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This Month's Featured Equipment Reviews |
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Power Amplifier Forum Topics: |
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Classic Power Amplifier Reviews |
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Past Power Amplifier News |
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Home Theater Power Amplifiers
Categories in section: Home Theater Power Amplifiers
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Friday, 02 October 2009
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Written by
Todd Whitesel
It was 1976, I was 9 years old and having my first experience with “high-end” audio gear. My dad had just brought home a stereo system for our living room, including a receiver, cassette deck, turntable and speakers. The heart of it all was a Marantz Model 2235 Receiver. By audiophile standards, the 2235 was modest, but it still carried a hefty price tag of $450 – roughly equivalent to $1,700 in 2009. At 35 watts per channel, the 2235 wasn't going to shake our house, but it was the source of much enjoyable listening in a living room that really became the “entertainment” room. More than anything the receiver just looked cool. I loved how the blue light illuminated the front panel and how you could tune in radio stations with the Gyro Tuning Wheel – the wheel that ...
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Monday, 09 March 2009
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Written by
Robert Mead
The importance of having the absolutely correct amplifier that sends the proper amount of power to your audio systems’ loudspeakers cannot be understated. And especially if your system at home features high-end speakers such as Paradigm monitors or a set of Anthony Gallo Acoustics Reference speakers, you should make sure that you purchase the right type of power amplifier to drive your loudspeakers to their peak levels, while never causing distortion in the process; which brings me to the McIntosh MC252 Power Amplifier. This power amp weighs around 95 pounds, stands about 10 inches tall and delivers a powerful 250 watts per channel.The sleek design of this power amp will fit right at home alongside your main audio rack components and the McIntosh blue light emanating from the power output displays on either side of the amp distinguishes this product ...
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Wednesday, 18 February 2009
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Written by
Robert Mead
As World War II was just ending, Frank McIntosh was starting up an audio company that would emerge as the benchmark audio manufacturer setting the bar for high-end audio components over the next 70 years. The performance level of Frank’s audio components was at such a high standard, even from its initial start-up, that television stations all over America sought out his mono tube power amplifier called the 50W-1 to be fully integrated into their television production facilities starting in 1949. The technology that powers that amp, the Unity Coupled Circuit, is still being used today. The McIntosh line of high-end audio components only achieved further greatness when they started branching out into the consumer field in 1967 when their engineers designed their first solid-state product, the C24 preamplifier, which the early audiophiles of the 1960’s cleaned out their bank ...
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Monday, 01 December 2008
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Written by
Brian Kahn
Introduction
When I first heard that the MM8003, the companion piece to Marantz’s new audio/video processor, the recently reviewed AV8003, was going to be a 8 channel amplifier I thought it was kind of strange. Now that it is here I see that the 8 channel idea was well thought out. A 8 channel amplifier can power an entire 7.1 system with a passive amplifier such as those found in many in-wall systems; four separate stereo systems; a 5.1 system with the left, center and right speakers bi-amped or the mostly likely use, powering a 5.1 system in one zone and a stereo system in another zone.
Each of the MM8003’s 8 channels is rated at 140 watts with less than .08 percent total harmonic distortion with a signal to noise ratio of 105dB. The power supply providing the juice for ...
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Friday, 01 August 2008
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Written by
Brian Kahn
Introduction
Halcro amplifiers have built themselves quite an impressive reputation in the last few years. I remember first hearing Halcro at a 2003 CES DTS exhibit. The exhibit had the gorgeous huge H-shaped monoblocks placed next to each speaker. Shortly thereafter, several other audio magazines reviewed the various available Halcro amplifiers with much praise; one even called a Halcro amplifier “the best amplifier ever.” Recently, I have had the opportunity to review home theater components from Halcro’s lower-priced and more attainable Logic series. As one can imagine, I was quite excited when Halcro offered me a chance to review their DM38, a stereo amplifier from their Reference series. I was anxious to see if Halcro could transfer the sonic qualities from their reference monoblocks to the DM38, which at $20,000 is the least expensive amplifier in their Reference line, and whether ...
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