Inkabodpain Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I would like to know what is the advantage of adding a external amp to a home theater system ? Besides making it louder. In my case I would get one 3 channel amp for my center rc64 and L/R rf 82 . I have a pioneer elite vsx 94 thx which has 140 watts per channel. Would this be a waste of money? Will I notice a significant difference in sound quality. Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I would like to know what is the advantage of adding a external amp to a home theater system ? Detail, punch, seperation, imaging, soundstage. The most noticeable difference to me is all of those at lower volumes. And yes, dynamics without distortion. I have a pioneer elite vsx 94 thx which has 140 watts per channel. Would this be a waste of money? Will I notice a significant difference in sound quality. Thanks ! I would say definitely not. Your Pioneer is a very nice receiver with a good preamp section and would make a good pre/pro while only using it's amps to power your surrounds. This is a very well built amp with tons of punch and detail. No affiliation. http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1298483701&/Acurus-3x200-watts- Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 There would definitly be an advantage. Receiver power sucks. Although klipsch speakers are high efficiency, they still like to have power behind them. The rf-82's and rc-64 are some of klipschs larger speakers and hit lower notes. The external amp can supply more high quality power to both the center and your l/r. You pioneer i garuntee does not put out 140 watts a channel with all channels driven, id say you would be lucky to get over 80 watts a channel all channels driven. With an external amp, you can supply better power for when your getting deep notes played. This is when you impedence decreases and can be around 2 ohms at times drawing much higher current. Receivers fail at playing the low end well at times because their torroids arent large enough. Now i am not saying they are incapable but receivers are doing alot of things at one time, they are jack of all trades machines. An amp has one purpose, power your speakers. Although you have moe power, well, can have more power in a seperate amp, you most likely will never use it all. Having that extra power or "headroom" will prevent you from clipping and distorting your sound on both the low and high end. You can notice the benefits of an external at low volumes too, things shoul be much clearer and even on the high end, no slipping and distortion. My rf-3's are the 82's older brother, i have 200 watts a channel to them and they are quite happy. Rule of thumb is to always buy an amp with a higher wattage than your speaker is rated for, you get your headroom that way. You may not use those extra watts but again, you arent running out of clean power either. Your center is a beast too, it would definitly benefit from the clarity of an external amp. Your choice to upgrad doesnt sound to be out of necessity but rather preference. You can keep what you have an be happy but if you got the cash, an external would be a fine addition to your and anyone else collection. check out, emotiva, outlaw audio, parasound, marantz just t name a few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kde Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Hopefully you have read the 110 vs 120 watt thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I had the same set-up (82-64-82) as you when I got my amp (Outlaw 750). My receiver was spec'ed out to provide 100 watts/channel... did it? Probably not. Is there much of a difference b/w 110 and 120 watts? Probably not. Is there a difference in 100 "receiver" watts and 165 "amp" watts? ABSOLUTELY. That's what I went to when I got my Outlaw, it was a noticable difference for all the reasons mentioned above, separation of instuments being the most notable. Head room coming in a close second. I would recommend an amp. Can you get by without one? Absolutely. Will you notice a difference IF you have one? Absolutely. Good luck, let us know what you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted January 12, 2011 Moderators Share Posted January 12, 2011 The key is to find a good deal on an amp. That way, your ears do not hear a significant difference, you can get back what money you put into it. Check the Emotiva Forums. I've seen XPA-3's sell for $450 and they don't last long. That tells me there is a pretty high market for them and you could easily resell it if you were not satisfied. Below are two exerpts from my build thread regarding my Parasound amp. After listening to several different source material (CD's, Bluray, Concert DVD's), here are my thoughts on the amp. First off, this amp is a beast. It weighs 85 pounds. It has two handles on front and two on back that aid in lifting the unit. The back has 5 speaker outputs, 5 line inputs and 5 input levels. It has more heat sinks than a Florida Gator has teeth. From what I can see, this amp is built like a tank, rugged and durable. It's not flashy like the Emotiva but the great thing is that with it's simple designed faceplate, no lights are seen through the grill cloth on the cabinet door. With 220 watts x 5, the Parasound adds even more bottom end to the RF-83's, giving them more authority in the bass region. I used to not enjoy listening to music in 5.1 or 7ch stereo but with the new amp, it really brings the surround channels to life. With movies, the surrounds seem more alive and engaged. At high volumes, the amp has no problems maintaining the integrity of the source material. The sound never gets harsh or muddy. Crystal clear no matter what volume. Musical has more separation of instruments than with the Yamaha alone. I was hoping to watch some of the Michael Jackson: This is It DVD before posting my thoughts but the wife came home just as I was finishing up another disk. I'll check it out tomorrow or Thursday and what differences I hear. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the purchase. Here it is in it's new home. I hope to get many great years out of it. Had some friends over this weekend to watch Avatar. It was a great movie both visually and audibly. Lots of detail in the movie, especially in the surround channels. The Parasound performed rock solid throughout the entire movie. I also had a friend over this weekend for some 2ch listening. It was his first time hearing the Parasound in my system. We both agreed that the Parasound added tighter bass response as well as more separation of music instruments. Subtleties were now definitive. I used to have to crank the RF-83's to a descent volume to get the full sound I like. With the Parasound, I can now listen to it at moderate levels and you still get the depth, clarity and separation that makes 2ch listening worth listening to. I'm definitely very pleased with the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.