Ra-820bx4 Or 840b?

[SOUNDY]

thinking of getting an 840b instead of an 820bx4 is this wise?

[eelco74]

The 840b is 3 generations older than the 820bx4. The 820 is a economy model (only 200 Euro's in 1988), without the toroidal power supply. The 840 was twice the price.

So unless you have power hungry speakers, I doubt it will be a major upgrade.

See if you can find a 840BX3 or 840BX4, those are real upgrades.

[SOUNDY]

thanks ill definately be getting an 840bx4 (if i can find one)

[eelco74]

I had one for several years (the 840BX4) and it is an awsome amp. It was howver not powerfull enough for my new speakers. But for high-end monitors it still is a good choice.

In runs in Class-A upto 5 watts, so it becomes quite hot on low volumes.

I have a scan of the original brochure :

[SOUNDY]

yeah i had the 820b (i think) it was with no tone controls just selector buttons and no tape monitor functions, the balance was in the volume knob and you had to split it with two hands plus no remote which didnt bother me one bit because my uncle gave it to me in 1994 for washing his car (result!) id say for controlling the speaker it was the best amp ive heard so if the 840bx4 has a better power supply its got to be the one for me.
ARE YOU SURE THE 840 IS OLDER THAN 820?

[eelco74]

RA 820BX4 = 1990/92
RA 840B = 1984/85

The 840B was one of their first more upmarket attempt, altough still reasonably cheap.

I would say that the 840BX2 was a major step foward, the BX3 and BX4 only had some refinements.

Still lovely amps, but no match to modern good Stereo amps. However they still give a 1000$ HT amp a good run for the money.

[Chancey]

Hi eelco,

I have an RA 840B. I was wondering if it would be suitable to use as a power amp to drive nearfield speakers in my home recording studio? So far I have only been using it in my hi-fi set up. Do you think I would need a dedicated power amp for my studio, and just use the Rotel for my hi-fi?

Many thanks in advance for your advice,

chancey

[2bluechris]

Nearfield in Home Studio

Hi Chancey ,
the RA840B should be fine for use with your nearfields if they are fairly Efficient , ie:- above about 86dB/W/m sensitivity rating , and if you are sitting within about 6ft distance .

Use one of the Auxilary inputs pairs , or the Tape In pair . These are all Unbalanced inputs and high Impedance , as most are for Hi-Fi/Home Stereo , so this will only work if your Mixer has Unbalanced outputs - ie:- single core , shielded co-axial cable connections .

Only other consideration is the Input Sensitivity of the Rotel - it may not be to the same specification for Voltage as the output of your Mixer , so proceed carefully as follows :-

Set the volume of your Mixer output low , and the volume control of the Rotel at about half-way {12 O'clock position} . If you get sufficient clean sound levels then by simply increasing the Mixer output level , then all is likely OK , but if you get distortion then decrease the Mixer output and till distortion gone and use the Rotel Volume control for louder levels .

Alternately , if with Rotel at 12 O'clock the sound is anaemic or too much hiss and low level noises , then reduce the Rotel Volume pot level and use the Mixer at higher output levels .

Post your results here if you would like further comments about this .
best wishes , Chris .

[Chancey]

Re: Nearfield in Home Studio

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your detailed and helpful response!

I'll try out all your recommendations and will certainly post back with my results.

I'm using the Rotel with a Yamaha AW4416 hard disk recorder (which has an integrated mixer), and my monitors are Soundcraft Spirit Absolute 2.

All the best,

Chancey