hangman_jt Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 So see signature for an idea of the current set up. I felt the Yamaha receiver worked well for the old set up of Synergy speakers, however now with the upgrade to the reference line, I could tell a small increase in sound quality I feel like an upgrade is in order to get the most of the speakers. Eventually I hope to have a dedicated home theatre so I am open to suggestions of what upgrades are in order. I would prefer not to spend to much, and would like something that could be done over time. Thanks in advance for all ideas/opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Just for additional clarification would it be better to simply upgrade receivers, or would a separate amp combination be a better upgrade. FYI I'm new into these types of setups so clarification may be in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hi Hangman, The RF-5's and RC-7 make an excellent combo very good for both HT and music, they a are a very natural sounding speaker and have a sound I love. They really come to life with a nice amp to power them so you should definitely consider that if you can. I am extremely happy with processor amp combo with my RF-5's, let me know if I can help you with any questions you might have, I'm the original owner of my RF-5 and have a lot of experience with them and love the way they sound, when setup well they really perform exceptional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks Rich, in follow up to the amp, how does it get hooked up to the speakers,do you need one for each speaker or are they set up like a receiver and one will do all the speakers? Also if you buy an amp do you still use the receiver to transmit the sound to the amplifier or do you run your audio straight to the amp? Sorry for the beginner questions,but you got to learn somehow right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 OK amps have channels, you can buy amps with different amounts of channels, normally amps are offered in one channel, two channel, three channel, five channel and seven channel amps. Each channel drives a speaker, so for stereo you normally use a two channel amp or 2 - one channel amps. If you want a home theater system you use an amp or combo of amps to run all the speakers in your system. A 5.1 surround system for example uses five amp channels and a powered subwoofer. A receiver has built in amps, but if your receiver has amp outputs you can use external amps that are better or more powerful than the receivers built in amps. Also instead of using a receiver you can use a pre-pro or processor with external amps, these are similar to a receiver but do not have any built in amps and are designed to be used with external amps. For a home theater you need either: A. a receiver which can power all your speakers itself with its built in amps. B. a receiver using external amps or a combination of its built in and external amps. C. a processor with external amps. The receiver or processor needs to have the amount of channels that you want to use such as 5.1 or 7.1 etc. This is just some basics hope it helps you toward understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 OK......you ask....put the 5's in a corner about 18 inches from rear wall and two ft from side wall.If your sub is good fine, if not get a decent 12 inch sub and use basic placement proceedure.. You,re gonna need a good avr or pre/amp as mentioned. A Harman Kardon 3600 or newer would be a great avr, Onkyo in a pinch will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thank you both for your advice, it's much appreciated. Now for the tough part convincing the wife that I need this upgrade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Would the Emotiva UPA-500 be a good pairing for 5.1? The amp says 80w per channel at 8 ohms, but the speakers are rated at 150w at 8 ohms. Or would something more powerful per channel be better suited? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Would the Emotiva UPA-500 be a good pairing for 5.1? The amp says 80w per channel at 8 ohms, but the speakers are rated at 150w at 8 ohms. Or would something more powerful per channel be better suited? I'd recommend more power, I am using both an Emotiva XPA-2 and an XPA-5 for 7.1 home theater, my RF-5's love the power. For 5.1 I would recommend you consider using an XPA-5. If you want to save a little money you can pick up an XPA-5 used pretty often, just keep you eye on both the forum here as well as the Emotiva forum. You can also find an excellent deal on a good used processor if you watch the forums as well. There are some great deals if you watch for them and buying used will save you a lot of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Thanks again, will keep looking. One day I may understand how it all works, untill then I will just keep looking to improve the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Before you get too excited about external amps you need a receiver that has pre-outs, which your Yamaha RX-V563 does not. There's nothing shameful about used/older gear. I'm still rocking a receiver from 2007 that when compared to 2013 receivers is really only missing 3d capability. Otherwise it handles all of the common audio and video formats with ease. Look around craigslist and forums like these.. you can find receivers that were originally $1,700 for less than $500. My Denon drives the speakers wonderfully, but I'm currently borrowing an external stereo amp that provides about 150w per channel, CLEAN watts, and there's a noticeable difference. I'd say start with a new receiver, making sure it has pre-outs, and slowly grow from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 My Denon drives the speakers wonderfully, but I'm currently borrowing an external stereo amp that provides about 150w per channel, CLEAN watts, and there's a noticeable difference. Must be a nice amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 sigh, yes Carl I am smitten with your amp. I'll be sad to see it go, but not as sad as you'll be leaving without my RF5's. [6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 sigh, yes Carl I am smitten with your amp. I'll be sad to see it go, but not as sad as you'll be leaving without my RF5's. Pound for pound, one of Klipsch's best efforts IMO. I do miss them but I've moved on. You'll be experiencing withdrawls shortly. I plan on putting the ATI on my KP-301's when I get it home. It'll replace my 300 wpc Sunfire[]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 oh those will sound great paired with this amp! maybe i'll have the horns for my empty dbb cabinets by the time you come up ... we can imagine the awesome sound together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangman_jt Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Thanks, so if I am wanting to build it up over time it may be worth it to upgrade the receiver to one with pre-outs, then down the line upgrade to a separate amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Thanks, so if I am wanting to build it up over time it may be worth it to upgrade the receiver to one with pre-outs, then down the line upgrade to a separate amp? Yes that would be a good way to upgrade over time, we all know it can be too expensive to do everything at once. Not sure what your budget is though, you can often get a good used processor that's a couple years old and really as good as new for around $500 and a used XPA-5 at about $550 this would far outperform a new receiver costing even over $2,000. But if that's still over your budget maybe start with a good used receiver with pre-outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 i feel your pain dude, i do. I just inherited some very nice, albeit empty, speaker cabinets. I'll be buying drivers one or two at a time for the next year or so. Then I have to get a decent DAC, and an amp (thinking about building a tube amp). It'll be quite a while before my 2-channel office system is up and running. It took me about 3.5 years to get everything together that you see in my signature. craigslist and forums are your friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 oh those will sound great paired with this amp! maybe i'll have the horns for my empty dbb cabinets by the time you come up ... we can imagine the awesome sound together. While sitting at your imaginary table you haven't built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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