Threshold T-50 vs Forte 4 ?


My local dealer has a used Threshold T-50 for sale at $700. There are occaisionally Forte 4's on Agon for $500 or less. Are these two essentially the same amps? Would they be a good match for my Spica T-60 speakers and a C-J pv10a pre-amp? Is $700 a good price for the Threshold and can it be serviced if neccessary? Sorry for so many questions in one thread. I appreciate any feedback.
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Showing 3 responses by sean

$700 for a T-50 is typically well below normal used street value, let alone from a dealer. Audiogon shows the average selling price of a T-50 on the net as being $932 and i would normally expect a dealer to ask about $1100 - $1200 for this amp. I saw this on a dealers website a few days ago and if i had the cash right now, it would be in MY house and not yours : )

As to how much of a difference there is between the 4 and the T, i don't know. I would suspect that the T uses slightly better matched parts and higher grade components through-out, but that is strictly a guess. You would really have to compare them side by side to see what the differences were, if there were any.

Either way, i think that either of those amps would be right at home in your system. Sean
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I agree with Cbird. One of the first things that i noticed about the Forte' line as compared to the Threshold's is that they make use of smaller power supplies. Since that is the most expensive part of the amp and Forte's cost less than Threshold models, that makes perfect sense from a marketing standpoint.

As both Cbird and i commented, either should work well within the confines of your present system. However, the T-50 should have even more dynamic headroom and give you the extra added comfort when dealing with future purchases that might not be slightly tougher loads.

Like i said, i know which one that i would buy at those prices : ) Sean
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I've run Forte' 4's and 6's ( both use IGBT's ) on low efficiency 2 ohm speakers and throttled them. No problems what so ever.

Just remember this: He who hesitates is lost. You better snag it before someone else does. Sean
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