Powering My Ascends: Receiver/Separates Upgrade Thoughts

[Ad-Rok]

I have a quick question guys and gals:

I currently drive my Ascend 340SE mains and center, 170SE surrounds, and a Hsu VTF2-MkII Sub off a venerable and respectable Denon AVR-2801, and since I now have such a transparent and accurate speaker setup, I was wondering if replacing my receiver with one of the following options would make a significant difference in dynamics and sound quality:

1) An ever-popular Harman Kardon AVR-635 (= Medium WAF)
2) Three Outlaw M-200 Monoblocks for fronts driven by my Denon (=Medium/low WAF)
3) Used 5.1 Amp/Proc separates for under ~ $1000 total (=Medium WAF)
4) New 5.1 Amp/Proc separates like Odyssey, Anthem, Sherbourn or Outlaw (=Fairly Low WAF)
5) New/Used Bryston uber amp with new Pre/Pro (=VERY low WAF)

Thoughts? Could you guys make a sort of "sonic improvement" estimate on a scale from 1-10 for each of the above?

Though I'd love to pony up for a Bryston tank and similar Pre/Pro, I'm just thinking that could cause me to have to sleep next to the amp for the forseeable future if I went that route. ;-)

Advice much appreciated!

Best,
Adam

[bikeman]

I'd recommend you audition any financially significant amp "upgrade" before buying. How much of a difference folks hear varies widely. There's no question that the more ya spend, the more of a difference you'll hear.

David

[Ad-Rok]

I'd recommend you audition any financially significant amp "upgrade" before buying. How much of a difference folks hear varies widely. There's no question that the more ya spend, the more of a difference you'll hear.

David

Thanks David for your thoughts...yes I'd like to audition where possible.

Anyone else have more detailed input for me?

Thanks,
Adam

[Quinn]

With the Ascends being revealing/lacking coloration I think the better the front end the better the sound. At the Austin GTG we had an Onix H34 amp a top of the line Sherbourn reciever and we also got a chance to hook them up to an Audio Refinement Complete at another location. To me the improvement in sound was significant enough with the Audio Refinement stuff that I now own it. Now whether it is the extra(true) power or something else I believe all of us were in agreement that was the best sound of what we heard with the Ascends that weekend.

I know I'm not the only one on this board with a front end that costs multiples of our Ascend speakers. I really do think what you put into them is what you get out of them. If I recall correctly Dave F. is a fan of Rotel and Bryston when stepping above HK.

[BradJudy]

I'm strongly considering picking up an Emotiva LPA-1 and seeing what $600 buys for improving upon the sound from my H/K receiver. It's got more power capability and a heck of a bigger transformer.

The Boston Acoutsics 7 channel amp on Onecall would be a similar option for more cash (about $800 shipped), but it gets you a full 7 channels at 120W instead of 6 on the LPA-1.

The Outlaw 7125 is another attractive option, but is even more expensive ($1000).

I'm a big fan of my H/K receiver, so I definitely think the 635 option is a good one, especially if you can get a good price on one.

If I was buying now, depending on my exact needs, I would be looking at an H/K receiver, the Emo UL combo, Outlaw 970/7xxx combo or Sherwood Newcastle receiver. If I had cash to spare, I'd be looking at a Sherwood Newcastle separates (or an Outlaw 990 combo).

[Ad-Rok]

I'm strongly considering picking up an Emotiva LPA-1 and seeing what $600 buys for improving upon the sound from my H/K receiver. It's got more power capability and a heck of a bigger transformer.

The Boston Acoutsics 7 channel amp on Onecall would be a similar option for more cash (about $800 shipped), but it gets you a full 7 channels at 120W instead of 6 on the LPA-1.

The Outlaw 7125 is another attractive option, but is even more expensive ($1000).

I'm a big fan of my H/K receiver, so I definitely think the 635 option is a good one, especially if you can get a good price on one.

If I was buying now, depending on my exact needs, I would be looking at an H/K receiver, the Emo UL combo, Outlaw 970/7xxx combo or Sherwood Newcastle receiver. If I had cash to spare, I'd be looking at a Sherwood Newcastle separates (or an Outlaw 990 combo).

THANKS!

I've had several recommendations for the Emotiva UL combo, but I'm wondering why they didn't include balanced inputs on the amp (and outputs on that Pre/Pro) after all the work. Tempting though...I wonder how that amp stacks up against Outlaw's monoblocks?

-Adam

[bikeman]

I've had several recommendations for the Emotiva UL combo, but I'm wondering why they didn't include balanced inputs on the amp (and outputs on that Pre/Pro) after all the work.

I'm aware that for runs of >30ft, balanced can have advantages but what other reasons are there for balanced I/O?

Tempting though...I wonder how that amp stacks up against Outlaw's monoblocks?

When the UL's finally hit the market we'll see comparisons to just about everything. I think they've pre-sold a boat load of these units. Is there a firm release date yet?

David

[Jacob C]

I'm aware that for runs of >30ft, balanced can have advantages but what other reasons are there for balanced I/O?

Eliminate ground loops.

I've had several recommendations for the Emotiva UL combo, but I'm wondering why they didn't include balanced inputs on the amp (and outputs on that Pre/Pro) after all the work.

They are trying to put out a high quality product at a very low price. Unbalanced works well for most things and at that price I wont complain. I may pick one up if it ever comes out.

[BradJudy]

When the UL's finally hit the market we'll see comparisons to just about everything. I think they've pre-sold a boat load of these units. Is there a firm release date yet?

The amp is already shipping and it looks like the first batch of the combos has just started shipping. I'm not sure how long it will be until they are done shipping pre-orders.

[BradJudy]

As for balanced I/O, I haven't seen any of the cheaper ones that include it (Emotiva UL, Outlaw 970/7125, Boston Acoustics set at onecall, etc).