Emotiva mini-X a-100 vs. Parasound Zamp? Or other compact power amp?

ictwoody

I like vintage gear — my preamp is from 2007.
Hey guys, I'm putting together a small system for my office. So far I have Pioneer SP-BS22-LR's, and a Grant Fidelity TubeDAC-09 which I will use as a preamp since the other source will be my computer.

I'm looking for a SMALL size power amp for the system. Budget is sub $300. New or used.

In my research these are the two amps I've come across so far that intrigue me. I have a Trends 10.2 T-Amp, but I want a bit more headroom for the little Pioneers.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

- Woody

P.S. I MIGHT consider an integrated... But a power amp I would put under my desk out of sight. I don't really want the DAC and an integrated on the desktop.
 
I was just looking for something similar to set up a small system for my girlfriend. I ended up going with a Topping T32 t-amp. But in my searching i come across a small footprint Pro-Ject Amp (i think called the "Amp Box") that might work for you.

FWIW i couldn't believe how hard it was to get a small footprint integrated or amp.
 
This is a bit above your budget, but if you can swing it, Music Direct is blowing out Musical Fidelity M1 power amps for $500. Regular price used to be $1300.

I'm tempted to buy one myself for a secondary system or even a desktop system but it only ships to US addresses.
 
Here's the one i saw, maybe 20 wpc into 8 ohm isn't as much as you were looking for but its small and like 60% off.

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-3006-pro-ject-amp-box.aspx


Thanks but I think I'm gonna need more juice than that. I have my Trends TA-10.2P which is actually a very high quality tripath amp and it makes about 15wpc already. It's great with high efficiency speakers like my Tekton Lores at 98db/1w/1m... But these little monitors are power hungry.

Right now I'm leaning toward trying the emotiva.

- Woody
 
This is a bit above your budget, but if you can swing it, Music Direct is blowing out Musical Fidelity M1 power amps for $500. Regular price used to be $1300.

I'm tempted to buy one myself for a secondary system or even a desktop system but it only ships to US addresses.


That is tempting... But it still seems a bit expensive for what I'm wanting to do with it. If I was going to go that high I might look for a used Rega Brio-R cause I've kinda wanted to try one with my other speakers anyway.

Audio Advisor seems to be selling the M1 at $499 also, and another seller is on amazon. You might see if either of them will ship internationally.

- Woody
 
I bought one of the Emotiva mini X a-100 for less than $200 a couple of years ago. I have it connected to Legacy Gallery in-walls in my bedroom. It's a nice amp, but I can't say I've really listened to it seriously. The auto-on feature is nice. It's not really a good match for the Gallerys. They are so efficient I barely have to turn it up to 1 to get the volume level I want. There's a slight mismatch in either the speakers or the amp's output, because occasionally one channel will turn on before the other. I've had other speakers on it and didn't see a problem. They sounded really good as well.
 
That is tempting... But it still seems a bit expensive for what I'm wanting to do with it.

Woody, I'm curious what you ended up doing, and are you happy?

I have the same dilemma for a zone project---- Parasound Zamp v.2 vs. Emotiva (this year's model I think is called the Flex Fusion).

I don't own any products from either brand, so all I know is that many people love Emotiva gear and Parasound is ol'school cool. Any updates?
 
Whiskey, if you're after a powerful power amp in a small size you'd want to consider Class-D stuff.
 
How about a Topping TP60? 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms. I've had one for a couple years and really like it. Less than $200 on Amazon.
 
Woody, I'm curious what you ended up doing, and are you happy?



I have the same dilemma for a zone project---- Parasound Zamp v.2 vs. Emotiva (this year's model I think is called the Flex Fusion).



I don't own any products from either brand, so all I know is that many people love Emotiva gear and Parasound is ol'school cool. Any updates?


I was looking for a small amp for my office. Between the two I decided I liked the idea of the Parasound better... Mostly cause I was going to use it with my Grant fidelity DAC as a preamp and I liked the idea of a dedicated amp, and the rep of the Parasound is pretty stellar.

I was a bit worried that the Emotive would be a little more boring sounding like some of the emotiva gear I've heard.

Ultimately I went the other way and got another small tube amp... But I've tried to snag a good deal on a Parasound a few times when I've seen them pop up for sale used. I'll likely still try one at some point.

Don't know I'd that helps ya much, but those are my thoughts.

- Woody


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Whiskey, if you're after a powerful power amp in a small size you'd want to consider Class-D stuff.


I've owned some class d amps. They are good at lower levels, but they don't have the headroom to really reach rated output without the distortion levels going through the roof. I'll take a real amp over class d 9 times out of 10. I find you have to treat class d like lower watt amps... Efficient speakers etc... To get the best out of them.

Edit: I am referring to D class amps like the small topping, not stuff like the Crown. That amp is probably a beast. But my search was for a compact amp... The Crown is a full 19" wide and would kinda defeat the purpose for me.

- Woody


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Well the Class D amp I got today is 220wpc @ 8, doubling @ 4. It's smaller than the majority of SS power amps.

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And if you look into Bel Canto, NuForce etc class D stuff you're seeing 500 to 1000 wpc @ 8.

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The bumping of this thread kinda renewed my interest in these little amps. I just picked up a used ZAmp for pretty cheap... So I guess we'll see. I should have it in a week or so.

- Woody
 
Woody, thanks for the feedback -- and glad to hear that you picked up a Zamp, would really like to hear your impression of it.


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And if you look into Bel Canto, NuForce etc class D stuff you're seeing 500 to 1000 wpc @ 8.

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I'm a big fan of Bel Canto. I have mono blocks but they make amps and integrated with the same small form. As far as I know they are still made in America if that matters to anyone.

cubdog
 
I just picked up a Parasound Zpre2 and a Zamp V2 this weekend. Running them through a set of Pinnacle PN5+ book shelf speakers and it sounds pretty good. I think I'm going to use it for my computer system and finally throw these cheap tinny speakers that I've been using for years in the trash. Total investment for the pre, amp and speakers was 60 bucks.

BillWojo
 
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