Would an external amp make this system sound better?

[Devinlm]

First off, thanks for all your replies.

I am putting a HT in my basement. Here is my set up: Yamaha RX-V3900 (140 watts per channel). Using 3 Forte II for fronts and center (100 watts continues) and 4 KG-4's for the rear channels (100 watts continues). I also have an KLIPSCH 15" SUBWOOFER KSW-15 (265 powered watts 800 watts peak). The Forte II's and the KG-4's both have 500 watts peak.

This system will run a JVC DLA-HD350 projector with a Bluray player. I want the WOW factor during movies as well as listening to tunes.

I hadn't considered an external amp until I started reading this forum. But now..........

Questions:

1. With my speakers 100 watt cont. 500 peak and the Yamaha pumping out 140 watts per channel do I need an external amp?
2. What does 100 watt cont. and 500 watts peak mean?
3. Whould a 250 watt amp for the front 3 Forte II hurt them?
4. If all is good what would be a good match to power my front 3 Forte II's with the Yamaha RX-V3900?

Thanks again for all your replies!!!

Devin

[InVeNtOr]

the simple answer from everyone should be "I don't know."

the complicated answer may be yes.

have you hooked this system up? if not, i would do that first and see how you like the sound. an amp should give you cleaner crisper sound so in that regards it would sound better. it all depends on if YOU can hear it or think it's worth it. i spend good money on better power cables and i can hear a difference and they didn't cost much. some out there think i may be hearing things and feel it's a waist of money on "snake oil" power cords.

the 100 watt cont. means they can take 100w of constant power. the peak means for a very short period of time they may be able to handle that rating. the 250w amp won't hurt them because the speaker only draws what every watts it needs, not whats available. you could have a 10,000w amp hooked up to them, now if you crank the volume to max, stand back, they will blow. as long as you don't go too high on the volume you will be fine. as long as you stay under 100db i don't think you will ever have a problem.

the amp i reccemend is Emotiva xpa-3. i have their lpa-1 and like it a lot.

[tommyboy]

Answers:

1) No, you don't NEED an external amp

2) Not sure really??? lol I think it means that they will run at 100 watts at all times, but could handle 500 watts under a demanding load. But like I said, I don't really know............

3) No, a 250 amp won't hurt them

4) Emotiva XPA 3

[tommyboy]

Now, the Emotiva is in no way your only option. What's your budgett for an amp? There are MANY other manufactureres to consider: Rotel, Sunfire, NAD, etc. I suggest looking on Audiogon and Ebay. Buying used is a LOT cheaper than new!!! I basically stole my Rotel on Craigslist..............

[slumberer]

I have a system similar to yours; Forte II fronts, Heresy III center, Quartet surrounds, SW-15 II sub, and an Onkyo 706 receiver (your Yamaha probably sounds a good deal better). I'm a believer in the quality of high end Yamaha gear, but I would nevertheless highly recommend external amps for your front end. I went from the Forte's and SW-15 in a 2.1 system with a Chiro C-800 pre-pro and Jaton 2140 amp to my current HT and I dearly miss the dynamics and channel separation when listening to music. That's the main thing, my receiver suffers rather noticeably in comparison because the soundstage floats around and the frequency extensions are sort of mediocre. How much of this is due to my former dedicated pre-amp, I cannot say. I had opened the Chiro up to look at it and saw that it was constructed on one huge board (almost the full size of the chassis) so the channel separation issue might have more to do with simple physical space in a separate pre-amp's circuitry. Power and SPL are not an issue in my room with the efficiency of the Klipsch gear (half volume is ear-bleed level). You might also find as I have that the SW-15, while a VERY good subwoofer, does not go to the ultra low depths of some of the newer subs. I am seriously thinking about getting a used SVS cylinder, or building one, to augment sub-30hz frequencys. I would recommend you borrow or audition a good 2 channel amp and see if the resulting differences are worth an investment to you. If you are like me, after listening to some music on the separate amp for a while, when you switch back to the receiver, you will immediately notice the floating, depressed sound quality and want to go back to the separates post-haste. I don't notice any deficiencies during movie watching though. Good Luck!