Advice needed on reference amp

[Gary Gray]

In my modest little home studio, playback is achieved via a Pioneer receiver and a pair of JBL S25s. I'm concerned that a home stereo receiver such as mine might color the sound during playback.

Is my concern justified? Would a better choice be to use a dedicated reference amp designed specifically for studio use?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Gravity Jim]

Hey, Gary, welcome aboard! Glad to see you hear.

Reference amps are something I know almost nothing about. I've always used self-powered monitors.

But I would guess that a Pioneer receiver is going to have certain frequencies hyped. My old bass-playin' buddy Gary Lavengood used to work for Crown, and so I naturally tend to recommend Crown power amps for cleanlness and reliability. I don't know what the power rating is on your JBL's, but you can pick up used Crown D-75s and D-150s from $100 to $200 on eBay, depending on how old they are. I've got a 75 in my studio right now that I'm using as a power amp between a POD and a speaker cab that's got to be 30 years old, and it sounds great.

That doesn't mean that QSC and Carver aren't swell amps, too, because I'm told they are.

But I'm guessing fezz parka (one of our TFF audio gurus) will have something more substantial to say. Fezz used to master movie music for MGM and Sony, and he's got big ears.

[Gravity Jim]

See? Told ya. :)

[Gary Gray]

Ah, Jim, you were absolutely right. This place rocks.

fezz, thanks for the response. I appreciate it.

[Gravity Jim]

That's the hallmark of TFF - good information from people who actually know what they're talking about. :)