Hi all, first time poster (long term lurker and appreciator of this site though!). I have had an ongoing problem in my main listening room which is on a 15A circuit, and the poor room is probably screaming given I have a full home theater running in it...I mostly subscribed forever to the school of big bad amplifiers and what not. So some many years ago I found a good deal on an amp brand I always heard was great (Threshold Stasis 3) and then realized I wanted to do surround sound and found a pretty great deal on a 6 channel ATI amplifier (AT1506).
For a little background, I used to use both of those amps together for a 4 channel surround set up (room is too small for 5 channel based on few times I tried it). That set up frequently tripped the breaker. So I switched purely to the ATI, however realized today after it happened twice - this amplifier can draw up to 1800 watts (15A)...and I have a Rythmik L22 subwoofer also hooked up, along with an M1 Mac Mini, a laptop, and a desktop gaming computer.
So that said, it seems prudent that I need to downsize in consumption to a much more reasonable amp given it is likely the highest wattage drawer I have. In the coming years I'll likely move to a larger house and have more proper listening space, thus will keep the big beasts in storage for a later time. My 4 channel setup are all Totem Dreamcatchers, all 4 ohm 87.5db/w efficiency speakers (and a super surprise when I found them in a thrift store for peanuts and these dethroned the B&W DM602's I had used for several years).
My budget is kind of a question mark, because while I can and would be willing to spend a decent little chunk on it - if it's really stupid overkill (like an 85+ lb monster amplifier in what most consider a bedroom) then I think I need to reel it in a bit and can probably be a bit more thrifty. Mind you, I need this to mate up with my surround processor, an aging Integra DTC 9.8. So with that stated, can I use say one of these Topping or other Chinese integrated amps? The downside of course being that almost all of them have a volume pot and I'd have to max it out and then hook to my processor. That seems inherently kind of wrong to me...but I am unsure of any dedicated pure amplifiers in the same ilk or if I'm wrong and doing that is actually ok.
I could use a pair of stereo amps since I'm using an oddball 4 channel set up, but same stipulation applies. Or a singular 5/6/7/+ channel amp would work, assuming it does not draw a ton of juice. Power usage wise, most of the time I am not blasting anything but a few times I really crank it up and notice I am almost at 0 dB with this monster ATI amplifier. That is extremely short term and if I had to give that up, I would be ok as it's me playing music so I can hear it from the other room sometimes. I am not someone who plays or enjoys loud volume, so I am kind of unsure the true wattage I need. Let's start off at $1k or under (e.g. 2x stereo amps I can use that are more efficient, or a single multichannel amp that is more efficient and not sucking 1800W).
I've had a long time heat issue in this room and the ATI does not help at all, being roasting hot to the touch after a few hours, so a Class D would be wonderful but I'm open to hear ideas both used, new, vintage, or what have you.
For a little background, I used to use both of those amps together for a 4 channel surround set up (room is too small for 5 channel based on few times I tried it). That set up frequently tripped the breaker. So I switched purely to the ATI, however realized today after it happened twice - this amplifier can draw up to 1800 watts (15A)...and I have a Rythmik L22 subwoofer also hooked up, along with an M1 Mac Mini, a laptop, and a desktop gaming computer.
So that said, it seems prudent that I need to downsize in consumption to a much more reasonable amp given it is likely the highest wattage drawer I have. In the coming years I'll likely move to a larger house and have more proper listening space, thus will keep the big beasts in storage for a later time. My 4 channel setup are all Totem Dreamcatchers, all 4 ohm 87.5db/w efficiency speakers (and a super surprise when I found them in a thrift store for peanuts and these dethroned the B&W DM602's I had used for several years).
My budget is kind of a question mark, because while I can and would be willing to spend a decent little chunk on it - if it's really stupid overkill (like an 85+ lb monster amplifier in what most consider a bedroom) then I think I need to reel it in a bit and can probably be a bit more thrifty. Mind you, I need this to mate up with my surround processor, an aging Integra DTC 9.8. So with that stated, can I use say one of these Topping or other Chinese integrated amps? The downside of course being that almost all of them have a volume pot and I'd have to max it out and then hook to my processor. That seems inherently kind of wrong to me...but I am unsure of any dedicated pure amplifiers in the same ilk or if I'm wrong and doing that is actually ok.
I could use a pair of stereo amps since I'm using an oddball 4 channel set up, but same stipulation applies. Or a singular 5/6/7/+ channel amp would work, assuming it does not draw a ton of juice. Power usage wise, most of the time I am not blasting anything but a few times I really crank it up and notice I am almost at 0 dB with this monster ATI amplifier. That is extremely short term and if I had to give that up, I would be ok as it's me playing music so I can hear it from the other room sometimes. I am not someone who plays or enjoys loud volume, so I am kind of unsure the true wattage I need. Let's start off at $1k or under (e.g. 2x stereo amps I can use that are more efficient, or a single multichannel amp that is more efficient and not sucking 1800W).
I've had a long time heat issue in this room and the ATI does not help at all, being roasting hot to the touch after a few hours, so a Class D would be wonderful but I'm open to hear ideas both used, new, vintage, or what have you.
