First post so thank you all ahead of time for taking the time to respond. I did post this question on another forum so sorry if you are reading this twice.
I'm restoring my dad's old JBL L112s to use as my main speakers and would like to find a decent amp that is a good match. They are somewhat efficient at 89db but I've been told by some that these speakers do best with a lot of juice - as in 200-300 wpc! That seems like overkill to me but I've heard it from more than one speaker head. I assume that's because the've got big 12" woofers that are capable of going really low so maybe they need the power to control the bass?? All theory to me.
It's not a big room - roughly 10x20 ft. Budget is under $1k
Currently using a well maintained Marantz 2230 as my preamp feeding an Adcom 5300. Dynaudio BM6 and Tannoy PBM 8 are my current speakers. With my Yamaha SW100 sub it's a nice budget system.
I just bought a used Schiit Saga+ preamp - curious if it sounds much better than the Marantz but it does have a remote!
Here are my main contenders:
Schiit Vidar - 100wpc should be enough but it's not exactly "a lot of power" but there is the option to one day upgrade to dual mono blocks at 400wpc and in the meantime 100w is probably "good enough". The down the line upgrade would be really affordable for a big jump in current.
Crown XLS 1502 - lots of clean power for not a lot of money, seems like a no brainer. Ugly but stays cool and quiet so easy to hide.
Avantone CLA-200 - Looks like a classic class A/B studio monitor power amp in the style of old Yamaha and Hafler amps. Nice power rating. Specs not as hifi as the Vidar but I could see this being a good match for the JBLs.
Used Adcom, Parasound, Yamaha, Onkyo, NAD power amps with over 200wpc
Curious what you guys think!
I'm restoring my dad's old JBL L112s to use as my main speakers and would like to find a decent amp that is a good match. They are somewhat efficient at 89db but I've been told by some that these speakers do best with a lot of juice - as in 200-300 wpc! That seems like overkill to me but I've heard it from more than one speaker head. I assume that's because the've got big 12" woofers that are capable of going really low so maybe they need the power to control the bass?? All theory to me.
It's not a big room - roughly 10x20 ft. Budget is under $1k
Currently using a well maintained Marantz 2230 as my preamp feeding an Adcom 5300. Dynaudio BM6 and Tannoy PBM 8 are my current speakers. With my Yamaha SW100 sub it's a nice budget system.
I just bought a used Schiit Saga+ preamp - curious if it sounds much better than the Marantz but it does have a remote!
Here are my main contenders:
Schiit Vidar - 100wpc should be enough but it's not exactly "a lot of power" but there is the option to one day upgrade to dual mono blocks at 400wpc and in the meantime 100w is probably "good enough". The down the line upgrade would be really affordable for a big jump in current.
Crown XLS 1502 - lots of clean power for not a lot of money, seems like a no brainer. Ugly but stays cool and quiet so easy to hide.
Avantone CLA-200 - Looks like a classic class A/B studio monitor power amp in the style of old Yamaha and Hafler amps. Nice power rating. Specs not as hifi as the Vidar but I could see this being a good match for the JBLs.
Used Adcom, Parasound, Yamaha, Onkyo, NAD power amps with over 200wpc
Curious what you guys think!