installing sound system for cafe. bought 4 bose 301. which amp should I go with?
I'm thinking of going with cheap sony or pioneer stereo amp that has speaker A+B selector.
maybe I should go with some reinforcement amp like crown, since it will be running constantly, like 10 hours a day. but I am worried about the sound quality.
I'm not sure I would really worry about Bose a whole heck of a lot. For the given application, they'll do just fine, perhaps better than others, with their wider sound field.
The main things I would keep in mind are what kind of volume are you trying to get, and warranty/service.
How big is the cafe in question? How loud are you looking to get music in this cafe?
I think the day Circuit City goes out of business, I will throw a party. Danny, before you finalize a placement of your bose, here is a sound test you can do to determine if you like the sound of a bose speaker. Place a large tin can on a glass coffee table. In one hand have a stick in the other a wrench. Now at the same time, bang the stick around in the tin can while hitting the coffee table with the wrench. This is what a bose speaker sounds like. lol. Im playing of course. They will be fine for your cafe. If you have narrowed it down to the sony or Pioneer, go Pioneer. If I may ask..what is your price range and how much were the 301's? You can get two pair of Paradigm Atoms for like 500 bucks cdn that will kill the bose. Just curious. You might be able to get a better two channel amp then a Sony or Pioneer as well. Let us know. Cheers.
If it is going to be for a cafe, the environment is really not that conducive for a great listening environment. Get yourself a professional amp like the Crown you mentioned.