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Upgrade to Behringer A800 Amplifier for $199?

Lurrus

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Hi folks,

I am still a novice when it comes to audio equipment so please bear with me.

My current audio setup is a JDS Labs Element 3, Aiyima A07, and Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX bookshelf speakers.

As of this thread post, Sweetwater has the Behringer A800 amplifier for $199. I have some questions;

1) Is it worth upgrading to the A800 for $199 now or should I wait for a lower price since the Thanksgiving holidays are coming up?

2) Will I hear a significant sound improvement and loudness?

3) Is there a way to connect an already powered subwoofer to the A800 amplifier?
 

TonyJZX

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that's an interesting question

first of all... your speakers are $1,500.... many would say they would be totally outclassed by an A07 or a A800... while these are two very well regarded amps, the A800 is specifically a PA amp... with heaps of power... 142w @ 8ohm according to that test (!!!)...

to me I'd use the A800 is a case where you needed mass reliable power but subtlelty isnt that big a deal. Also $199 is about as low as I could expect for an amp like the A800.

Also you need some kind of preamp ontop as the dual trim knobs would drive me crazy.

I would be thinking most people here would be choosing a much better amp if your main speakers are that good. Some of these guys here like the nicer Sabaj units like the A20 etc.
 

sergeauckland

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Firstly, from the measurements, the A800 is audibly as good as it gets. Although there are more expensive amplifiers with better measurements, those won't be audibly better in any way, as the A800 is already quite good enough for transparency.
Secondly, whether you'll be able to get it any cheaper waiting is a guess, and as it's already quite cheap, how much cheaper could it get?
I do agree, however, that a preamp would improve convenience, as the twin controls on the A800 are not meant for use as volume controls, more as sensitivity adjustments in a fixed system. However, a passive volume control will do fine, as the sensitivity on the unbalanced input is quite high.

As to connecting a powered sub, if this has high level inputs, then no problem. If it only has line inputs, then either connect it to the output of whatever preamp you use, or make a simple attenuator from the high level (loudspeaker) outputs.

S
 

ppataki

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Michou

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Firstly, from the measurements, the A800 is audibly as good as it gets. Although there are more expensive amplifiers with better measurements, those won't be audibly better in any way, as the A800 is already quite good enough for transparency.
Secondly, whether you'll be able to get it any cheaper waiting is a guess, and as it's already quite cheap, how much cheaper could it get?
I do agree, however, that a preamp would improve convenience, as the twin controls on the A800 are not meant for use as volume controls, more as sensitivity adjustments in a fixed system. However, a passive volume control will do fine, as the sensitivity on the unbalanced input is quite high.

As to connecting a powered sub, if this has high level inputs, then no problem. If it only has line inputs, then either connect it to the output of whatever preamp you use, or make a simple attenuator from the high level (loudspeaker) outputs.

S
Same low price on Amazon as of today.
 

Chrispy

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Does your dac have a volume control? The Behringer power amp would give you a step up in power but you only gain 3dB with a doubling of power, too. SQ not a particular issue.
 

rongon

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Your Ascend Acoustics speakers have a quoted sensitivity of 87dB at 1m with 1W input, 8 ohms, but that looks way optimistic judging from their own measurements.

1668296784417.png

The only reason why an amp with more power like the A800 might sound better is if you're in a fairly large listening space, since those speakers have low sensitivity and a somewhat difficult impedance curve.

Sierra_LX_Impedance_and_Phase.png


I'd think the Aiyima A07's 48 watts into 8 ohms would be enough for near-field listening in a small-ish room. How do you listen to your speakers? How far away do you sit when you're listening? How big is your listening space? How loud do you play them?

I bought one of those A800 amps from Sweetwater for $199 and free shipping (about $16 in taxes though). I think it's what people would call 'transparent'. It's crisp, clean, not noisy, runs cool enough. It's the kind of sound some would call 'clinical'. Seems good to me so far. Nice tight bass with lots of detail, not loose or wooly in any way. Sorry for the audiophool jargon. I'm trying to describe sound quality with words. That's always dangerous.

The A800 is very sensitive. It has like 30dB of gain, so with its front panel level controls turned all the way up I can play music at a low but listenable level with my 'passive pre' volume control on its first click. If I turned it up to 7 (out of 10) my neighbors would be calling the police on me. The A800 has lots of power and a lot of gain. DEFINITELY no preamp-with-gain needed or wanted.

I hope that helps.
 
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Astrozombie

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I'd save for the Crown XLS personally, there's a newer review on Crutchfield that has someone saying it was just as good as their NAD and Cambridge Audio.
 

rongon

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The Crown XLS 1002 and 1502 models look like they create relatively higher levels of high order harmonics (5th, 7th, 9th) than the A800 does. I do not know if this would be audible at normal listening room volume levels, but in general you want to see only low order (2nd, 3rd) order harmonics in the distortion spectrum of an amplifier, with higher order harmonics absent. That is not what you get with the Crown XLS amps, unfortunately.

1668352998893.png


3rd harmonic is dominant at -80dB of reference level.

1668353030421.png


10th, 12th and 13th harmonics are dominant but at much lower level of about -90dB.

However, studies showed that listeners notice higher order harmonics at lower levels than lower order. Generally speaking, low order harmonics can be higher in level without being objectionable. My understanding is that a harmonic profile such as you see in the Crown XLS 1002 is supposed to be a bad thing. You want the distortion harmonics to be both low in level and of lower orders (2nd and 3rd, and nothing higher).

On the other hand, are those 10th order and higher harmonics audible at -90dB? Do they color the sound quality of high frequencies (5kHz and above)? I really don't know.
 
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