Power AMp which one to go with

[versuviusx]

hi i'm looking at getting a power amp for some passive studio monitors.
and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a nice, quiet well performing power amp for the money.
i'm looking at the alesis stuff as of now. it seems cheap and not too bad. please post your suggestions.

[9000]

i'm a recent convert to the integrated amp approach, as a number of people on this board have been very helpful in this regard.

[justinf]

Hafler. Definitely a step up from the Alesis RA-100 I had for a while. Do a search. . . then, Bryston from there.

[Randy]

Hafler. Definitely a step up from the Alesis RA-100 I had for a while. Do a search. . . then, Bryston from there.

Word of caution. I have a Hafler TA-1600 and after a year it started making some intermittent hums. I ruled out ground loops, so it's the unit itself. Problem is, the warranty was only good for 1 year. Rockford Fosgate bought Hafler and has discontinued the brand. They will still work on Hafler equipment, but you never know for how long.

I had a Samson Servo 120 and it sounded okay for a couple of years, and now one channel is cutting out randomly. I bought the Hafler to replace it. I am starting to think that power amps are like shoes, there is no such thing as a bargain when it comes to them.

[mingus2112]

I just got an Alesis RA150 from a friend and immediately went to ebay and bought another one for my monitors. They're inexpensive and amazingly clean sounding. I've never heard the Hafler stuff, but from what I've heard ABOUT them i'm sure they're a decent step up. I'm sticking with Alesis because of the price/quality ratio.

-James

[dynomike]

I've worked in several studios where Haflers are employed, powering either tannoys or a 2nd set of "hifi" speakers (B+W. etc) for checking mixes, and they've always been great... never really noticed them much, like a good power amp.

I have a NAD 2200 myself which is a high end 80s consumer amp, amaaazing clean power and fast fast fast transients for the money. I'd def. steer clear of integrated amps myself.. why have your signal go through all that shit? The nad (like most power amps) has no controls.. just input and output. 400w/channel RMS @ 8 ohms for up to 30 seconds at a time, although they only spec it at 100w/channel for some reason. Very impressive, I have actually listened to Brystons (2Bsst,4B) and at least personally couldn't tell the difference.

Mike