Pro Audio PA Amps - Bargains to Be Had?

pre

i quite like the cyrus pre used one for quite a while ....very well made. I think the MC2 has a very clean top end ....it just hasn't got the "air" around some of the recordings if that makes sense. Keep me posted if you try it

 

Hi Shrink,
Soundwise the MC's are neutral in every sense.
They beat the crap out of every amp I've ever owned(all driving big Tannoys over the years)which include Chord, MF F series, Naim 250, NVA, Exposure, big Rotels, Crest audio, BGW's the lot.
Listener666 has it down right with respect to the 'sparkle' or 'air' but everyone knows 'air' to be a rising hf response-if needbe, though why bother you can easily add that hifi colouration if you wishThey also possess incredible grip and control with a subteranian bass.Mids are lucid and clear the top end is flat-honest, how it should be.
Imaging, depth-all there with no exaggeration.
I've described these amps as plug and forget, you'll never need another amp ever.I've used them with Tannoy 215's monitors,ATC 300's and now with Westlake TM1's all with excellent results.
They are fully balanced in operation.
There are bargains to be had but even at full price they represent incredible value for money.
Oh and I'm not connected to them in any way tho' the number of converts I've made should be worth a free service at least;-)

 

I have few MC2 amps: T1000, E25, E4-750, T4-250 and the MC1250. They are used for PA, studio and home as well. I changed from an Audio Note Kageki and an EAR-Yoshino 834T to the MC2. Can not be happier.

I have a friend as well, who is using an MC1250 with a ProAc D80 (changed from Accuphase A-50). He can not be happier too.

Be really brave.

Get some PA speakers as well. I changed form an Avantgarde Trio to Danley SH 50 and 100B. Fantastic speakers even in my roughly 40 sqm room. Get a pro cable from Evidence Audio and a pro mastering D/A like the Mytek Digital or a TCElectronic Konnekt. For not too much peso you can have a system where you will forget about all the words invented by the hifi press. If you need to compare, you can compare it to any 100k system, I had Audio Note Kageki, Accuphase Dp-100/Dc101 and the Trio, some bloody expensive cables, so I have some experience how to downgrade

If you have a system like mine, the home music reproduction is as much about lifelike illusion as much as it can get. Any music, any volume, any time

Friendly music loving neighbours are really important.

 

certainly sounds interesting, cyrus pre and my cd player into one of these MC amps, could be a simple combination that will work well.

could hide the amp and just have the two pretty cyrus boxes and my turntable on show to the world.

 

Good stuff. Finally a thread I can relate too. You have a decent sized room to run it in (by UK standards anyway).

People should be getting creative and trying weird pro audio combinations like Nexo PS10 + LS500 or even Meyer UPM-1P + UMS-1P.

The PA rigs I have been seeing lately do image and have a "top-end". Who gives a frig if they have to use DSP "tricks" to get the stuff to work. Domestic Hifi would be so much better if manufacturers embraced what has been happening in the pro market in the last 10-15 years.

 

yep

yep ........agreed!
But i think what you will find over the next 5 years is lots of class D amps in various forms stuffed into very high quality cases with a massive amount of hype and bullshit. Its cheap...................and hifi shops don't have to train staff into using words like "room nodes" etc. In my experience peeps involved in recording /pa etc blow the socks of ( most but not all) domestic hifi salesmen regarding technical knowledge.

 

The Danley speakers not your ordinary PA speakers, they are in different league. It takes some time for the pros to understand its sound in a real PA situation as it does not have a distortion like usual. They want more juice for some 15-20 minutes, until realize, there is something speacial really there.

The Danley subs are real deal as well. They have extreme power in an extremely small box. Once I tried the SH 50/ TH 112 sub in my room, using a DEQX as an active crossover and an MC1250 with an E25. It was really out of this world. My wife did not tolerate black boxes in the room for more than a day unfortunately, but you cannot imagine how some Mahler and Wagner classical music sounded or Scott Hamilton"s In Concert jazz live recording sounded. The Doors LA Woman, the Deep Purple Made in Japan, ELP's Pictures of an Exhibition were really, really amazing, even on a late night volume. But if you pushed it on an almost live event level it was kind of sexual... if you know what I mean.

