Amp for BMR monitors 3e A7, ncx252, Wiim?

[Mort]

I have a pair of BMR monitors on order for a 2.1 non-critical listening system. I've had them before and they are rated 86db but I feel like they are a little lower. They also dip to 3ish ohms.

I listen pretty loud, so I'm concerned about power. Still these can only be driven so far with a 6" woofer so I don't want to buy more amp than I need.

*The Wiim amp ultra would save me some device boxes and it's my top choice were they all equal in performance. But I'm not sure it will provide the output.

*Ncx252 is a hair expensive but would probably do the job. Ncx500 feels like too much amp for this purpose but it's what I used before (and blew out a woofer.)

*A7 stereo might work too. I hate the separate power supply but I can deal with it.

What would you pick?
Others I should consider?

 

[Ropeburn]

At that point, it's really about preference and practicality. All of these amps have plenty of power and will make short notice even of inefficient speakers. Let's do the math for a good estimation of what happens:

I put 83dB efficiency there to be on the safe side, kinda "worst case". You still get over 100dB peaks with 2x200W. Doubtful those little speakers can even do that much - or you want to torture your ears like that. Also, if you highpass them for 2.1, you'll never ever need that much. Nominally, all of these are already overkill - but also future proof for when your speaker and room situation eventually changes. 2x200W is enough for almost all occasions, including inefficient big speakers in rather large living rooms.

All three will be perfectly fine. And blowing up speakers as you said... that's not the fault of an amp having too much power, but simple user error. You can never have too much power in that regard, only too little care. Hehe.

 

[Jiraya369]

Erin tested it to be 84.1 db sensitivity

dunno what "pretty loud" means but these can be driven hard by a wiim amp ultra, it's not like they'll reach 102 db without any compression

 

[Multicore]

At that point, it's really about preference and practicality.

Agreed. That's why my favorite recommendation now is:

• WiiM Mini → TOSLINK → Yamaha A-S something ought one → your passive speakers.

"Knobs, Keith! Knobs!"

Here I'm combining 1) Floyd Toole's admonition to use tone controls liberally, 2) London Fields.

 

[Jiraya369]

highpass them for 2.1

i was always curious, how does it change the power needs?

let's say the speakers are wanting like 100 watts for the output i want from em, how much of a drop in power requirements do we see from an 80 hz crossover? Afaik the woofer is always the one asking for the most power but the power needs shouldn't halve or something right?

 

[Ropeburn]

i was always curious, how does it change the power needs?

let's say the speakers are wanting like 100 watts for the output i want from em, how much of a drop in power requirements do we see from an 80 hz crossover? Afaik the woofer is always the one asking for the most power but the power needs shouldn't halve or something right?

It depends on the music signal of course, but the bass is definitely the single biggest power hog. If you remove everything below 80Hz, then yes, power demand drops significantly. Half? I dunno, probably more depending on the music. It's very substantial. A lot of powerful music has a shitload of energy around 40-60Hz, it's the "fat bass slam" region. The speakers can't really do it properly because they're too small and compress early, so removing that from their duty is a good idea.

 

[Multicore]

Of, if the $$ need to be saved up, AIYIMA A07 Pro.

Aiyima A07 Pro Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AIYIMA A07 Pro stereo amplifier. It was kindly drop shipped to me by a member and costs about $90. As you see the distinguishing factor from some of the other Aiyima amplifiers is inclusion of tone controls. Alas, that is also where the problem...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Ropeburn]

I just realised

The whole highpass thing for proper 2.1 is a good argument for the Wiim Amp Ultra: it does have proper subwoofer management including highpass. Very nice all in one solution. With other amps without that functionality, you'll need extra boxes. Gets costy quick, relative to amp prices.

 

[Mort]

It depends on the music signal of course, but the bass is definitely the single biggest power hog. If you remove everything below 80Hz, then yes, power demand drops significantly. Half? I dunno, probably more depending on the music. It's very substantial. A lot of powerful music has a shitload of energy around 40-60Hz, it's the "fat bass slam" region. The speakers can't really do it properly because they're too small and compress early, so removing that from their duty is a good idea.

I've done some testing with big genelecs and a bass heavy song like 'Bad Guy' takes a lot of power. It could easily be half, I get many DB more when high passed.

 

[wojt]

I use a 3e A7 for my BMR monitors. Works fine if you can live with the auto-trigger feature (or maybe the newer versions don't have one).

 

[Good Vibes]

I have the A7 & WiiM Ultra and it is a truly fantastic combo. My only issue with the A7 is how it looks, IMO a little bit on the ugly side. If more knowledgeable members say the power is enough, it’s got to be the Amp Ultra. A feature rich, user friendly, one box piece of kit it and it looks great!

 

[Salparadise]

I had BMR Monitors for a while and sold them a few weeks ago. I started with the Buckeye NC252, and upgraded within return window to NCx500. I seemed to sense better damping and tighter bass with more power, but there was a few weeks between the two amps, and you know how audio memory can be. But independent of the BMR monitors, I upgraded the amp because of better specs/measurements, and to future proof. So I had about 2X (or more) the amount of power needed, but they seemed to be stressing at levels within the range that I might listen occasionally. I was also hearing a bit of resonance in the 2-3khz region, and then I started anticipating it, which was worse than hearing it. So I started looking around. I found a pair of Revel F228Be nearby and went to audition them. So is the NCx500 overkill for the BMR, certainly. Am I glad I upgraded, yes. I’m loving the amp, and I don’t know if there’s an audible difference, but psychologically I like damping and overhead.