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Hi,I'm looking at a high powered pro amp for my Magnepans. I've heard about the the Behringer 1500 and an amp made by Yamaha that some are talking about. Do these require a seperate preamp? Do I need to buy two for stereo? Any other pro amp suggestions?
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btw, if you want a cheap very nice "preamp" consider the Behringer line mixer RX1602, of course you do not have remote control for selection or Volume - you have to mute unused inputs, but it is VERY quiet and will convert unbalanced to balanced signals b4 sending to the pro amp. under $140. Handles 8 stereo inputs.
I like your suggestion for the line mixer, A VERY interesting alternative. Think outside the box!
I used the RX1602 for a Audio Club meeting in Atlanta as my preamp (oppo DVD for the source) into my Ultradrive and not yet biamped MMG's in a big 40x40 room with my home theater M&K Sub. There were no complaints about the sound... I was using my company's Type 2716 Power Amplifier 150Watts/channel/4 ohms - with its SpeakOn outs using 12 gauge pro audio cables terminated in banana jacks.I think I get better sound at home - but it was amazing how even the littlest maggies can fill a room. We were pushing the amp to its limits though - and I was using limiters on the Ultradrive to prevent clipping of the amplifier.
Pro amps are an interesting alternative. They have lots of clean power plus the are rugged and cheap. They can drive loads as low as 2 ohms. Thinking outside the box is a good thing.The Behringer 1500 is a stereo amp so you need only one. It has gain controls that could be used as volume controls but must be used with great care. Without a preamp you could only connect one source at a time, like a CD player.
I recently purchased a QSC RMX850 for use with my SMGAs and am quite happy with it. I installed a Papst quiet fan and it is now close to silent. I use both passive and active preamps but also like the option of just using the gain controls on the front.
I use a QSC rmx 1450 on MMGs with good results. The pre-amp is necessary for source switching and remote volume control.
Yes you will need a preamp unless you don't need source switching and the amp you choose has volume controls. I ran a pair of SMGas with a Crown DC 300A for years with excellent results.
crown k2 sounds ok. no fans no noise no heat problems. plenty of power. you can usually find them on ebay for around $700. you can run them stereo or mono. in a pinch you could use the adjustable gain control for volume, but a preamp would work better.
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