Good amp for classic CMB-170 pair in an office

[nwilcox]

I'm looking to put a pair of classic (not SE) CBM-170s to use in my office, which is about 16' x 12' x 10'. I would never listen beyond a low-moderate volume. The following three options seem sensible to me and range from $230 to $380 (giving a sense of my current thinking on price).

Emotiva BasX a-100
Parasound Zamp v.3
NAD C 319 BEE

I'll be grateful for comments, observations, warnings and/or other alternatives I should be considering. I think each of these should be plenty powerful enough, but if I'm wrong please say so!

Thanks for your attention and your two cents.

[curtis]

Any one of those would be more than fine.

Get the least expensive, and then call Ascend on the cost of upgrading the speaker to the SE version.

[nwilcox]

Thanks curtis. Took your advice several years ago on another matter and have not been disappointed. And it's interesting that that the 170s may be upgradeable.

I noticed you say "more than fine"... I'm certainly willing to be persuaded that I could part with fewer dead presidents and be equally happy... :)

[kyzersoze98]

I was using emotiva mini xa-100 with Sierra 2's for awhile (desktop setup) with zero issues.

[monkuboy]

I am using the BasX A-100 as a headphone amp and think that should do very well with the 170's also. It's probably the lowest price of the 3 you listed and it is a very solidly built amp. No need to spend any more, plus it has an excellent headphone section, too.

[nwilcox]

Thanks kyzersoze98 and monkuboy, confidence increasing for the a-100.

[sludgeogre]

One more owner of the mini-x a-100 here, I use it with my old speakers in a different setup now, but it powers those crappy Klipsch R-15M's to high levels with surprising dynamics and detail. It's probably one of the best values in audio electronics for what it can do. It's not the last word in detail for sure, the XPA series takes the cake there without a doubt, but for the price, it's incredible.

[nwilcox]

My thanks to all who offered their opinions. I ordered the Emotiva BasX a-100 on the strength of your shared recommendations. Best to all!

[sludgeogre]

My thanks to all who offered their opinions. I ordered the Emotiva BasX a-100 on the strength of your shared recommendations. Best to all!

That is awesome. Please report back with your impressions! Try it out with headphones as well if you have any, it is a stellar headphone amp as well. A guy at head-fi originally modified the first model of the a-100 to have that headphone output and it was very well received by the community, so Emotiva decided to make it standard in the new version. I love that they did that, they are one of the coolest companys out there, along with Ascend and Schiit Audio.

[nwilcox]

I've listened to the Emotiva BasX a-100 powering the classic CBM-170s for about five hours. I've been running cd quality wav files through a Schiit Modi 2 to the amp. The amp seems very, very good to my ears--virtually unnoticeable. Thank you all for your encouragement--I'm very happy with this buy.

[sludgeogre]

I've listened to the Emotiva BasX a-100 powering the classic CBM-170s for about five hours. I've been running cd quality wav files through a Schiit Modi 2 to the amp. The amp seems very, very good to my ears--virtually unnoticeable. Thank you all for your encouragement--I'm very happy with this buy.

That is great news =) That whole chain represents some of the greatest value you can find in home audio. The fact that Schiit was able to do that much with such a tiny DAC is unreal, and the quality of power the A-100 provides is pretty staggering for 200 bucks, sounds better than anything I've heard under 500 bucks honestly, and some costing much more than that. Well done, and enjoy =)

[kingcrowing]

Kind of off topic, but I'll be getting a new office in about a year and was thinking of getting some speakers, possible Sierra Sats. I've got a desktop with tons of digital music, and was wondering if there was some kind of small amp that would take USB input and act as a DAC and power speakers?

So go: Desktop > USB > *SOME AMP* > Sierra Sats

Does that exist affordably? I see the OP has a separate DAC and Amp, but is there a single unit that can do that?

Edit: Looks like Emotiva makes one for $399 that also has a phono stage. Should have looked a little deeper before I asked!

[sludgeogre]

Kind of off topic, but I'll be getting a new office in about a year and was thinking of getting some speakers, possible Sierra Sats. I've got a desktop with tons of digital music, and was wondering if there was some kind of small amp that would take USB input and act as a DAC and power speakers?

So go: Desktop > USB > *SOME AMP* > Sierra Sats

Does that exist affordably? I see the OP has a separate DAC and Amp, but is there a single unit that can do that?

Edit: Looks like Emotiva makes one for $399 that also has a phono stage. Should have looked a little deeper before I asked!

Emotiva as you said is killer for that, but I would probably buy the amp only version and get a Schiit Modi Multibit for a DAC, but if you want one solution that's totally cool. There's also Peachtree, NAD, and Parasound that make some pretty great integrated stuff, but I prefer Emotiva from a price/performance perspective.

