Looking for a ''new'' amp

[Viktor277]

I had for couple of years a Harman Kardon PM645, and as it aged it started to give me some problems and it doubles as a space heater even when i don't need one. Looking to buy something a bit more modern but with same power, as i'm sure most of us are familiar that harman loves to understate power figures for their amps (this pm645 with 40wpc sound like any yamaha with 120wpc from the same era). I'm also not sure should i keep my topping D30 as i saw some affordable integrated amps with dacs in them. my budget is up to 300$. So far i found these as fitting candidates:

Onkyo A5V-L (dac)
Harman Kardon HK 6550 and HK6350R
Adcom GCA150
Rotel RA 05
Aura Evolution VA 100 Mark 2
Thule LA 60 and LA100 (dacs)
AudioPro A7

Will any of these be a sound upgrade over a PM645?

[Heats with Nvidia]

None of those will be a massive improvement to your PM645, because you are already at a point of diminishing returns. Also the difference between 40W and 120W is much less than many people think, because our hearing is logarhithmic when it comes to volume. A good, analog amp is still a really good amp and will stay a good amp until it eventually breaks.

[Viktor277]

6 minutes ago, Heats with Nvidia said:

None of those will be a massive improvement to your PM645, because you are already at a point of diminishing returns. Also the difference between 40W and 120W is much less than many people think, because our hearing is logarhithmic when it comes to volume. A good, analog amp is still a really good amp and will stay a good amp until it eventually breaks.

Well, if it was working properly i wouldn't consider replacing it, but it started to cut sound when i turn it on for a couple of minutes and then it settles to normal, i brought it to several shops where they said it's a contact issue somewhere, they fixed it temporarily but it came back.

Edit: Thule LA100 seems like a very good amp, it was 2000 pounds in 1995?

[Heats with Nvidia]

1 hour ago, Viktor277 said:

Well, if it was working properly i wouldn't consider replacing it, but it started to cut sound when i turn it on for a couple of minutes and then it settles to normal, i brought it to several shops where they said it's a contact issue somewhere, they fixed it temporarily but it came back.

Edit: Thule LA100 seems like a very good amp, it was 2000 pounds in 1995?

I just wanted to say, don`t expect huge differences in sound and just choose whatever suits your needs the best.

Also as much as i love amps from the 80ies and 90ies, all of them will eventually break and since they are that old, most of them in the near future. I am very used to maintaining these old amps and have the experience and means to do so, but if you are just a user and need something reliable, something newer might be the better idea.

[Viktor277]

28 minutes ago, Heats with Nvidia said:

I just wanted to say, don`t expect huge differences in sound and just choose whatever suits your needs the best.

Also as much as i love amps from the 80ies and 90ies, all of them will eventually break and since they are that old, most of them in the near future. I am very used to maintaining these old amps and have the experience and means to do so, but if you are just a user and need something reliable, something newer might be the better idea.

I also prefer the way the older amps sound, mainly because i got older speakers from 90s, tried on couple of newer and older combos but harman stuck with me the longest. Too bad age is catching up with it. I tend to believe that the older gear is built better as well, all of the buttons and small nit pick items haven't been cheaped out on and still feel as day 1, i assume. Reason i'm going with newer this time is simply reliability, but at the same time i want to retain sound quality.

[Heats with Nvidia]

The newest amp, i have at the moment, is an Onkyo A-9010 and besides having digital inputs and a remote, its very similar to the older amps i have. When you use the analog inputs, it still has an all analog signal chain and internally its also very similar to most 80ies and 90ies amplifiers, because its still a discrete amplifier. Maybe one of those or another version of it might be for you. By the way, i currently use it on National Panasonic/ Technics SB-610 which are made in or around 1974 and with these it has enough power to be louder than i need it. And i regularly listen to music at fairly high volume.

[Psittac]

I would look into the different types of amps, Class A; B; A/B and D and understand the difference.  The class D is the modern type which is typically in all of the overblown numbered amp's.  I won't pretend to know the difference between them on a schematicish level, however I will say that I'm all Class A right now, both headphone and speakers.

 

I will ask.... what are you using this amp to drive?  I see with a quick google (bing lol I know I know) search that it is a 4 channel amp.  How many channels do you need?

 

I can recommend the crown power amplifiers, I have an XLi1500 powering my bookshelves but got it as overkill or rather "futureproof" incase it needs to drive a subwoofer or any tower I throw at it down the road lol.  Zeos effect in full swing lol.  Also I just realized I have never opened this thing up to see the glory inside.  I would look at the XLi800 since you already have a dac and it's still stupid overkill.

 

And since you are apparently north america I can HIGHLY recommend the Emotiva BasX A2m not only will it drive speakers with gusto but it will power litterally any non electro static headphone that I am aware of.  I am currently running the XLi and the Emotiva (A-100, same thing but older version) off of a dac and that's my entire chain.  You could run both speakers and headphones off the Emotiva, I just have an audio obsession and have grand plans for two listening areas down the road.

 

Here is how gorgeous the Emotiva is

 

 

[Viktor277]

15 hours ago, Psittac said:

I would look into the different types of amps, Class A; B; A/B and D and understand the difference.  The class D is the modern type which is typically in all of the overblown numbered amp's.  I won't pretend to know the difference between them on a schematicish level, however I will say that I'm all Class A right now, both headphone and speakers.

 

I will ask.... what are you using this amp to drive?  I see with a quick google (bing lol I know I know) search that it is a 4 channel amp.  How many channels do you need?

 

I can recommend the crown power amplifiers, I have an XLi1500 powering my bookshelves but got it as overkill or rather "futureproof" incase it needs to drive a subwoofer or any tower I throw at it down the road lol.  Zeos effect in full swing lol.  Also I just realized I have never opened this thing up to see the glory inside.  I would look at the XLi800 since you already have a dac and it's still stupid overkill.

 

And since you are apparently north america I can HIGHLY recommend the Emotiva BasX A2m not only will it drive speakers with gusto but it will power litterally any non electro static headphone that I am aware of.  I am currently running the XLi and the Emotiva (A-100, same thing but older version) off of a dac and that's my entire chain.  You could run both speakers and headphones off the Emotiva, I just have an audio obsession and have grand plans for two listening areas down the road.

 

Here is how gorgeous the Emotiva is

 

 

Looking great, i had a chance to listen to those dt880's a while ago and they're still fantastic. Tried going with headphones few months back but i prefer speakers more, i currently have jbl professional 8330 and 4408,first is 91db and latter 89db sensitivity, very easy to drive. im not looking for power amps atm as this is plenty for me and i dont listen them very loud frequently. Unfortunately im from eastern europe, where prices are either higher or lower depending on the brand, but i mainly prefer american brands (pm645 is made in japan). I'm strongly considering thule ia100, or any amp without any filters or knobs, heard very good things about ''direct'' amps, where all those filters and tone controls are removed in favor of better sound quality and shortening the path of the signal.

 

Edit: PM645 is a normal integrated amp, stereo, but can drive 2 pairs of speakers at the same time.