Amps for signature 805

[jasmine_love]

Hi,

can somebody recommend me nice amps for signature 805 at around $2000? I really love this speakers. I am currently using yamaha receiver z9 now and finding a way to use yamaha as a pre/pro if this make sig 805 souds better. Is there a way to drive front speaker with additional power amp and surround with receiver? Is there a way to turn on the amp when the receiver is on? Thanks.

jasmineluv

[weijst]

...Is there a way to drive front speaker with additional power amp and surround with receiver...

If your Z9 has pre-out, this won't be a problem.

Is there a way to turn on the amp when the receiver is on? Thanks

Rotel has these 12V trigger outputs for this. I don't know if the Yamaha has these... Maybe your Z9 has a 'normal' power output on the back to which you can connect the power cord of additional gear. It is supposed to turn on the connected gear whenever the Z9 is turned on. Remember to check the limitations of this input before you connect the amp!

Good luck!

[scottielee]

speaking as a proud owner of signature 805 (2 years and counting) and jadis tube amps: i may be the only one on this forum who would recommend tube amps, but my advice is to at least listen to one within your budget. a few of my favorite brands to consider: jadis, canary, cary, and mcintosh. they all have models within your budget in used condition and some new. try audiogon.

best of luck!
scottie

[jasmine_love]

Hello scott,

I am glad that I found another signature 805 user. I've never used tube amps. What kind of care is needed?

[scottielee]

i have owned my tube amps for 8 months now, so i am no expert. but here is what i know and have experienced:

1. tube biasing when changing tubes can be a major pain, so look for amps with auto bias.
2. some tube amps can get real hot, depending on design and number of tubes.
3. look for quality tubes that last (don't have to be expensive new old stock). some tubes last more than 10,000 hours (years of enjoyment)
4. tube amps need to warm up (10+ minutes) each time you turn them on before listening. some sounds best after 1 hour of warm up. why not leave them on all the time? some amps are unreliable and tube replacement can get expensive.
5. avoid unreliable brands (obviously ) i have heard of tube amps breaking down while blowing the tubes to create small fireworks :E
6. they are not children-friendly, but most audio equipment aren't.

you may think tube amps come with a lot of hassle. but newer jadis amps, canary, mcintosh, balanced audio technology, cary, lamm, and a host of others are very reliable and easy to maintain.

keep in mind that one of the biggest advantage of tube gear have over solid state is that you can change tubes to better match your other gear to get the sound you like. it is more work, but this hobby is pretty sophisticated to begin with :T

best of luck!
scottie

[Fife]

Good advice Scottie.

[Patt]

Me not being familiar with tube equipment Scottie had some interesting easy to understand comments compared to a lot of other stuff I've read.