The Two Channel Advice Thread

Anyone here have experience with the First Watt F7 amp? I am looking at that and the old Pioneer M-22 to go with my Freya preamp and my 98.82dB 2.83V@1m speakers.

Also, what is a proper price for a "refurbished" Pioneer M-22?

Thanks!

 

Here's an Australian M-22 that I posted a while ago. Good price, and looks like it's been recapped: http://www.aussieaudiomart.com/details/649357618-pioneer-m22-class-a-power-amp/

 

Thanks! I have sent a message to the seller. The seller is in New Zealand and I have asked if he would ship to the U.S. That seems like a great price for a refurbished unit based on what I see elsewhere.

 

Good luck!
I love mine.
It's also an awesome headphone amp if you get one of those xlr to banana plug adapters.
Marv suggested using it with the HD800s and he was right. It holds its own against the EC 2a3 mkiv that I have.

 

Thanks. That one in New Zealand was already sold. Can anyone tell me what a fair price would be for a refurbished Pioneer M-22? If I buy one and end up not keeping it, I would like to be to minimize my losses when selling.

 

Under $1000 but they're fairly rare. It might be a while before you find one at a fair price.

 

For searching purposes, also keep an eye out for the M-25 which I think is simply a beefier version of the M-22.

 

Delete.

 

Spoiler

Hi guys, hopefully the picture goes into a spoiler or i'll edit this.

Anyway, I'm going crazy trying to figure this out.
Do you think that the second monitor on the top left will affect my sound noticeably, by causing reflections?

I'mtrying to listen to music while moving it back and forth since its on a pivotable stand
and I cant for the life of me figure out if there's a sound difference, if its placebo, what have you.

Someone told me as long as it's not in front of the speaker it's fine. Thoughts, experts? Thanks so much.

 

As long as it's not in line with the baffle, don't fret over it. You'll get a more noticeable difference/improvement by sticking some books under the front of the speakers to angle them up though.

 

What I would do:
- rise the monitors up, as Armaegis suggested, so that tweeter (actually midpoint bw drivers) is on ear level, or at least tilt them so that the sound axis points towards your head.
- If possible, move displays to center and speakers on the sides
- ideally you'd want more listening distance from speakers, so perhaps some stands behind desk to rise them higher and move further back
It doesn't matter much if the speaker is behind the display once it has some clearance sideways

 

Anyone have recommendations for a desktop amp? Right now I am using a Lepai which is obviously the weakest part of my audio chain. I’m thinking of the Dayton Audio DTA-120 but I would rather have something Class AB. Is there such thing as a 50w Class AB desk amp?

 

I believe the Parasound Z-amp is class AB. It might be slightly less, but it's somewhere around 50watts (8Ω). I thought it was okay (better than the Halo if it's enough power/gain for your speaker); however, there've been several revisions, and I'm not sure which I've heard. It's a half-rack and almost square (maybe ~9"x10"x2").

 

If it's the full rangers, what about the JLH69?

 

Not full range. It’s a two-way and needs some power. Specs say it can go up to 75 watts. I don’t need that much power but I do know the Lepai clips way too low.

 

A Quad 303 + passive preamp is fine if you dont mind a cap-coupled amp and íts ugly look. Or you could go vintage Naim Nait, but they tend to cost a lot now.

 

@Cspirou, the Emotiva Bas-X A100 may be a good fit for your application [link]. It's Class A/B, and 50 wpc into 8 ohms. Here's a review from Steve G [link]. Has a headphone out too if that appeals to you. It might stretch the definition of "desktop" though (quite deep).

 

Micca MB42x. I alternate between running them as is and applying EQ.

 

maybe you could build a lm3875 class ab gainclone chipamp.. seems a pretty popular option.. weirdly I can't find any fully assembled products with it.. right now the assembled cheap ones are all class d chipamps like tpa3116 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/HIF...2-material-washed-zero-profit/1988580406.html