sWilly Posted December 13, 2022 Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 I recently acquired a pair of 1968 AR-3a's that I am currently restoring. I understand that these require quite a bit of power to sound their best. I am looking for suggestions for power amps to pair with a Marantz 2238b or NAD3020. Hoping to keep it under $500. I'm open to vintage or newer amps. What would you suggest for minimum wattage? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted December 13, 2022 Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 Crown XLS 1002 will get you 350 watts at 4ohms for about $400. The amp it replaced, the XLS 1000 can be had for less with similar specs. For just over $500, you can move up in the line to the XLS 1502, which gives you 525 watts. They're considered "professional" amps, but they're very nice sounding, have all kinds of options with them as well. And they're small and light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 2 hours ago, samberger0357 said: Crown XLS 1002 will get you 350 watts at 4ohms for about $400. The amp it replaced, the XLS 1000 can be had for less with similar specs. For just over $500, you can move up in the line to the XLS 1502, which gives you 525 watts. They're considered "professional" amps, but they're very nice sounding, have all kinds of options with them as well. And they're small and light. Yeah, the Crowns might work well. Although, I'm not sure I can stomach putting a vintage Marantz next to a Crown from a visual standpoint. Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted December 14, 2022 Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 I'm not familiar with the Marantz and couldn't find anything under that model number. What is it? Cosmetically I understand where you're coming from. But with your budget, a vintage piece with sufficient power for the 3a's won't be as easy to find. Plus you need to factor in possible restoration costs. The Crown's are fairly small, so you can hide it away in a cabinet and then nobody will see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 Woops, typo. It was supposed to be 2238b. There's some NAD's in that price range but yeah, the only way I could get a vintage Marantz, or other power amp in that range would be to find a non-working one and restore it myself. Which is a consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 I'm wondering if the Emotiva BasX A2 Might be a good fit with the 3a's? 250 WPC at 4ohms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted December 14, 2022 Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 I’ve never heard it but it would seem so at least on paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted December 14, 2022 Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 12 hours ago, sWilly said: I'm wondering if the Emotiva BasX A2 Might be a good fit with the 3a's? 250 WPC at 4ohms. You have a 30 day return window. I've owned 2 Emo amps. First the XPA2 Gen2 which I sold and got an SA250 which I liked so much I got a second one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2022 24 minutes ago, DavidR said: You have a 30 day return window. I've owned 2 Emo amps. First the XPA2 Gen2 which I sold and got an SA250 which I liked so much I got a second one. Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts on the Emo. I'm leaning towards the BasX A2. Andrew seems like them: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted December 15, 2022 Report Share Posted December 15, 2022 The A2 is a well received amp. I think you'll be happy. I have an A100 Headphone amp and run speakers with it (50wpc 8ohm/80wpc 4ohm). Clarity and stereo separation is stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Nicolai Posted December 15, 2022 Report Share Posted December 15, 2022 A vintage Adcom GFA-555 in good shape might be worth considering. It has plenty of power, rated at 325 wpc into 4 ohms. You should probably stay away from the 555II since it reportedly has problems that the original 555 amp did not have. I was looking for one about a year ago but settled on a Mitsubishi DA-A10 with less power to drive my 2Xa's, but the 2Xa's are far less power hungry. You may have to go slightly more than $500 for a 555 in great shape, but there are a lot of them around and you might get lucky. I think there were a great many Adcom GFA-555's driving AR-3a's years ago. Perhaps someone can chime in on how well 3a's and 555's pair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Norman Nicolai said: A vintage Adcom GFA-555 in good shape might be worth considering. It has plenty of power, rated at 325 wpc into 4 ohms. You should probably stay away from the 555II since it reportedly has problems that the original 555 amp did not have. I was looking for one about a year ago but settled on a Mitsubishi DA-A10 with less power to drive my 2Xa's, but the 2Xa's are far less power hungry. You may have to go slightly more than $500 for a 555 in great shape, but there are a lot of them around and you might get lucky. I think there were a great many Adcom GFA-555's driving AR-3a's years ago. Perhaps someone can chime in on how well 3a's and 555's pair? Thanks Norman. I've been eyeing some Adcoms. I will look closer at the GFA-555. Regarding watts, what might be a good minimum for the AR-3a's? I'm not a super loud listener anymore. I just want them to sound good at low to moderately high levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR55 Posted December 16, 2022 Report Share Posted December 16, 2022 If you search this forum, you will find that this topic has been discussed more than a few times. The recommendations range from 60wpc to 400wpc or more. Unless you have the speakers in a very large, dead room, 120wpc into 4 ohms should be adequate. My AR-11s are powered by a 200wpc amp, but I have never come close to needing that much power. Most of the time they draw 2 watts or less. It is a rare occurrence when they need more than 20 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted December 16, 2022 Report Share Posted December 16, 2022 My 3a's and 3's have sounded fine in my medium size room with everything from 35 to 400 watts, both tube and solid state. Really comes down to your own ears, how loud you listen, size of room. More watts will provide you with a bit more bottom end at lower volumes. At least that's been my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sWilly Posted December 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2022 20 hours ago, AR55 said: If you search this forum, you will find that this topic has been discussed more than a few times. The recommendations range from 60wpc to 400wpc or more. Unless you have the speakers in a very large, dead room, 120wpc into 4 ohms should be adequate. My AR-11s are powered by a 200wpc amp, but I have never come close to needing that much power. Most of the time they draw 2 watts or less. It is a rare occurrence when they need more than 20 watts. Thanks. I did quite a bit of searching/reading last night. Opinions vary but in general it seems like more watts brings out the best in these speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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