NAD or ATI for powering front speakers

First post here; great forum to stumble upon!

I want to get a 2 channel amp to power the fronts to give the Denon 3805 some breathing room. As I am not able to hear quite as well as I did in my younger days, I seem to lean a little more towards a “bright” sound as opposed to “warmer”. Probably the reason I like the Axiom M22ti fronts.

After doing a little research on this forum and elsewhere, I came up with NAD C272 or ATI AT1202 or AT1802.

Would either of these come close to meeting my criteria? I haven't listened to them yet. I noticed links to Downtown Audio for ATI. I don’t believe they are authorized dealers. Is it worth the savings to only have a 90 day warranty?

Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by mac

First post here; great forum to stumble upon!

I want to get a 2 channel amp to power the fronts to give the Denon 3805 some breathing room. As I am not able to hear quite as well as I did in my younger days, I seem to lean a little more towards a “bright” sound as opposed to “warmer”. Probably the reason I like the Axiom M22ti fronts.

After doing a little research on this forum and elsewhere, I came up with NAD C272 or ATI AT1202 or AT1802.

Would either of these come close to meeting my criteria? I haven't listened to them yet. I noticed links to Downtown Audio for ATI. I don’t believe they are authorized dealers. Is it worth the savings to only have a 90 day warranty?

Thanks in advance.

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No, don't go with an unauthorized dealer. What you think you are saving now will end up costing you 10 times as much if you ever need a repair. Some manufacturers won't even repair their own gear if it wasn't purchased from an authorized dealer. If you want a better price, simply start haggling with your authorized dealer. EVERYTHING is negotiable.

Obviously, you should buy whatever sounds best to you and I'd never buy anything that I couldn't audition first. For the type of sound you are looking for, I'd definitely add the Odyssey Stratos to your list. It is the epitome of solid state sound and carries a 20 year warranty. You might also like Adcom and Parasound's HCA series. I wouldn't use Rotel or B&K as they tend to be on the warmer side of neutral.

Hope this helps

Tons of Adcom GFA-535's on ebay right now...these are solid little performers that can be had relatively cheap...They'll satisfy your desire for "bright" sounding equipment.
Just an option...

I appreciate the reply. I have never purchased from an un-authorized dealer so I will stick to the authorized ones here. I will see if I can audition the Odyssey as what I read about it says it is indeed worth a listen, and as I was researching that, I came on to the Carver ZR 1000 as a possible solution. Very reasonable at around $800 and great reviews as well.

mac

kexodusc, I have read where the Adcom runs hot. Have you had any experience with that?

Thanks,

mac

Hmm, I own a couple 535II's that have heat warning LED's that I've never used. They don't run hot and are essentially the same unit with a few minor tweaks.
I use to have an old GFA 555 way back in the day that we used to power a couple of older Cerwin Vega's for parties, we drove that thing insanely hard into 4 ohms and never once had a problem with the Adcom overheating.
I've never actually heard that about Adcoms, they're fairly well respected. The 535's were a smash hit back in their day.
I've never owned any amps or receivers that had overheating problems though...I make sure they're fairly well vented. How hard are you pushing your speakers? How big is your room?

Room is 20 X 20 with 11 foot vaulted ceilings. Listening area is 13 X 13 within the room. Speakers are rated at 8 ohms with 90db to 92db efficiency. I crank the volume up to between -4 and +4 db on the volume scale when I really want to fill the room, but not normally at those levels.

And that's on your Denon 3805 with 110 watts/channel? What's the reference (0 dB) suppose to be as far as watts go.
I have an RX-V1400 Yamaha receiver with 110 watts/channel, but the Adcom's make my speakers go louder...the power is obvious...I assume dynamic headroom has something to do with it, maybe current. Don't really care.
But I'd hate to recommend an amp that won't drive your speakers as loud as your current receiver. The 535's are only 60 watts/channel. In a 2-channel music role, they might be slightly underpowered compared to your Denon.
I'd still recommend a used Adcom, maybe a GFA-555 or one with more power though...you could try a 535 though...
In home theatre applications, I definitely notice less demand on the receiver.

Should point out I've owned NAD's in the past with pleasing results, too...
IMO, though, you can't go wrong buying a 2nd hand power amp...much cheaper, and most audiophiles keep their gear in excellent shape.
Your money goes a bit further, and when you go to sell it for the next upgrade, you can get 75-90% back, usually...it's great.

I don't know for sure as how 0db translates to the actual watts. The 3805 is "rated" at 120 watts per channel. Plenty loud, but I doubt I will have a lot of headroom when playing SACD andDVD-A at the higher levels.

Thanks for the advice; I am open to going the used route as well. Maybe I am just a watt junkie. I don't have the new DVD player yet so I really don't know if the Denon alone will do the trick playing multi-channel SACD.

Well, on the other hand, 120 watts is only 3 dB louder than 60 watts...not terribly noticeable as far as loudness goes. And I highly doubt your Denon will drive 120 watts into all channels at the same time, something typical of just about all receivers...the 60 watt adcoms (or NAD, etc) would definitely lighten the load.
I keep suggesting Adcom as it definitely has a relatively bright sound like you want and the 535's are proven workhorses. And they go for cheap on ebay and audiogon, they're great for building stacks a piece at a time. But don't limit your options.

Do I need to consider the pre amp output level/load impedence (1.2v/ 10kohms) on the Denon to choose an amp? I have read something about a ratio of 10 times but never quite understood what that meant.

Hmm, never heard that either...I have my suspicions that there's a standard system for pre-outs. I'm sure the Denon is adequate.
Maybe someone with more technical expertise can explain this for you. In the meantime, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. I had a Denon 2803 in my house for a weekend on a demo before I went with the Yamaha...I used the pre-outs without incident...worked fine.