Amplifier for Wharfedale Linton, budget $ 1,300

[ziggurcat]

And the second question, if I go for like 250W amp, where speakers show desired range till 200W, will be it considered as a bad practice?

No, I don't think you can ever have too much power - it is far worse to have an amp that is underpowered. And how much power you actually use all depends on your listening levels/how far you sit from the speakers (IMO). You will likely never really get anywhere close to 200 or even 250 watts while listening to anything. If you did, your ears would burst, and you'd be bleeding all over the place.

FWiW, I have the Lintons, and I am currently driving them with an Emotiva BasX A3 amplifier that claims a 150wpc into 2ch driven (I did run a 3.1ch system, hence the need for the A3). I am going to be swapping it out with a Buckeye Hypex NCx500 2-Channel amp next month, which has a rating of 380wpc into 8ohm, and 700wpc into 4ohm/2ohm.

 

[DanielT]

Thanks a lot, for the time and solid answers. I was a bit overwhelmed with the options, but you really helped me

HiFi is fascinating. That such combinations of amp and speaker are sold all over the world. World taste so to speak, how come?

Here in Thailand (I think) :

Loa Wharfedale Linton 85th + Amply Leak Stereo 230 Walnut

Cấu hình dàn nghe nhạc bao gồm: Loa Wharfedale Linton 85th Amply Leak Stereo 230 Walnut Đầu CD Leak CDT Walnut Loa nghe nhạc Wharfedale Linton Heritage 85th Linton chính là biểu tượng đại diện cho lịch sử lâu đời của thương hiệu Wharfedale. Là mẫu loa mang tính tiên phong về công nghệ và thiết...

ducmanh.audio

 

[AdrenalinH]

No, I don't think you can ever have too much power - it is far worse to have an amp that is underpowered. And how much power you actually use all depends on your listening levels/how far you sit from the speakers (IMO). You will likely never really get anywhere close to 200 or even 250 watts while listening to anything. If you did, your ears would burst, and you'd be bleeding all over the place.

FWiW, I have the Lintons, and I am currently driving them with an Emotiva BasX A3 amplifier that claims a 150wpc into 2ch driven (I did run a 3.1ch system, hence the need for the A3). I am going to be swapping it out with a Buckeye Hypex NCx500 2-Channel amp next month, which has a rating of 380wpc into 8ohm, and 700wpc into 4ohm/2ohm.

Can you please update on how do you find this change? And what was your motivation? More power?

 

[ziggurcat]

Can you please update on how do you find this change? And what was your motivation? More power?

I just got my shipping notification this evening, so I will be able to hopefully set it all up Wednesday next week. The impetus for the Buckeye was:

downsizing - I dropped to 2.1ch a bit more than a month ago, so I don't need the "big" 3-channel amp anymore. I haven't decided whether to keep the A3 or sell/give it to family/a friend.
more head room because it's more than double the power - not that I listen to anything at a high SPL, but that extra breathing room is never-have-to-worry-ever-again peace of mind for me. The Buckeye can also handle a 2ohm load, so the Lintons' minimum impedance of 3.5ohm won't be an issue.
much better THD+N and SNR specs than the Emotiva (by a mile, IMO) - nothing but good, clean sound
smaller form factor - this ties into point #1
it's 100% user-serviceable - in the (pretty unlikely) event that something breaks, I can get the part and replace it myself without having to send anything out for repair

This is in conjunction with a plan involving moving away from a traditional AVR in my HT system, which I won't get into here because it will detract from the topic.