Got monitors, need receiver.

[Glenn Mitchell]

I traded an older Korg Digital recorder for a couple of Yorkville YSM-1 studio monitors.
70 watts program
6 ohm nominal, 4 ohms min.
I want to use them for mixing my recordings,.

Now I need something to drive them.

What should I look for?

[Flash Harry]

You need a servo amp, such as the Alesis or Samson units. Hi-fi amps just don't cut it. Or a pair of Quad 404's if you can find them.

[Farrell Jackson]

Both of the amps (Alesis RA150 & Samson Servo 200) that Flash Harry has mentioned will absolutely work fine for you.  They go for about $200 US new.

I started my studio monitors with some Alesis M1 passive speakers driven by an old tube stereo receiver, 1980's vintage. I used that as my main system for 4 years before upgrading to some powered KRK Rockit 5's. I now mix on my KRK's but I still use the stereo receiver, hooked to a pair of Yamaha 3 ways, to verify my final mixes. I'm always making the final adjustments based on what I'm hearing on my cheapo set of monitors. They give me the real world sound of a house stereo system.

Depending on your budget and since you already have the passive monitors,  you could pick up a used stereo receiver for cheap ($20) at most any yard sale and it would suffice for now. At some point I would recommend going with a powered set, which wouldn't cost much more than a new monitor amp. They are compact and the amp is matched to the speakers which is an audio plus.  You could always keep the 2nd set for mix checks.

Just my two cents. Good luck with your decision Glenn.

Farrell

[64Guitars]

Both of the amps (Alesis RA150 & Samson Servo 200) that Flash Harry has mentioned will absolutely work fine for you.  They go for about $200 US new.

At 100 watts per channel, the Samson Servo 200 is a bit too powerful for those 70-watt speakers. I think you'd be better off with the newer Samson Servo 120a which is 60 watts per channel. Also, the Servo 200 has two cooling fans while the Servo 120a uses convection cooling instead. A prefer the latter since it provides silent cooling. Fans wear out and become noisy. If you've ever had a worn-out fan in your computer's power supply, you'll know how annoying that is. And the Servo 120a is more compact, taking only a single rack space where the Servo 200 takes two.

http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/power-amplifiers/servo-series/servo120a/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Servo120a

[Glenn Mitchell]

Thanks Guys.
I don't know anything about matching speakers to amps.
So - I gather I look for something that comes close to matching the 70 watt per side? No fans.
I'll probably look for a Craig's list special at first as I don't have a "real" studio with racks etc.

[Glenn Mitchell]

http://comoxvalley.en.craigslist.ca/ele/2668428893.html
Would this do the trick?

[Flash Harry]

Not really. The power supplies on domestic kit are built to a budget. You have monitor speakers and if you don't drive them properly, you may as well get a hi-fi.
The point of monitors is that the colouration they add is minimised.
Hi-fi amps will add their own coloration and defeat the object.

[Glenn Mitchell]

Ok, Thanks very much FH, it seems best to get something designed for it as suggested above.
some things it doesn't pay to cheap out on.

[Flash Harry]

There's always stuff on ebay. Alesis, Samson, Behringer, Mackie, loads to choose from. Even if you get something too big for them you just don't crank it up as far. 70W music power is about 35W RMS, but you will hear them start to get harsh as they apporach their limit. And 35W is enough for the dining table.....

[Glenn Mitchell]

And they'd be called "Power supplies" or "Power Amps"??