
"Waterzlife
Mtrot,
So what's your experience with the McCormack DNA-1 RevA ???"

Well, that's a long story. I had bought the DNA-1 here on Audiogon last December, but shortly after hooking it up, it blew up. I think something was amiss with the amp from the start, because even when I first hooked it up, it produced a horrible raspy, scratching sound from the speakers. And upon turning it off and on, both would produce a huge pop from the speakers. Now, I did use Goertz MI-2 Veracity speaker cables, and failed to connect the Zobel networks, which I am told could destabilize wide bandwidth amps.

So, I sent the amp off for repair to SMC Audio in January, where it stayed for about 6 months. Apparently a lot of stuff blew out, and there was a lot of difficulty in repairing it for a reasonable price.

I just finally got the amp back last week, and have only done limited listening to the amp, but I do think it sounds pretty good. I actually am not now using the DNA-1 with the Yamaha receiver, but rather I have swapped out the DNA-1 with a Sherbourn 5/1500A multi-channel power amp that was in the family room, with my Onkyo NR-809 Receiver as a pre-pro. It was immediately apparent that the DNA-1 has a greater bandwidth than the Sherbourn. There is just a greater sense of "presence" of the music or dialog, more clarity. One area I think may be sounding significantly better than with the Sherbourn is vocals, which seem very tonally nice and enjoyable. Instruments just have more of a "signature" to them, if that makes any sense.

I have not played enough dynamic content yet to tell anything about dynamics or bass impact, compared to the Sherbourn. But I will soon be cranking up some jazz, classical, and movies to find out.
erikt
174 posts
 
This thread has some longevity but caught my eye because I was in the same situation with the same Yamaha AVR - still have my V1800 as the center of my HT system.

I went with an external amp from my 2-channel rig - Carver m-1.0t with gobs of power.

Did it make a difference? Yup - sure did.

Did I stay satisfied? Nope - cuz an AVR will always be a compromise sonically, imo as a pre.

So, I went with a hybrid setup - kept the AVR, but added an integrated amp with HT Bypass.

Consider that....
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