Kuja

Avi and Deromax,

Thanks!

I will try Yamaha P3500s and P5000s.

Some comparison with Crown XLS 1500:
http://www.talkbass....urprise-723833/

Thanks a lot! You made many things much clearer!

I think I should try a Yamaha P amp.

Do you have any idea how would it compare sound-wise to your (since you mentioned it)  Brystons?

I'm not into movie sound effects, the amp will be used only for (refined ) music listening.

What PSU type should I choose for home use?
Switching or classic (toroid), or in Yamaha's case it doesn't matter?

Thanks Deromax!

Your experience is invaluable!

Unfortunately there are no Crown Ks here.

Did you listen to Yamaha P series amps?

How do they sound?

My speakers are wee bit on coldish side of neutral, so I would like to avoid some further sound "cooling".


Lower powered Yamaha Ps have "classic" PSUs with toroid transformers, while higher powered models have switching power supplies.


Are their switching power supplies OK for home use?


It is said that some switching power supplies can inject some nasty(?) interferences through power lines into other hi-fi components in the rack.

I have no first hand experience with this and there is a lot of hearsay on the Internet regarding this subject.

I guess if a special care is given to switching power supply design
this bad influence can be avoided,
but since Yamahas are pro gear maybe this problem was not high on the designers' list...




Also,
the specs say that the input sensitivity  for higher povered model is +6dBu  and for lower powered model is +4dBu:
http://www.yamahapro...cifications.jsp

What does it mean?
Which amp needs higher voltage from the preamp (stronger preamp output)?

I also have a Mackie 402-vlz3 mixer that can be used for the preamp duties
http://www.mackie.co...oducts/402vlz3/

but I would like to try to use some "proper" hi-fi preamp too.


Thank you all for your patience with the newbie!

Avi,

Thanks a lot for your patience and help!

These are my speakers:

http://audio-databas...er/ar-90-e.html



They are closed boxes.
Four way, with dual woofers in a large enclosure which is tightly stuffed with damping material.
Nominal impedance is 4 ohms but it can drop to 3.2 ohms.
Sensitivity is 87dB.

Vintage big ARs were always notorious for their big power requirements.

The manual says that minimum 50W per channel is needed, I tried them with 160w and it was kind of OK-ish.
People that are using them say that they only really start to sing with amplifiers having 200W and more.
Their maximum power handling is 300W.

QSC RMX 1450 can output 400w pear channel at 4 ohms... Maybe it is enough?



Here are some links to local shops with some other options that are available in my country,
the pages are not in English, but amp models and descriptions are :

http://www.mitrosmus...269;i---SnagaĻi

http://www.player.rs...gory.php?ID=226

http://www.player.rs...PageNo=2&ID=226

http://www.skymusic.....html?limit=all

What do you think about QSC RMX series amps?

http://www.qscaudio....mps/rmx/rmx.htm

Lower powered models are class AB, higher powered models are class H.

Conservative audiophile in me says that I should go for class AB design... Is he wrong?

What will sound better in my home?