There is one important thing, if you wan to try PA o pro studio speakers. The speaker stand. it is very difficult to find something for a home application. I was using Ikea tables until I found the Towersonic pro studio speaker stands. Some of them can handle 200 kgs easily, so you can put those heavy PA speakers on the top of them. The Towersonic has an adjustable height, which is very important. According to my experience the PA speakers should have to be used higher than an ordinary hifi speaker.

If you have more than 70 sqm room at least, and if you want the most amazing home audio and have some 20-25k USD, try the Danley SH 50 speakers with the TH 112 or TH 50 subs. Use a pair of MC1250 with XTA or DEQX digital crossovers/speaker management system. Nothing sort of amazing. I do not think any high-end audio system would be favourably compared, on any price. It is that good.

YMMV of course.

 

We have that problem at a venue with a new L-ACOUSTICS rig...ARCS and subs.

The client never thinks it's loud enough but the measured SPL's tell a different story!

 

Exactly the same situation. They just did not want to believe what the SPL meter showed.

 

forget the stands,couple of flying cradles,bit of truss and a few loadsters and away ya go

 

My wife would not tolerate this, I am sure. When the SH 50s and the two TH 112 subs were in the room, she was freightened and did not want to come in to the room at all.

 

4/2 or 8ohm? (mc750)

Right........... just found the 2/4 or 8 ohm switch on the back.
Not sure which one to use with the Martin Logans (they are a electrostatic / cone hybrid) as I use the mc2 for both the panels and cones
The panels dip to 2 ohms at some frequencies (prob lower)

Quick listening reveals a smoother/bit more detail top /mid at 2/4 ohms but the bass loses a bit of dynamics.

Oh no...............I might have to buy another and bi amp them

I am so impressed with these amps that i am seriously thinking of ditching the logans and going for DEQX (with pre) and xover-less speakers.
I think i will start a new thread

 

Whats the point of a DEQX if you use xover-less speakers?

 

??

Dont quite understand ..............help me here.
I presumed running the speakers treble/ mid from one amp
and the bass from another ....using the DEQX as the crossover ie. no internal xover in the speaker cabinet

 

Maybe its me that has misunderstood. I presume when you say xover-less you mean a single driver system, in which case a DEQX is pointless. Do you simply mean no passive crossover?

 

yep

Yep thats what i mean.
Any suggestions for speakers??

 

Just noticed this one on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amplifier-Hig...hash=item300239801485&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

Not sure how quietly it runs, but I'm sure the lads down there in Cornwall would answer any questions. I know Opus have a very good reputation in live theatre systems.

I think a lot of potential buyers will "pass" on this one (everyone wants lightweight amps) so I bet it won't get any bids at £500 and a deal could be done after the auction. They obviously need to turn over stock. I'm tempted myself....must resist (Edit...just emailed them some questions!!)

 

this is what I use on the bass -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USA-MADE-CROW...hash=item360068303056&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

not as expensive as Andy's rec, but a good deal at £350.

 

Been reading thru this mammoth thread and its very interesting.I have been considering class d as I would like a bit more power,but considered Chord and Bryston but now you have me thinking as to how good some of these commercial amps are although I am not sure about fans running to cool them down and would like something a bit better looking .What is there ? And wheres the best place to look?

 

If that amp is anything like the rest of Opus Audio's gear, it's still a bargain at £500 (I reckon it won't get any bids and could be had for £400).

The Crown K1 is good for bass but I wouldn't use it full range.

The MC2's are obviously good and sell fairly cheapish on eBay. The fan is an issue and probably something I couldn't live with unless I had a dedicated equipment rack to hide it away. You could of course slow the fans down a bit and I'm sure Opus would give some hints about that. Their amps are sometimes used in relatively quiet environments so it may not be too bad to start with.

eBay is a good hunting ground. This Lab Gruppen sold for only £300 and it retails for £1300. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=280240289874&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018 Noisy fans again though (I run two of them in our sound testing rig)