[crazycuz2k]

Another all in one option would be a sprout. Have heard great things about this little unit from the guys at PS Audio

[curtis]

Not the same quality of the others mentioned, but I have actually connected a pair of Sierra-1's to one of these with good results.

https://www.amazon.com/Topping-TP30-Digital-Amplifier-USB-DAC/dp/B005D7SKWK

[nwilcox]

I'm very pleased with the Schitt modi > Emotiva BasX a-100 combo I went with.

[tknice]

That is great news =) That whole chain represents some of the greatest value you can find in home audio. The fact that Schiit was able to do that much with such a tiny DAC is unreal, and the quality of power the A-100 provides is pretty staggering for 200 bucks, sounds better than anything I've heard under 500 bucks honestly, and some costing much more than that. Well done, and enjoy =)
My desktop system currently looks like iPhone Spotify > Chromecast Audio > A-100 > Lunas and it sounds pretty damn good to me with spotify dynamic range enabled. Oh, I'm connecting the CCA with a 3.5mm to RCA with a nice cable.

Do you guys think it would be beneficial getting a schiit modi2 so I can go optical from the CCA to the modi2 and do the DAC there?

[curtis]

My desktop system currently looks like iPhone Spotify > Chromecast Audio > A-100 > Lunas and it sounds pretty damn good to me with spotify dynamic range enabled. Oh, I'm connecting the CCA with a 3.5mm to RCA with a nice cable.

Do you guys think it would be beneficial getting a schiit modi2 so I can go optical from the CCA to the modi2 and do the DAC there?What does "spotify dynamic range" do? It is not a limiter is it?

IMO, a digital connection to modi2 would be better, but I will defer to someone that knows that gear better better than myself. I also suggest giving Apple Music a try. I have been comparing it to Tidal, and I am liking it better. Also, instead of using your iPhone as the source, and I am assuming your desktop has a PC or Mac, go straight from the PC/Mac, to a Modi 2.

[tknice]

What does "spotify dynamic range" do? It is not a limiter is it?

IMO, a digital connection to modi2 would be better, but I will defer to someone that knows that gear better better than myself. I also suggest giving Apple Music a try. I have been comparing it to Tidal, and I am liking it better. Also, instead of using your iPhone as the source, and I am assuming your desktop has a PC or Mac, go straight from the PC/Mac, to a Modi 2.

Thanks Curtis. No, by default, and unless you are using an optical cable, the CCA turns off full dynamic range to make low quality speakers sound better. Using a miniplug, you need to go into the settings in the CCA home app and enable it.

I really want to keep using my phone because it's very convenient to change songs while walking around my office area--or to pause when I get a call. Another potential issue is that my PC is new but only has the el cheapo integrated mobo sound. Are you saying I'd plug the Modi2 directly into the PC via USB as another option?

Just trying to decide if a modi2 for $99 is worth changing to an optical cable and however much better its DAC would be.

Thanks!

[sludgeogre]

The Modi 2 Multibit is stupidly good, about 95% of the performance of the Bifrost. Closed form solutions to the signal stream are a big deal to me. DS DACs are a guessing game, Schiit's filter is an exact replication of the incoming stream.

I agree with Curtis to use Optical over USB when possible. There's just too many things that go wrong with USB. I have always preferred the sound of an optical transport.

Pull the trigger on Modi Multibit. You'll be glad you did.

[curtis]

Are you saying I'd plug the Modi2 directly into the PC via USB as another option?






I agree with Curtis to use Optical over USB when possible. There's just too many things that go wrong with USB. I have always preferred the sound of an optical transport.

But I think I would go with the Modi 2 USB connection to a PC before the headphone jack of the iPhone.

[tknice]

But I think I would go with the Modi 2 USB connection to a PC before the headphone jack of the iPhone.

How about optical out of the chromecast audio to the Modi 2? That's what I'd be doing. The iphone connects to the chromecast via wifi just to control it.

I like the idea of being able to switch between the computer and the chromecast audio as a source.

Edit: Oh I see now.. I'm looking at the Modi 2 Uber which is a little more--$149.

[curtis]

How about optical out of the chromecast audio to the Modi 2? That's what I'd be doing. The iphone connects to the chromecast via wifi just to control it.I am just skeptical of the quality/bitrate that is being sent to the Chromecast. I'm not thinking about the convenience factor, just sound quality, but I totally understand where you are coming from.

[sludgeogre]

How about optical out of the chromecast audio to the Modi 2? That's what I'd be doing. The iphone connects to the chromecast via wifi just to control it.

I like the idea of being able to switch between the computer and the chromecast audio as a source.

Edit: Oh I see now.. I'm looking at the Modi 2 Uber which is a little more--$149.

I think this is your best bet. As Curtis said, it might not be the highest bitrate, but it'll still be better than using the Chromecast DAC.

[scape]

I'm looking to put a pair of classic (not SE) CBM-170s to use in my office, which is about 16' x 12' x 10'. I would never listen beyond a low-moderate volume...


How far away are you sitting from the speakers? I'd say moderate volume is probably less than 75db. You'd likely need less than 10watts/ch to make that. Anyways, I think you can probably get away with less expensive amplifiers.