Which Power Amplifier to buy

[Rajeevkale]

Hello friends
I am in the process of upgrading my existing system. I have Marantz PM 14 S1 Integrated Amplifier and PMC twenty 23 tower speakers.
I want to get Power amplifier which will allow to have subwoofer to my existing system.
The current integrated amp I will use as Pre amp , take pre out and connect to power amp which will have subwoofer out as well.
Please suggest best suitable power amplifier for me.

I will be using the same set up for my home theatre as well . I have Denon 7200 WA AV receiver for my home theatre set up.

I have SVS PB 1000 subwoofer which is connected to my Denon AVR.

I want to use the same subwoofer and PMC L & R set up for both Theatre and Music please advice suitable power amplifier .

regards

Rajeev

 

[Mayank Shah]

Existing Gear.
1) Marantz amp can be used as a pre and also as a Poweramp. Marantz has only 1 pair of preout so you can connect either Poweramp or a sub. You will not get the bass control which the avr would give.
2) Your avr has plenty power and 2 sub outs.

Take LR preout from AVR to Marantz. Put the Marantz in Poweramp mode.

Connect PMC to Marantz.
Sub will remain on the AVR.

For music, use Music direct or 2ch mode on the AVR. Enjoy music and HT. Additional Poweramp is not required.

AFAIK, Poweramp does not have sub outs. But any amp can still be used if you sub has speaker level connections.

If you connect a sub with its line level (2 x Rca) then you have to set the XO on the sub. If sub is connected to AVR with its LFE, then AVR will do the bass management which is prefered.

Same way for bass management if you connect a sub with speaker level inputs.

Iam not very clear as to why you would need an additional Poweramp when you already have good gear.

 

[Rajeevkale]

Thanks for your response . I was looking at additional power amp with two things in mind
a) If I could add subwoofer to my two channel set up for music
b) Marantz PM 14 S 1 has only 90 W 8 ohms power , I don't get best response out of my PMC 23

please share your number so that I can explain bit more in detail
regards
Rajeev

 

[rikhav]

The sub woofer has its amplifier inbuilt into it. The power amp has nothing to do with using the sub woofer.

Yes for more power for your PMC's you can look for a power amp.

 

[drkrack]

Thanks for your response . I was looking at additional power amp with two things in mind
a) If I could add subwoofer to my two channel set up for music
b) Marantz PM 14 S 1 has only 90 W 8 ohms power , I don't get best response out of my PMC 23

please share your number so that I can explain bit more in detail
regards
Rajeev

There's No need to have RCA Out from Power Amplifiers to Connect your SVS Subwoofer. If your Subwoofer has High level inputs (aka speaker binding posts) you can connect your power amp speaker output to subwoofer directly (this is the best way to connect Subwoofer for Music) .

Some Power amplifier like Parasound A21, A23 etc have Rca out for Connecting further to Subwoofer etc. You could alternatively look into that. You can otherwise customize the specifications for Power Amplifiers from Indian Manfacturer like Acoustic Portrait and Indiq Audio.

You should be looking for a Power Amplifier with at least 200wpc+ to get adequate power over your existing Integrated Amplifier.

 

[jai1611]

A few points to consider from someone who has owned pmc 25.24 for a couple of years and experimented a lot during that time:
- the speakers are not hard to drive and even 50w is enough. However, they do like a high damping factor. Are you sure it’s a lack of power with the amp or something else?
- these are very transparent speakers and will reward you for a good chain. A run of the mill power amp may not be an upgrade even If it has more power
- make sure the sub will totally match the speakers for music. this can be checked without changing equipment - by using the pre outs from the marantz to connect the sub

 

[RRR]

A run of the mill power amp may not be an upgrade even If it has more power

As rightly mentioned here, give it a Parasound or Bryston depending on your budget.
I have personally demoed these 2 power amps with PMC speakers.

 

[Rajeevkale]

There's No need to have RCA Out from Power Amplifiers to Connect your SVS Subwoofer. If your Subwoofer has High level inputs (aka speaker binding posts) you can connect your power amp speaker output to subwoofer directly (this is the best way to connect Subwoofer for Music)

Some Power amplifier like Parasound A21, A23 etc have Rca out for Connecting further to Subwoofer etc. You could alternatively look into that. You can otherwise customize the specifications for Power Amplifiers from Indian Manfacturer like Acoustic Portrait and Indiq Audio.

