Way back in '86 I purchased a decent sound system including the JBL L80T
speakers and the amp was a Parasound DR65.
The amp finally died so now I'm looking for a new amp but I don't think I
want to spend as much as I did on that Parasound. I've been told by the
store (an audio store run by an electrical engineer not a department store
)
I bought it originally that I really should get a high end amp to match
those speakers- and then told the same by a tech at Circuit City.
The speakers' brochure says, "power handling 150 watts continuous, 600
watts
peak". The specs on the Parasound claim, "Continuous RMS power per
channel,
20Hz-20KHz with both channels operating into 8 ohms with no more than
rated
Total Harmonic Distortion: 65 watts". Now to me, that doesn't seem like a
match, but I trusted the engineer who put this system together.
So, when I looked at amps at Circuit City- the better ones, in the
$600-$800
range offer around 100 watts per channel. But, I saw a Sony for $250 that
also offered the same wattage. The tech said, "but the wattage of the more
expensive models is better wattage". No, he didn't say that way- he used
more technical language which I didn't understand but which sounded
reasonable. He also said that the better models (not Sony) were tested for
wattage- that is, each and every item was tested- whereas Sony doesn't do
this - it just estimates the wattage for each model implying that the
wattage may be lower than claimed.
Both the original store guy and the CC tech said that a cheaper model will
give inferior sound- which I don't doubt, but where to draw the line? I
only
have 2 speakers so I don't need a fancy amp with numerous channels and I
don't need any fancy features at all- I don't need a radio and I don't
need
compatibility with Blue-Ray or any other modern tech- I just need an amp
that will play reasonably well my JBL speakers. I'm somewhat fussy about
the
sound quality but I don't consider myself a true audiophile who will
notice
great subtleties between one good sound system and another.
I'd prefer to get by with the Sony for $250 (which is a sale item, not
sure
of original price and I didn't note the model) but if that will result in
really bad sound, I'll spend more.
Comments appreciated.
Joe
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