Do I need a power amp?

[Gard]

Hi all.
I recently replaced my Polk RT1A1's with some Elac Vela 403.2 speakers, and they sound great!
But on the Elac FB page everyone says I need a bigger amp / power amp to get the best from them.

My current amp is a Rotel A10, at 40w (into 8 ohms) which meets the minimum requirements.
The speakers are 4 ohm, and dip as low as 3.2

I am mostly listening at low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers.
I do crank them up a bit on occasions if I'm doing stuff in another room.

My question is: will a power amp improve SQ? Or is it a waste of $ in a room this size at my usual listening levels?

I'm looking specifically at the Rotel RB-1552 mk2, to match my other gear.

 

[Mart68]

The RB-1552 will give you roughly 4 to 5dB more headroom over the A10, won't be much difference if at all in your usual listening. But it's better to have more power and not need it than to need it and not have it. If money's not an issue then I'd go for it.

 

[TonyJZX]

with them speakers i dont think money is an issue for this guy

i think if the 40w A10 gets the job done then dont... I dont think many people would pass an DBX with the 1552 either and at 80dB with that sensitivity you dont need 120w at all

but if was me i'd get the 1552 because i'm an idiot

 

[EdW]

Hi all.
I recently replaced my Polk RT1A1's with some Elac Vela 403.2 speakers, and they sound great!
But on the Elac FB page everyone says I need a bigger amp / power amp to get the best from them.

My current amp is a Rotel A10, at 40w (into 8 ohms) which meets the minimum requirements.
The speakers are 4 ohm, and dip as low as 3.2

I am mostly listening at low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers.
I do crank them up a bit on occasions if I'm doing stuff in another room.

My question is: will a power amp improve SQ? Or is it a waste of $ in a room this size at my usual listening levels?

I'm looking specifically at the Rotel RB-1552 mk2, to match my other gear.

Your normal listening distance is quite small so you may not need a more powerful amplifier. Simple test: wind up the volume on bass heavy music until it sounds uncomfortably loud, if it’s undistorted then the amp has sufficient power. The amp itself has a reasonably good spec and although many more expensive amps offer lower distortion etc they probably won’t sound significantly better in your listening environment.
Otherwise if you know someone with a much better amp try a simple test to see if it sounds better - but beware of confirmation bias . . .

 

[TonyJZX]

the above

you can spend $1,000 on a new amp and you will tell yourself that this is "IT".. this is where the magic begins but its an illusion

also

Rotel RB-1552 MK II Amplifier

I recently purchased power amplifier to for additional power and head room. I use my Cambridge Audio CXA81 as preamp. My main audio system components consist of: Cambridge Audio CXA81, Cambridge Audio DAC Magic, OPPO BDP-93 CD player, pair of Warfedale Linton 85 speakers and pair of REL T5x...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Redacted]

"low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers."

You are probably using 2W.

If you are playing at say 10 watts, with those speakers that have 86dB sensitivity, you may find it very loud.
How is more power going to help?
That's not say you could not do better than the Rotel for the money (probably a £300 amp?), say with a Wiim rig, but that's only about more power and more features, not about audio quality you can actually hear.
The impedance thing is (3.2 ohms min?) is irrelevant to your situation.

 

[Gard]

with them speakers i dont think money is an issue for this guy

i think if the 40w A10 gets the job done then dont... I dont think many people would pass an DBX with the 1552 either and at 80dB with that sensitivity you dont need 120w at all

but if was me i'd get the 1552 because i'm an idiot

They were on sale, so I gave myself a treat.
And I plan to keep them - - - until my ears fall off, or the kids put me in a home.

Also - I can be an idiot too.

 

[Roland68]

Hi all.
I recently replaced my Polk RT1A1's with some Elac Vela 403.2 speakers, and they sound great!
But on the Elac FB page everyone says I need a bigger amp / power amp to get the best from them.

My current amp is a Rotel A10, at 40w (into 8 ohms) which meets the minimum requirements.
The speakers are 4 ohm, and dip as low as 3.2

I am mostly listening at low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers.
I do crank them up a bit on occasions if I'm doing stuff in another room.

My question is: will a power amp improve SQ? Or is it a waste of $ in a room this size at my usual listening levels?

I'm looking specifically at the Rotel RB-1552 mk2, to match my other gear.

Power you don't use is a sheer waste of money. If you only need 30 watts to achieve your desired volume, it makes no difference whether the amplifier has 40 watts or 400.

If you're happy with your current power output, you might want to try the 3E Audio A5. If you want significantly more power, go for the A7.
For me, the next logical steps up from the 3E Audio would be the Benchmark or the large Purifi models.

Great speakers, by the way.

 

[TonyJZX]

yeah that's a good idea if you are ok with new class D amps

instead of going with a huge 19" class A/B get a cheap but good benching class D amp with sufficient power, like the tpa3255s this places loves and see if you like the experiment

 

[Thighsofsteel]

"low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers."

You are probably using 2W.

If you are playing at say 10 watts, with those speakers that have 86dB sensitivity, you may find it very loud.
How is more power going to help?
That's not say you could not do better than the Rotel for the money (probably a £300 amp?), say with a Wiim rig, but that's only about more power and more features, not about audio quality you can actually hear.
The impedance thing is (3.2 ohms min?) is irrelevant to your situation.

exactly. Those speakers are 86dB. add in 3 dB for the stereo pair and maybe 2-5dB for some room gain. Being 4 ohm speakers I say 2watts gets 91-94dB at 1 metre. Double that to 2 metres and you get 85-89db. so take it to ear busting levels of 100db is about 32watts into 4 ohms.

