# 3 channel amp on budget



## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1248452509
Parasound 140W X 3 $300

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1248375115&/Carver-Multi-Channel-Amp-AV-806x
Carver 135W X 6 or 385 X 3 $650

http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm
Emotiva 200W X 3 $600

http://www.hificlassifieds.com/index/listings/page2132.htm
Acurus 200W X 3 $475

I want to get a 3 channel amp to assist with a 7 channel HT. The front three channels that need power consist of rocket bigfoot, and a pair of 450's. Right now, they are being powered by an onkyo 805 receiver. The receiver will continue to power 4 inwalls, but I'd like to take the front load off of the receiver and into the hands of something separate. 

I don't have alot of money for this, and still am working on room treatment. I put a few examples of amps that are within my budget at the top of this post, but looking for advice and other solutions as well. Room is 1000 sq feet. Only used for multi-channel. 

Thoughts?


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## cburbs (Mar 27, 2007)

Other suggestions would be a used Parasound, Acurus.


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

cburbs said:


> Other suggestions would be a used Parasound, Acurus.


I've got a used parasound up there, and just added an acurus. Is the Parasound "enough" to power the front three rockets? Will it be better than the onkyo 805? Will the emotiva or acurus be far superior to the parasound?

Should I not cheap out on this and up the budget?


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## cburbs (Mar 27, 2007)

I don't think you are cheaping out with what you are looking at. I would almost suggest thinking of going with the Emotiva with the 30 day return policy. 

Do you have any friends that have anything that they might lend to you for a weekend to see if you notice a difference?


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

cburbs said:


> I don't think you are cheaping out with what you are looking at. I would almost suggest thinking of going with the Emotiva with the 30 day return policy.
> 
> Do you have any friends that have anything that they might lend to you for a weekend to see if you notice a difference?


No one I know has a 3 channel amp. I sold all my old 2-channel amps. I could get my hands on a 2 channel amp to check out, but not a 3. No friends really...


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## etcarroll (Mar 17, 2008)

I added the Acurus for my front stage, RS1Ks and Bigfoot, all classics.

After adding the amp I had to get the Ninja Master kit for the BigFoot as it really brought out the harshness in some ways. Now have the same kits waiting on my workbench for the RS1Ks.

Still running sides and SB with the Pio AVR.

The amp doesn't make a huge difference, more a minor change that grows on you, especially in passages requiring more headroom.


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

etcarroll said:


> I added the Acurus for my front stage, RS1Ks and Bigfoot, all classics.
> 
> After adding the amp I had to get the Ninja Master kit for the BigFoot as it really brought out the harshness in some ways. Now have the same kits waiting on my workbench for the RS1Ks.
> 
> ...


Worthy addition? Or better off spending money elsewhere in your situation?


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## mktheater (May 1, 2007)

I will recommend a used Ada PTM-6150 or just buy 2 behringer ep-2500's. The behringers will have more power than most commercial amps and they work great. Fan noise is there only negative. They are beast and power all my speakers and subs. I used to own McIntosh and Ada amps as well as many different well known multichannel amps.


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## etcarroll (Mar 17, 2008)

Jethro said:


> Worthy addition? Or better off spending money elsewhere in your situation?


At $440, it was a worthy addition for me.


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## Putz (Jan 28, 2009)

I recently added my old SAE 2400L power amp to my system. It is powering Rocket 850s. I am using a Yamaha 1800 for the rest of my speakers. It is rated at 130 watts X 7 channels. The SAE puts out 200 wpc X 2. The Rockets do sound a little better.

When I looked at the Yamaha 1800 specs, they do not quote any wpc except for the 130 X 7. Do the newer AVRs still provide more power when they are reduced from 7 channels to 5 (in my case)? Maybe its just Yamaha, but a lot of manufacturers quote higher wattage numbers when they are powering less channels.

For example, here are the Emotiva numbers:
8 ohm rating:
3 channels - 8 ohm = 200 watts per channel
2 channels - 8 ohm = 250 watts per channel
1 channels - 8 ohm = 300 watts per channel


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## dvenardos (Sep 27, 2008)

dwayland has xpa-3 on sale for $510 shipped:
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1310


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

I can get the parasound for $322 shipped. Tough choice for me. I can save a couple hundred and get this, or spend a bit more on something new with a warranty. Money is definitely tight right now however... and I just bought a new weed wacker and computer today. :no clue: I'll let the wife decide when she gets home I suppose.


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## cburbs (Mar 27, 2007)

JEthro,

Did you see Dwayland has a XPA3 for $475 - warranty is transferrable....:thumbsup:


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## dvenardos (Sep 27, 2008)

What did you decide?


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

dvenardos said:


> What did you decide?



I bought a bunch of room treatments instead. See here ;;
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=659&page=6

I'm going to install these and then make a decision on an amplifier once the room is treated. Its a tough decision for me believe it or not. Almost every decision I've made has been easy with HT stuff so far... I don't get why this one is giving me problems. O I bought this rack too... cheapest one of quality I could find. http://www.racksandstands.com/StudioTech-PA-4-BA-B-SO1150.html Its going to be out of sight... 

So.... lets just say I have avoided the amp and am going to revisit it next week. I definitely want a 3-channel amp and it needs to be a bang for my buck. I'm leaning towards the emotiva xp-3. But theres something that keeps telling me that a parasound, adcom, nad, rotel, insert other mid-fi amp will somehow sound better... Then something else tells me that they are all going to sound the same.... and to buy the one with the most power for the cheapest because I won't know the difference. I guess power and reliability are what is important to me. I need to power pretty much anything with this... because its more than likely I'll be switching speakers out and stuff. 
So... still looking for a 3-channel amp


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

cburbs said:


> JEthro,
> 
> Did you see Dwayland has a XPA3 for $475 - warranty is transferrable....:thumbsup:


Thats a steal... I see it has sold


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## Maximum kahuna (Mar 5, 2008)

I'd keep checking the forums for a used XPA-3. I went from a Yamaha to a LPA-1 then sold the LPA-1 to get an XPA-3 for my fronts (550's and a Littlefoot) using the Yammy to power the rears. As much as I loved the sound of my LPA-1, the extra punch up front has made a difference and two-channel music really sings now. Many folks tried XPA-3 and are upgrading to XPA-5's or 5's and 2's. The XPA-3 sounds great and the warranty is transferable.


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## mannoiaj (Jun 23, 2009)

Maximum kahuna said:


> I'd keep checking the forums for a used XPA-3. I went from a Yamaha to a LPA-1 then sold the LPA-1 to get an XPA-3 for my fronts (550's and a Littlefoot) using the Yammy to power the rears. As much as I loved the sound of my LPA-1, the extra punch up front has made a difference and two-channel music really sings now. Many folks tried XPA-3 and are upgrading to XPA-5's or 5's and 2's. The XPA-3 sounds great and the warranty is transferable.


I'd definitely be looking for a 5 or 7 channel amp but 4 of my 7 channel setup are in walls/ ceilings. The receiver is fine for them.


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