The Best Budget Amplifier for Audiophile Sound

[@reese373]

Nice Vid. upgraded from Pioneer LX 505 AV receiver with Emotive BasX 3 for front stage to Anthem AVM 70 with OSD HTA7200 and just ordered HTA4200 for the Atmos right before this comment. After Calibrating with Arc Genesis and tuning my subs its night and day man. I thought my set up had a pretty good sound but now I see the true difference in separates and more power to the speakers. After Calibration and listening to different movie scenes to test the sounds I just laughed hearing things in movies that I was missing. Its truly amazing.

[@Kpaceguy]

I love it!

[@jasoncampbell2808]

Why would an amp like the Bas X 3 putting out 140 watts vs the receiver putting out 120 watts make any difference?

[@reese373]

@@jasoncampbell2808 with receiver at that time I was running 7 channels. The 120 watts the receiver puts out is for 2 channels driven. Over the 2 channels, that power is divided up. With BasX 3 on front stage, all 3 got full power.

[@usmankhalid990]

Thanks for the review, this was very helpful!

[@Kpaceguy]

I appreciate it!

[@jluis5188]

We also use 12v amps and DSP units for tighter spaces.

[@SoberBassHead]

I’m getting ready to pull the trigger on one, going to run it dual bridged on my front L&R I think it will be outstanding for that. Especially for $549

[@mattgiunt]

If I need more channels this will be the one. My Parasound A52+ is my go to amp for fronts and surround and is great but very expensive

[@Kpaceguy]

Agreed

[@denniso9503]

Thanks for reviewing this affordable amplifier, I however think you will not notice any difference between a 180watts and even 300W at 4Ω amplifier given the size or room most people have. For every double the power you get a 3db boost. I cannot imagine anyone driving their bed layer and Atmos speakers all the way to the point where their system delivers more than 100Watts on all 11 or even more channels at the same time if they have subwoofers in their system. unless of course you are not using subwoofers. Amplifier differences are noticeable only when its a totally different model , power ratings and topology are also significantly different.

[@techhobbymk2305]

It has two toroidal transformers, big capacitors, class A/B, SNR >110

[@LexusAllTerrain1]

180w @ 0.1% at 4ohms all channel driven. 200w @ 1.0% all channel driven 4ohms. With 2.3db of Headroom. I think this is very good for a budget build. Even dough I would purchase the 5 channel HT5200

[@vikary5747]

I'm considering the HT5200 to power L&R Klipsch RP-8060fa ii Mains and Klipsch 504c ii Center Channel. I would appreciate feedback about if the 5200 is a good match for my front stage.

[@Kpaceguy]

@@vikary5747 it'll work perfectly

[@vikary5747]

@@Kpaceguy Thank you my guy!

[@jasoncampbell2808]

Any thoughts on the HTX amps?

[@Kpaceguy]

They are solid too. OSD said they don't get as hot as the bigger boys. Different amps inside.

[@jasoncampbell2808]

​@@KpaceguyYeah they use class D amps. I am trying to figure out the power ratings. OSD makes it weird. I want to get the 6 channel and bridge it for 3. It says in bridge mode it's 400 watts at 8 ohms one channel driven at 1%. Trying to figure out what that would be with 3 channels driven at more respectable THD.

[@MattyDaddy14]

These may not be the “cleanest” most powerful amps, but they are a great budget buy for over 140/150 watts X4 that has both rca and xlr inputs (not balanced). I agree it’s a great addition for atmos speakers and their 5/7 channels are a great buy if running a preamp style setup. 🎉 monoproce budget amps are less than 100 watts. Starke, outlaw etc are all going to be 25-50% more if looking for higher quality and more power. Also. Being able to bridge this style/price of amp is a pretty good buy 🎉. All in MY opinion. 🎉

[@Kpaceguy]

@@MattyDaddy14 agreed!

[@techhobbymk2305]

SNR >110db, is it "clean"?

[@SoberBassHead]

@@MattyDaddy14 definitely 💯 the ability to bridge it to 2 channels is the way to use this amp in my opinion, for 549 you will be able to get 300w per side, great for the front L&R. Perhaps the best on the market right now for the price.

[@jamescampbell3110]

I have the 4 channel and the three

[@bizmofunyuns6463]

I'll never not have monoblocks again

[@LexusAllTerrain1]

@@bizmofunyuns6463 Gashelli coming soon!

[@miscreant1739]

It doesn't provide a significant power boost over a mid-tier AVR. You can find some cases where it makes sense as a product, but I don't think it does for most people.

[@lolkenen6249]

yes it does, even a mid tier AVR will only give about 70 watts per channel running a 5 channel system

[@Kpaceguy]

@@miscreant1739 Not only does it give double the power of a mid tier receiver, it does it cleaner with less distortion and at a much higher volume. Handles low impedance speakers And can be bridged to give you 300 watts

[@miscreant1739]

@ ok sure when all channels are driven it outputs more power, but an AVR can put out around the same power with 2 channels driven. Also even with atmos you aren’t using all channels at max simultaneously. In real world usage that amp isn’t much of an upgrade over the power an AVR can provide so I think people should save their money. If they have very sensitive speakers and a processor and just need something that outputs some power then I guess it’s fine.

[@Kpaceguy]

@miscreant1739 sometimes you simply just need an amplifier to utilize the other channels in receiver that need amplification So you buy this

[@miscreant1739]

@@Kpaceguy where does it say it can handle low impedance speakers? They don’t even provide a 2ohm rating for the amp and it doesn’t even come close to doubling its 8ohm rating into 4ohms. Also they provide power ratings at .1% and 1% distortion. AVR power ratings are typically at 0.08%. If you’re going to buy an amp to attach to an AVR with preouts go bigger or don’t waste your money.

[@sheek1982]

Monoprice is still the "budget" king when it comes to any AV related.

[@danielwatts9803]

How so? Please elaborate...