You should be looking for a Power Amplifier with at least 200wpc+ to get adequate power over your existing Integrated Amplifier.

Thanks for your detail replay please suggest best model for Power amp which will go well with my speakers and Marantz too

As rightly mentioned here, give it a Parasound or Bryston depending on your budget. I have personally demoed these 2 power amps with PMC speakers.

Do we have Bryston dealer in India ? please share the contact if you have
thanks regards
rajeev

A few points to consider from someone who has owned pmc 25.24 for a couple of years and experimented a lot during that time:
- the speakers are not hard to drive and even 50w is enough. However, they do like a high damping factor. Are you sure it’s a lack of power with the amp or something else?
- these are very transparent speakers and will reward you for a good chain. A run of the mill power amp may not be an upgrade even If it has more power
- make sure the sub will totally match the speakers for music. this can be checked without changing equipment - by using the pre outs from the marantz to connect the sub

hello
thanks for your response , I really don't know what else could be the reason , any suggestion on good power amp ?

 

[jai1611]

hello
thanks for your response , I really don't know what else could be the reason , any suggestion on good power amp ?

If the bass is a little lose, experiment with placement. If that doesn't help, a different amp may solve it. Look for something with high damping factor. I had good luck with a vintage quad 606, PeeCeeBee and nuprime. The class d option particularly helps with the bass.

If the issue is about presentation, a different amp rather than a more powerful one may work better. Maybe borrow one from someone local to try out

 

[jai1611]

If the bass is a little lose, experiment with placement. If that doesn't help, a different amp may solve it. Look for something with high damping factor. I had good luck with a vintage quad 606, PeeCeeBee and nuprime. The class d option particularly helps with the bass.

If the issue is about presentation, a different amp rather than a more powerful one may work better. Maybe borrow one from someone local to try out

Adding to this - some higher end amps I’ve tried with the PMCs are an Accuphase e450, Einstein Hybrid and Octave v40se tube amp. All of these were better than any of the power amps listed above for the PMCs. The Accuphase is more powerful as well.

 

[CryptBala]

hifimart had a pretty good deal on the audiolab power amplifier do check if they are still available

 

[Rajeevkale]

Adding to this - some higher end amps I’ve tried with the PMCs are an Accuphase e450, Einstein Hybrid and Octave v40se tube amp. All of these were better than any of the power amps listed above for the PMCs. The Accuphase is more powerful as well.

Thanks for this advise any idea where can I source Octave V 40SE amp
Any views on Naim Unity Nova all in one audio
Thanks regards
Rajeev

 

[Rajeevkale]

Rivera International
397-A 1B Mangaldas House, Naaz Cinema Compound, Lamington, Mumbai, 400004, India
Ph: +022 23800555

Which model of Bryston amp will suite the PMC twenty 5 23 ?

 

[jai1611]

Thanks for this advise any idea where can I source Octave V 40SE amp
Any views on Naim Unity Nova all in one audio
Thanks regards
Rajeev

Octave available here: https://hifimart.com/product/octave-v-40-se-integrated-amplifier-html/
Distributor is in Mumbai. Nexus AV. Can PM the contact details if you want.

No idea about the Naim Uniti Nova. There have been a lot of changes there after the Focal deal and I dont have any experience with the products that came after that.

 

[Rajeevkale]

Octave available here: https://hifimart.com/product/octave-v-40-se-integrated-amplifier-html/
Distributor is in Mumbai. Nexus AV. Can PM the contact details if you want.

No idea about the Naim Uniti Nova. There have been a lot of changes there after the Focal deal and I dont have any experience with the products that came after that.

Thank you please give me the contact details of Nexus AV

 

[jai1611]

Thank you please give me the contact details of Nexus AV

Sent

 

[RRR]

Which model of Bryston amp will suite the PMC twenty 5 23 ?

The Bryston 3B series should be good. If budget permits then the 4B series is better.
What is your budget for the power amp?

 

[Rajeevkale]

The Bryston 3B series should be good. If budget permits then the 4B series is better.
What is your budget for the power amp?

Around 2 lacs

 

[Ramanuj]

The Bryston is a great buy. Call Audio people in Chennai....they were clearing their stock sometime ago.

 

[vinothkumar]

Incase if you confirmed purchasing bryston power amp, make sure you check it with your pre amp and speakers, I was a bit unhappy with a bryston pre power when i took demo with dynaudio speakers.