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Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

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Henrius

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Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostMon Dec 07, 2020 8:59 pm

I have got a simple system with two unpowered front speakers and a powered subwoofer.

Had been using an Alesis rack mount stereo amp for years but now it is not working. Probably would cost more to repair than buying a new one. I notice Alesis no longer makes its Professional Reference series rack amps. I liked these as they were noiseless with no cooling fans

Any suggestions for a replacement amp? They range greatly in price- a brand named Rockville is very inexpensive. There are plenty so-called "DJ" amps. Don't know what special features I need for a virtual pipe organ. I notice many new amps use a different input connector than 1/4" jack, and I would have to buy adaptors or new cables.

Just need it for practice in a small room when I don't want to use headphones. It would be nice if it had a headphone jack so I did not have to plug the headphones into the I-Mac.

Plenty of amps at good prices on E-Bay, and I would not be adverse to buying a good used one if I knew what to look for.
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mnailor

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostMon Dec 07, 2020 10:12 pm

You'll need the RMS watts per channel of the 2 channel power amp you're replacing at your speakers' impedance, normally 4 or 8 ohms. Those would be needed for anyone to make a suggestion. Like you said, lots of products to narrow down.

Home audio power amps usually need 1/4" to unbalanced RCA adapters. Those are easy to find at zzounds, sweetwater, musiciansfriend, or the last Radio Shack on the planet if you know where it is.
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Henrius

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 08, 2020 7:07 pm

mnailor wrote:You'll need the RMS watts per channel of the 2 channel power amp you're replacing at your speakers' impedance, normally 4 or 8 ohms. Those would be needed for anyone to make a suggestion. Like you said, lots of products to narrow down.

Home audio power amps usually need 1/4" to unbalanced RCA adapters. Those are easy to find at zzounds, sweetwater, musiciansfriend, or the last Radio Shack on the planet if you know where it is.


Well, the power thing is easy. I am replacing an amp with 150 watts per channel, although I never really used all the power. Better too much than too little. All I know is I want 1/4" signal inputs, and many new amps have a different configuration. I DON'T want a unit with the background noise of a cooling fan.

Didn't know if any other specs were important for a virtual organ rig. Hey, like me, you live in Atlanta. Anywhere here have good used amps? I need one soon to play Christmas music.
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mnailor

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 08, 2020 7:11 pm

Sorry, I use powered speakers so I don't know. The reason I asked about wattage and whether 4 or 8 ohms is so somebody else could suggest brands and models for you.
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larason2

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 08, 2020 7:54 pm

I was considering the Samson Servo 200. They have some in stock at my local music store. Not sure whether it has a fan or not though. I was also looking into getting a Pyle unit. They have a lot of very inexpensive power amplifiers. However all the reviews I read said they heat up far too much. If you have some tech skills, you could buy an amplifier board from a company like parts express, and make your own case with a power supply, and wire the inputs and outputs to your liking. More work, but for the quality it would be the cheapest way to go.
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Henrius

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 08, 2020 8:01 pm

larason2 wrote:I was considering the Samson Servo 200. They have some in stock at my local music store. Not sure whether it has a fan or not though. I was also looking into getting a Pyle unit. They have a lot of very inexpensive power amplifiers. However all the reviews I read said they heat up far too much. If you have some tech skills, you could buy an amplifier board from a company like parts express, and make your own case with a power supply, and wire the inputs and outputs to your liking. More work, but for the quality it would be the cheapest way to go.


Believe it or not, some used Alesis AR300 amps like I have sell for more than some of the cheap new amps! Is there a difference in quality between different brands?

Money is not such an issue that I want to fabricate my own amp. Trying to stay $300 or under. Wish I had some electronic test equipment, and I could probably troubleshoot what it wrong with my broken Alesis.
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larason2

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 08, 2020 10:21 pm

Pyle doesn’t have a great reputation for quality, but it may be all you need, especially if you’re not going to drive it too hard. If you have a bit more budget, it makes sense to spend a bit more, but my experience is there isn’t much in the price gap between the Pyle like units, and something like the Samson. The Samson has the advantage of better cooling and circuit protection, which is what gives an amp longevity. I’m not familiar with a lot of amp brands, but if you buy a used Alesis, you might run into the problems you are currently having.
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engrssc

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

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jkinkennon

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostWed Dec 09, 2020 10:08 am

I would second Ed's suggestion to consider one of the Crown XLS series amps. They are solid, reliable amplifiers that may have a quiet fan as my XLS 2500 does. I've never heard the fan though I am very aware of PC fan noise. These new class D amps are not the heavy boat anchors that we may remember.

There's no reason to match amplifier power to speakers except to ensure there is sufficient power to avoid distortion. One hundred watts RMS is about the minimum power I would consider. The one downside of too much power is that speaker hiss might become audible.
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1961TC4ME

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Re: Need a New Amplifier- Suggestions?

PostTue Dec 15, 2020 4:56 pm

I'm using a couple of these in my set-up. For your purposes this should be more than adequate. 100 watts per channel x 2, easy to hook up, headphone jack, plus the bonus of the radio and Bluetooth. You can listen that certain organ music before practicing it by connecting via your phone to Bluetooth on the amp, I do that quite often. And, you don't break the bank either.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-2-0-c ... Id=6187501

Marc

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