Advice/speakers

[EvanFew]

I had the pleasure of auditioning an A52 today, which I had intended to purchase. However, the dealer encouraged me to buy an "open box" (but never used) A52 for not much more money than the A51. My only apprehension concerns my speakers. I am currently using the NHT evolution system (T5 towers and M5 center). They are only rated to handle 150 watts RMS, and have a peak power of 300 watts.

Will this magnificent beast of an amp incinerate my beloved speakers? The dealer seems to think I have little to be concerned about, but I am not convinced he knows of what he speaks, or has my best interests at heart.

So, should I play it safe and get the A52, or should I contact my local power utility and warn them that I will need more juice to feed a hungry A51?

[nicholtl]

It's better to overpower your speakers than to underpower them. And even though your speaks are rated at 150 RMS, the A51 will not damage them. In fact, the dynamics of your towers may actually improve using the A51 over that of the A52. This is, assuming, you do not drive the amp to it's absolute peak, which I don't think anybody ever does. Because not only will you blow your NHT's, but will obliterate your windows, that nice TV screen, your precious eardrums, the little fuse box, your wife's temper, your neighbors' even worse, etc. etc.

[Peter Nielsen]

Some things to consider with the A51

-Check that your rack is at least 23" deep (The unit is 20", but you need 23" in order to meet the clearance requirements).
-You will need 6" of clearance above the A51 for proper ventilation (only 3" is required above the A52)
-If you're currently using spades or bare wires for your speaker connections, you will probably want to get a set of decent bananas (read: WBT) for the A51 as the terminals are very close to each other. (The A52 has a more "user friendly" rear panel layout).

Peter

[Peter Nielsen]

This is, assuming, you do not drive the amp to it's absolute peak, which I don't think anybody ever does.

Well, that only applies to your specific setup, since you have very efficient speakers that don't require a huge amp.

If you have power hungry speakers like Magneplanars, it's not difficult at all to drive the A51 to its peak. I'm eagerly waiting for a pair of JC-1s which I hopefully will get the first week of December :B

[Chris CRt]

"However, the dealer encouraged me to buy an "open box" (but never used) A52 for not much more money than the A51."

I'm guessing that you mean getting the A51 for not much more money than the A52, right?

If that is the case, then go with the A51. As someone else mentioned, the more power will probably open up your speakers more and sound incredible.

I'm running M&K S-150's for mains, SS-150's for surrounds and they love the power from the A51/A21 combo I have. They are also 4 ohm speakers, so they are really sucking down some power :T

Go for the A51. Hopefully you will have a big enough rack and enough space to accommodate that beast! Either way, enjoy!

[EvanFew]

Thank you all for the feedback. I HAD intended to say that I could get the A51 for not much more money than the A52 (sorry about that). Not sure it matters, but I should also have stated that my speakers impedance is 6 ohm (nominal) 3.6 ohm (minimum). Also, good advice on the spatial requirements for this monster, I had not fully thought that out.

[nicholtl]

Wow, that's really cool! But aside from your psychic powers, how did you know both my parents were shrinks? Did I mention that in a previous thread? Weird!

Laguna Niguel is truly a beautiful place indeed. Been there a few times myself. But now I live in downtown LA where, thankfully, my apartment neighbors don't seem to mind my driving my system to earth-shattering levels. Where in LA did you once live?

And the all important question: are you pulling the trigger on the A51??

- Nick

[EvanFew]

In my A51 mania yesterday, I forgot one important considerations. I did not take into consideration whether or not it's substantial girth will fit in the new Salamander entertainment center I'm about to buy (it wont).

[Brian]

You know, there are all kinds of rumors about Parasound doign some pretty nice upgrades, also before the end of the year. I'd be shocked if Parasound wasn't releasing something that would keep them at least somewhat current with all the latest developments (HDMI, etc)
I think Anthem has just been more public about what is coming down the pipeline, where as Parasound has kept things hush, hush. At least that is what I'm hoping for!

[Chris D]

Evan-

1. Go with the A51. I think you'll be kicking yourself in the future if you pass up this opportunity.
2. In all the stores I've been in, I've NEVER seen an open-box Halo of any type. Interesting that you've seen two now.
3. Brian's right--Anthem is putting out advance information of their upcoming release. Parasound is not, but I think that pretty much everything Anthem is releasing as an upgrade will also be released by Parasound at almost the same time, maybe even more.
4. I flew into March ARB in Riverside and spent this past weekend there. Nice place!

[EvanFew]

Thanks guys for the heads up on the Parasound upgrades. That would indeed be very exciting if they were soon to release HDMI switching incorporated into new versions of the C1 and C2. I suppose it must be inevitable that this will happen. More and more people require this type of video switching.

[Chris D]

Yup, I'm checking the Parasound website daily, hoping that one of these days I'll have a pleasant surprise there.

Some people are really unbelievable.

[nicholtl]

The guy must've had the amp for a while though, right? Because so long as he returned the product to the store within 30 days, all packaging included, they would simply box it back up and sell it again at retail, I'd think? Otherwise ANY return of any kind whatsoever would result in an open-box sale, which I don't think is the case? (otherwise stores would lose GOBS of money!)

[Brian]

I'm pretty sure stores can't resell open merchandise as new. I believe there are even laws governing such acts.

[nicholtl]

Oh man, that sucks! So every time people just buy several units to audition, or purchase several from a dealer for the same purpose, whatever they return is immediately classified as "open box?" Damn! You all should be glad I'm NOT a dealer because I'd never do that!!! What customers don't know can't hurt them. =)

[Peter Nielsen]

Oh man, that sucks! So every time people just buy several units to audition, or purchase several from a dealer for the same purpose, whatever they return is immediately classified as "open box?"

Of course! If the unit has been handled, it's used! You really can't guarantee that it hasn't been scratched or stained by fingerprints. (Chemical deposits like fingerprints can be really evil if you let them sit. What you don't see might be there etching the surface).

An open box unit needs to be several hundred dollars less expensive in order to cover for the possible need for replacing stained or damaged chassis parts ($$$).

If you ask me, I'd take a B-stock unit before an Open Box since the B-stock unit was probably reconditioned and inspected at the factory whereas you really don't know what's in that open box...

Of course, if you know who has handled the unit and how it was handled, that changes things. Unfortunately you should always assume the worst. I've always had some kind of problem with open box units I've bought in the past. I guess the perfect example is a $1500 Panasonic VCR that I bought in the late 80's. I bought two identical units. One of them was new, the other was open box. After 3 years, the open box unit started to trash tapes every once in a while. It could not be repaired (it was even sent back to Panasonic's Finnish national service center for a $400 repair, which still did not fix the problem). The other unit still works fine after 15 years. Why is that? I still don't know for sure, but I think the open box unit had been sitting at the dealer for a couple of months with improper ventilation (e.g. sales material on top of the unit covering the ventilation holes).

Peter

[nicholtl]

Wow, VCR's cost $1500 back then??

[bhuskins]

Yep...I bought a $2,000 Sony SVHS...ouch...and before I was a dealer (Media Design started in 1993)...around 1990 I believe. I think it still works...haven't used it in a few years. It had one of the coolest remotes though... This was top of the line BTW.

Brent Huskins
Media Design

[nicholtl]

Brent, I sent you an email.