[Baron von Kriterium]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Next up is power. I'm running an entry-level Pioneer VSX-521 ("80w x 5") and it drive the RTi10s alright but I've got to turn it up quite a bit, and things start getting a bit fatiguing at high volumes.

What I'm looking for is a used amp or AVR big on clean power and small on bells & whistles. Budget's around $300. Can be either 5.1 or stereo. I've been watching for old Crown amps, or NAD, Marantz, Onkyo, Denon. What other brands should I be watching for in the classifieds?

There are so many routes that you can take, but it seems to me that you should find a used AVR within your budget. Just ensure it has the pre-outs so that you can add external amps in the future if that’s what you want.

I looked at a picture of the rear of the VSX-521 on the WWW. There are not any pre-outs for external amps (other than the sub). Thus, if you want to add external amps, then you need an AVR or an AV Pre-amp with some pre-outs. I suspect, though, that you will have to be patient to find a set-up that fits your budget of $300.00.

The mid- to higher-end models of any of the AVRs will have some/all of the pre-outs that you need. Check Kijiji for whatever manufacturer interests you. These AVRs get cheap quickly on the used market because everyone wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest thing. I think they are all roughly the same and it comes down to which unit offers the features you are looking for.

In my situation with a small room, I only run front mains and a center. I bought a re-furbished Marantz Nr1403 for US$299.00 last year. It is fine for my purposes. It runs the center speaker and I have 2 x Audiosource Amp/2 for the mains duty. I like the Audiosource because they are bridgeable and can be daisy-chained. I don’t use a sub or rears. I run old Reynolds Advance with an 8” driver and a 10” passive radiator. They provide enough low-end for my needs. The whole home theatre set-up is not a big deal to me, so I use a minimal set-up.

The Crown XLS series offers the most power/$$. Good luck finding them used, though. They have turned over to the XXX2 series, so you might be able to find a deal on a new model XXX0. Before our dollar tanked, you could find some deals on ebay. They don’t weigh that much, so shipping often isn’t too bad. Choose a 1500 over a 1000 model.

The amps I use in my stereo rig are Parasound HCA 1000s. I prefer Parasound to most of what is out there. I highly recommend Parasound because the HCA 1000s and higher were designed by John Curl and he emphasizes a bias towards a Class A amp. Does that make Parasound better? No, but it is what I prefer. There is a multi-channel Parasound on Kijiji right now.

Some other 90s-era amps to consider are: ADCOM, Audiosource and B&K Components. If you find a Soundcraftsmen in your search, tell me, because you have found the Holy Grail. The Audiosource at C$150.00 are numerous on ebay. The Amp/2 is 80W (200W as mono). That is more than enough power.