@Gard Dont waste your money

 

[EdW]

They were on sale, so I gave myself a treat.
And I plan to keep them - - - until my ears fall off, or the kids put me in a home.

Also - I can be an idiot too.

Elac Vela 403.2: great speakers and if you got a great price as well you’ve landed a true bargain. Enjoy them!

 

[Multicore]

I recently replaced my Polk RT1A1's with some Elac Vela 403.2 speakers, and they sound great!
...
I am mostly listening at low volumes (<80Db) in a small room, seated only ~ 130cm from the speakers.

If they sound great then they sound great, i.e. your amp is sufficient.

I do crank them up a bit on occasions if I'm doing stuff in another room.

If you're not in the room then SQ doesn't matter.

My question is: will a power amp improve SQ?

I don't think so.

If you want an excuse to buy yourself a new amp then say so and we can surely be of great help with that.

 

[tineared]

They were on sale, so I gave myself a treat.
And I plan to keep them - - - until my ears fall off, or the kids put me in a home.

Also - I can be an idiot too.

If you decide to be an idiot, may I suggest the Purifi ET6525SA amp. It is a bit less money than the Rotel, but is absolutely SOA and you will never outgrow it.
If you're in the US, Buckeye is very attractive for $1195:

Buckeye Amps

Buckeye Amps utilizes the most advanced audio amplifier technologies available. Authorized seller for Hypex and Purifi Class D amplifiers. Based in the US. Free shipping and worldwide service!

www.buckeyeamp.com

 

[DanielT]

The amplifier has a output of 76 watts at 4 ohms, se test below.

Given your; listening habits, your 4 Ohm 86 dB sensitive speakers, 76 amp watt power (let's say 70 watts of reasonably clean power). That combination works well. —provided you don't listen to extremely dynamic music and get the urge to turn up the volume significantly higher than usual.

Google translate from Polish to English. Lab test:


Rotel A10 Laboratory
The A10's power output is 59 W at 8 ohms, with one channel driven, and 2 x 57 W in stereo, which increases significantly at 4 ohms, to 103 W and 2 x 76 W, respectively. As with other amplifiers, the "premium" compared to the manufacturer's claims is substantial, since Rotel promised only 40 W at 8 ohms. The Rotel A10 has exemplary sensitivity, precisely meeting the 200 mV standard. The signal-to-noise ratio is quite decent, with a S/N of 86 dB, allowing for dynamic ranges up to 104 dB.

ROTEL A10

Integry serii A to oferta podstawowych wzmacniaczy Rotela, a 10-ka jest w tej grupie konstrukcją najskromniejszą. Producent podpowiada jednak, ...

audio.com.pl

 

[DonH56]

Speakers about 86 dB/2.83Vrms, sitting about 4.25 feet away, 50 W will yield over 100 dB SPL* at the listening position without room gain. That provides 20 dB of headroom over an average level of 80 dB (pretty loud to me). Based on that I think you are fine as-is.

Peak SPL Calculator

* Note 2.83 Vrms into 4 ohms is 2 W average, so subtract 3 dB from the calculator either in sensitivity or the final SPL. Still, "only" 100 dB is pretty loud!

 

[Multicore]

Otoh, get the Purifi tineared suggests and then come back to tell us what difference it made in your listening, if any.

Then we will know! 8>

 

[Thighsofsteel]

If you decide to be an idiot, may I suggest the Purifi ET6525SA amp. It is a bit less money than the Rotel, but is absolutely SOA and you will never outgrow it.
If you're in the US, Buckeye is very attractive for $1195:

Buckeye Amps

Buckeye Amps utilizes the most advanced audio amplifier technologies available. Authorized seller for Hypex and Purifi Class D amplifiers. Based in the US. Free shipping and worldwide service!

www.buckeyeamp.com

I agree. For the same money as the Rotel Rb1552, give or take, the Buckeye is the choice I would go for. Oodles of clean state of the art power.

 

[Gard]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer my question.
Looks like the consensus ranges from No to probably not...

Some of you have suggested a Class D alternative.

I'm not convinced (old school, stubborn, plain dumb?) but I'm happy to try new things if they don't cost too much - and that seems to be one of class D's strengths.

If I were to get a class D power amp/s and use my A10 as a pre, would I be hearing 100% Class D sound? ie: would the Rotel simply be acting as a big selector switch for the source with controls? Or would it colour the end result?
Thinking a pair of Fosi V3 monoblocks might be worth trying to test the waters before committing to a "better" class D, or deciding I don't need more power.

 

[jspinks321]

It’s alright but some rough quality pickups and yeah the tracon 2A473s could go or be reflowed..I’m thinking about changing em..yes to an external power amp never know what you might use it for better to mic with it than an old pa or something. More good tech, both you can hear that hum by looking at it age but the 5way dpt looks good but no 2A Tracons or Mylar isn’t original really. It’s one like that.

Show you something we like with stereo tech noise performance good lord see the magnet goo trying to develop. I had to scrape some of it off with small flathead. yes thats years of wax thats not performance for single coils...its really not when like only 3000-4000turns should be a lot quieter the network of it still sounds like sleeve noise on the jack and it will. do not doubt the power amp is relevant and that re-amped doubled sound definitely lets mic it stuff.

I know what you think though guitar isn't a studio guy i see that wax again and still think about how jack/sleeved out it always was and tips/rings/hot always turning gold lead color burnt. There is performance for it still.

 

[Cote Dazur]

will a power amp improve SQ?

Short answer: No
Your Rotel is perfectly adequate. Changing the amp will not objectively change what you ear.
Paying attention on where those Elac are positioned in the room, the room itself and where you listen from can have a huge impact.