Audio Need Amplification advise for Accusound OM-VII

bennysachdev

bennysachdev

Adept
Hey guys,

So I managed to get my dirty paws on a pair of Accusound OM VII omega speakers for my living room. If i'm not mistaken they need power for somewhere around 2 x 85w @ 8ohms impedance.

What I don't know is should I get a stereo amp for it or a power amp or an AVR. What will be the best way to drive them.

macbookpro -> Toslink -> AVR -> Banana connector cables -> Speakers
macbookpro -> Stereo to RCA cable -> Stereo Amp -> Banana connector cables -> Speakers

What AVR should I get. I also have a ps3 in the living room which would be nice to get it hooked up but not essential.

Thanks in advance guys.
 
@bennysachdev I am not familiar with the speakers you have mentioned. Also you have not mentioned your budget.

Generally unless you go for the really good ones, AVRs do not perform as well as stereo amps for music. So I would recommend a stereo set up unless you are intent on adding more speakers and going for a surround set up.
As for the source, I have the Macbook has a very good hp out, but still I would rather not use the stereo to RCA solution. Better get a DAC which can take an optical/USB input and hook that up to the amp with rca to rca stereo interconnects.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
if these speakers r warm sounding get a yamaha, if they r bright get a marantz / denon is fairly neutral. any low end ones starting from 15/20k should be great to switch between the ps3 / pc
 
bennysachdev said:
If i'm not mistaken they need power for somewhere around 2 x 85w @ 8ohms impedance.
Click to expand...
85W is the upper limit. If you are able to audition amps, you should be able to find many amps with a lower power (~30 to 40 W) that pair well with your speakers. It would be best to carry around your own speakers if you're able to audition.

bennysachdev said:
What I don't know is should I get a stereo amp for it or a power amp or an AVR. What will be the best way to drive them.
Click to expand...

Generally, stand-alone amps are preferred for music than AVRs, since AVRs tend to drive 2 channel music poorly.

Power amps are suitable when you can control tone (treble, bass, etc) from the source itself. Power amps can also sound poor if the source isn't at the red-book standard (2V RMS), which is why they're usually paired with a separate pre-amp which boosts the source. The pre-amp & power-amp combo can get very expensive.

For those just starting out, or with a lower budget, I would think an integrated (pre-amp + power amp in 1 package) amp is a much better option. I think you'll find Denon, NAD, Marantz, Rotel among the more well known international brands available in India; though availability varies from city to city.

I'd suggest having a look at the HiFiVision forums, since it has a lot more experienced folks to advice you on an amp.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

#iaudio , I do not think i'll be adding more speakers since the primary reason for getting the speakers is to listen to some good ol stereo music :) Your right about the part that I shouldn't be using the stereo out from the mbp. I was thinking either the usb out or the toslink out from the mbp should be good. Will my Fiio E17 be a decent dac + amp? I mean I will of course add another amp/avr to the chain after the fiio e17. Will it be ok if i don't use the amp too much from the Fiio to avoid double amping?
@Zoheb, I haven't heard the speakers yet so i'm not sure if they are warm or bright sounding :ashamed:

#gryphon , which amp and dac would you suggest. My budget is around 300-400USD. I'll be buying it from singapore locally so don't need to worry about the availability part. Most prolly i'd prefer to go for a used one since i'm not sure how many months i'll use it before I get bored and sell it off or move out from singapore. So it should either be a new entry level amp/avr or a used mid level amp/avr.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i think ull easily get a nad/ marantz amp combo in that price + save they come for 15-20k here go upto 30k 5004model i think is 16k marantz / or go for the nadbee combo which gannu also has. damn good amps both of em
 
You will probably fry that lil Fiio E17 before being able to hear anything coming out of speakers...after all those are meant to amplify headsets not speaker sets.
Cheapest amplifier you can get is Tripath based amp's with or without dedicated DAC in setup chain assuming source is either PC based or music players if speakers are efficient or listening room is compact ( ideal room size ~ 12 x12x10 or so ).It will give every entry level ( read 3-4 times costly ) amplifier serious kicking when paired with 90+dB speakers.

Non technical descriptions for :

Bright sounding AMP - Forward attacking sound with high freq's with audio hitting the eardrum like bullet biting silk , for some its harsh or lively.Noises like rat crawling over falling cat ( chuu chaa sounds ) can be found mostly in this type of AMP's when paired with bad speakers.
Warm sounding AMP -Smooth sounds mid ranges and low freq's with flexible ( matched treble and highs ).
Neutral sounding AMP - Everything that has bit part of above two.

Ofcourse speakers should be of fine quality to observe difference at start.

USB DAC - Musical Fidelity VDAC II is best for its price or Used Wadia /Arcam DAC's.
For AMP - Any Mid level Integrated AMP's will be best from NAD( considered warm ) or Creek Audio (Neutral or lil bright )

Use digital inputs.I see you got STX so you can bypass DAC by going in directly for AMP.
 
bennysachdev said:
Will my Fiio E17 be a decent dac + amp? I mean I will of course add another amp/avr to the chain after the fiio e17. Will it be ok if i don't use the amp too much from the Fiio to avoid double amping?
Click to expand...
I believe the E17 has received decent rating, both as DAC & HP amp.

If you're using the E17's headphone-out (HO) as input to an Amp/AVR, you'll be double amping, which is bad since each amplification stage will add some distortion to the original signal.

However if the E17 has a line-out (LO), you should be fine giving the LO to an amp/avr, since the LO should bypass the internal headphone amp.

By the way, the STX's too should be fine as a source as long as you're using its LO (The RCA output, and not the 6.5" HO).


bennysachdev said:
I'll be buying it from singapore locally so don't need to worry about the availability part. Most prolly i'd prefer to go for a used one since i'm not sure how many months i'll use it before I get bored and sell it off or move out from singapore. So it should either be a new entry level amp/avr or a used mid level amp/avr.
Click to expand...
There will no substitutions for auditioning amps personally. Unlike, say buying IEMs/HPs/SoundCards etc., when purchasing Speakers and Amplifiers, it is 'Standard Operating Procedure' to audition them, and move ahead only if you like the pairing with your equipment.

Ideally, I'd have suggested the Topping T20 amp; its pretty cheap (relative to most other amps) and has an uncoloured signature. It pairs well with speakers that have higher impedance (~6 to 8 Ohms) and high sensitivity (>86db/Watt). Since your speaker's sensitivity isn't known, I'm hesitant to recommend it.

I'd keep an eye out for the Marantz PM5004 & PM6004 and NAD 316BEE & 326BEE at entry level as these have decent reviews. Sorry, I can't make many recommendations since I have a limited exposure (Been happy with my TP20).
 
I would love to use the Xonar stx but can't since the desktop machine is in my bedroom and the setup will be in the living room. And there is no way I will be pulling such a long cable.

Also just to mention the speakers are full size towers and not bookshelves. Hence I doubt the Topping T20 will be able to drive them. How are the higher end Topping amps?

Auditioning is out of the question cuz I cannot carry the speakers around from one place to another. I'll end up spending 60$ on cab itself.
 
Back
Top