Preamp question, Auratones.

[Jim]

Can anyone please help with a question? I needed a small amp to power a
little set of Auratones. I'm not going to use them much, just as an
alternative to my big self powered JBLs. The problem I may have is that all
the little amps (phono amps) I find are made for use with a turntable and
therefore brag that they have the RIAA curve built in to boost bass. Won't
the RIAA curve of the phono pre-amp I was planning on using (cause they're
cheap) color the sound? I'll pay more for a better speaker amp if
neccessary, but since the little Auratones were being used as a second way
to hear my mix I didn't want to overbuy. Should I dump the phono preamp
cause of the RIAA curve? Can anyone recommend a small amp that does the job?
Again, only need it to power Auratones.

[LeBaron & Alrich]

Jim > wrote:

> Can anyone please help with a question? I needed a small amp to power a
> little set of Auratones. I'm not going to use them much, just as an
> alternative to my big self powered JBLs. The problem I may have is that all
> the little amps (phono amps) I find are made for use with a turntable and
> therefore brag that they have the RIAA curve built in to boost bass. Won't
> the RIAA curve of the phono pre-amp I was planning on using (cause they're
> cheap) color the sound? I'll pay more for a better speaker amp if
> neccessary, but since the little Auratones were being used as a second way
> to hear my mix I didn't want to overbuy. Should I dump the phono preamp
> cause of the RIAA curve? Can anyone recommend a small amp that does the job?
> Again, only need it to power Auratones.

You don't want a preamp, you want an amplifier. Yes, integrated units
contain both. I think that's what you're talking about.

The RIAA curve "built-in" to a preamp applies only to the phono inputs.
It does not affect line inputs. So you can use such an integrated unit
for your purposes. Just don't hook your rig to the phon inputs unless
your rig is a turntable.

Note that those little Auratones are rather inefficient, and they like a
little extra power. Something around fifty watts per channel does fine.

--
hank alrich * secret mountain
audio recording * music production * sound reinforcement
"If laughter is the best medicine let's take a double dose"

[Scott Dorsey]

Jim > wrote:
>Can anyone please help with a question? I needed a small amp to power a
>little set of Auratones. I'm not going to use them much, just as an
>alternative to my big self powered JBLs.

Those things are fine with five watts or so.

The problem I may have is that all
>the little amps (phono amps) I find are made for use with a turntable and
>therefore brag that they have the RIAA curve built in to boost bass. Won't
>the RIAA curve of the phono pre-amp I was planning on using (cause they're
>cheap) color the sound?

A preamplifier is not a power amplifier at all. It's a thing that goes in
front of a power amplifier. You cannot drive an eight-ohm load out of one
of those things.

>I'll pay more for a better speaker amp if
>neccessary, but since the little Auratones were being used as a second way
>to hear my mix I didn't want to overbuy. Should I dump the phono preamp
>cause of the RIAA curve? Can anyone recommend a small amp that does the job?

The phono preamp isn't an amp at all.

The little 1U Tascam amp will be fine. Most of the other very low power
amplifiers out there are either very high quality (and therefore expensive,
like the 5W Krell headphone amp), or they are mono, (like the little 5W
Radio Shack PA amp) so you'd need two.

>Again, only need it to power Auratones.

There are a bunch of 10W amplifier kits out there using the cheap
Philips power amp chips. Velleman sells one, if you are up to doing
some soldering and building a power supply for it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Steve Holt]

"Jim" > wrote in message
.net...
> Can anyone please help with a question? I needed a small amp to power a
> little set of Auratones. I'm not going to use them much, just as an
> alternative to my big self powered JBLs. The problem I may have is that
all
> the little amps (phono amps) I find are made for use with a turntable and
> therefore brag that they have the RIAA curve built in to boost bass. Won't
> the RIAA curve of the phono pre-amp I was planning on using (cause they're
> cheap) color the sound? I'll pay more for a better speaker amp if
> neccessary, but since the little Auratones were being used as a second way
> to hear my mix I didn't want to overbuy. Should I dump the phono preamp
> cause of the RIAA curve? Can anyone recommend a small amp that does the
job?
> Again, only need it to power Auratones.


I seriously doubt whether you could hear a bass boost out of an Auratone.
I use a little boombox to power my Horrortones. They sound just as
blissfully bland as you could desire.

--
Steve Holt
INNER MUSIC
Music Creation & Production
http://www.inner-music.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt