What amp/receiver are you using?

[wstrickland1]

I would like to pose a couple of questions to all of you here. What speakers are you using? What are you using to power thosse speakers, an amp or receiver? How happy are you with that amp or receiver? Do you fell like its just right, you could do better or is it overkill for your set up? Lastly whats your favotite color?

LaScalas, Cornwalls and Heresys powered by an Onkyo PR-SC5509/B&K Reference 200.7 amp. I'm very happy with it and it's not overkill. Also, I do have a full set of KL30/KLF 20/KLF C7 that imo is equally as good. I also have and RF 7/RC 7/RB 35 that is very good. Dual RSW 15 subs and/or a Martin Logan Depth sub helps them out. I am probably going to sell the LaScalas and roll the KLF's back in, then use the Cornwalls as a 2 channel, just because they're the biggest and I need some room. It all sounds good to me so it doesn't matter. I also used to use Onkyo, Pioneer and HK receivers as processors and they work just fine. Honestly there's not a night and day difference in actual sound performance between the receivers I used and the $2,400 processor. I also have Carver and Adcom amps and theres not a night and day difference between them and the B&K which cost much more. Spending more money doesn't necessarily mean significantly better sound once you get to a certain level.

[K5SS]

I thought we already went over this in your other thread...? Buy the best receiver with pre outs you can afford and use it for a few years. It will power your highly efficient speakers just fine, if you feel the need later, add an amp. Like I said, I bought a $1,500 pioneer receiver with 140w I.C.E. amps and it drives my 63's to ear bleeding levels just like my Emotiva XPA-5 did. You are over thinking this.

[Youthman]

Its to bad they dont make more middle price pre/pros. Would love to see some in the 500-800 range.

You, me and the rest of the world.

[Youthman]

Buy the best receiver with pre outs you can afford and use it for a few years.

For the budget minded (like myself), buy a good quality one or two year old model and save yourself a ton of money. Lot of great options out there.

[homeskizzle]

Not sure if anyone has any experience with the Outlaw 975 (I don't, but saw it in a Home Theater magazine), but at $550, it seemingly does help the Pre part at a budget value.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/975.html

[ivanhurd]

All info is in my sig, I love it. Might be a bit overkill for my room, but I wanted to future proof.

[derrickdj1]

Its to bad they dont make more middle price pre/pros. Would love to see some in the 500-800 range.

You, me and the rest of the world.

Buy the avr when the next generation hit the market. I paid less than 1/2 of retail for mines.

[Youthman]

Not sure if anyone has any experience with the Outlaw 975 (I don't, but saw it in a Home Theater magazine), but at $550, it seemingly does help the Pre part at a budget value.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/975.html

Good to know. I wasn't aware of Outlaw having a budget friendly Pre/Pro. Probably has a much better track record than the Emotiva UMC-1.

[Alain C]

Hi,

I have 2 KLF 20's powered a Marantz Sr 6005 as a pre/pro. I used to use 2 Crown DC300a for the front lower half (bi-amped) and the marantz for the upper half. But now I swapped them out for 2 Crown XLS 1000's. I went from 300 watts/ to 700 watts/. And with the addition of the SVS PB 12 NSD Sub. I know It's a bit overkill but It's so clean and the amps never get pushed hard. as you can tell i'm a Crown man and have been since the first time i heard a pair of Khorns at Imperial sound in tulsa back in 1976. The 2 DC 300a's I have had since the mid "80's" I will never sell them. And color (for you printers) PMS 302. []

[Coleman]

IMO you wont need a external amp with your speakers. I also have the RF52ii's and my Denon does just fine. I think you might want an external amp if you went RF82ii's or up. I think if your running 62's or below your fine with 125 watts on a nice AVR. Just my opinion.

[CECAA850]

If you're going to have seperate amplification then a receiver is a waste of money.

Depends on how much you spend on your receiver. I paid $300 for my HK Receiver and am using it as a Pre/Pro. If you are going to spend $1500 on a receiver, you might want to consider moving to separates. Other than Emotiva, a dedicated Pre/Pro isn't cheap.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/975.html

[CECAA850]

Oops, just saw where this pre-pro has already been mentioned. My bad. Of note, you can get this pre-pro AND a 7 channel amp for 1100. Not bad for brand new seperates WITH a warranty.

[Salvador]

You are over thinking this

I might be over thinking it. Its just the receiver I have now I just got 2 years ago and I regreat getting it. I dont want the same thing to happen to me again. If I can ask you or anybody else a question? I am now looking at the Yamaha Advantage Line. http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-A720-7-2-Channel-AVENTAGE-Receiver/dp/B0087KGLEO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367419563&sr=8-2&keywords=yamaha+advantage You can see all the receivers in their line in the middle of the page. My RX-V371 is rated at 100w per channel. It cost me about $250 when bought it. I am looking at the RX-A1020. That receiver cost more than 4x more than my old receiver. Yet it only does 10 more wattsd per ch. Would this be an upgrage worth that much money? I will later be using the pre outs and the 6 ch input for Oppo. But as far as giving me more power and or better sound, will it do that? I also heard that while my old receiver gives 100w per ch, it really only gives me like 70 when all channel are being driven. Is this the case with the 1020? I just want to make sure that if I spend $1,100 on that receiver I am actually upgrading my sound and power not just spending the money to have the pre out option 2 years from now. If thats the case I can buy RX-A820 for $250 less and just get it over with and buy Emotiva amp. Sorry for the long post here, but I have been on this forum since I got my speakers like three months ago and I trust your expertise. Thank you all in advance.

[willland]

I also heard that while my old receiver gives 100w per ch, it really only gives me like 70 when all channel are being driven.

I would bet that figure would be closer to maybe 40w/channel(if your lucky) with all five channels driven.

Is this the case with the 1020?

The 1020 has been bench tested at 63.9w/ch with five channels driven and 57.0 with seven channels driven.

http://www.hometheater.com/content/yamaha-rx-a1020-av-receiver-ht-labs-measures

HT Labs Measures

Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 113.5 watts
1% distortion at 129.2 watts

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 63.9 watts
1% distortion at 73.2 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 57.0 watts
1% distortion at 65.1 watts

Don't get too caught up in the numbers game. The RX-V371 is an entry level receiver with only the basic features and minimal power supply and amp section. The RX-A1020 is part of Yamaha's upper line with better guts and features.

Bill

[Salvador]

The 1020 has been bench tested at 63.9w/ch with five channels driven and 57.0 with seven channels driven

Thanks for your reply.. This is good, so will the 1020 be a good buy if Im goint to run the RF-52II system or should i just get A820 for less and buy an amp?

[wizop]

I have a 1000 in my rec room system. The 1020 is two years newer but otherwise basically the same receiver. You can often find 1000's and 1010's on eBay for quite a bit less than the 1020 so read the specs carefully to make sure you need the newer model.

To avoid over-thinking, you need to focus on what it is you regret about what you have now. Do you need more HDMI inputs? Do you need to power more speakers? Do you need to connect to the internet (note that a Roku will get you about everything you'd want from the web at far less cost than a new receiver if you have unused inputs to connect it)? Do you need to be able to up-convert to newer formats? If the answer to all these questions is no, there is probably no rush. In two years, you'll be able to get a 1020 for what you could get a 1000 for today. If your current receiver has all the features you need but you think a better one might have a hugely better sound, by guess is that your speakers and not your receiver is the choke point. Klipsch speakers are efficient and while a few more watts might be detectable sitting in a store and switching back and forth, you probably won't be able to tell the difference once you get home.

[wstrickland1]

Salvador, buy my Onkyo TX SR806. It's in fantastic shape and has all original packaging, manuals, remote and Audessey set up mic. $300 and that includes shipping. I tried $275 plus shipping and got zero response so I guess I'm overpriced. Shipping from SC is between $80 and $100 so I'm not getting rich on it. I just need some room around here. WAY too much gear laying around.

[HAmmer32261]

Denon 4311CI

RF-83 Fronts

Rf-83 Wides

RC-64

RB-61II's

2x Emotiva-XPA2

Emotiva-XPA3

[Youthman]

IMO you wont need a external amp with your speakers. I also have the RF52ii's and my Denon does just fine.

For what it's worth, I used a Harman Kardon AVR 55 (55 w/ch) receiver with RF-83's and it sounded fantastic until I reached very high volume, then they sounded strained due to the amp not having enough juice. I upgraded to an Onkyo 703 (100 w/ch) and it had no problem getting to ear bleeding levels and never sounded harsh at all.

[TasDom]

I would like to pose a couple of questions to all of you here. What speakers are you using? What are you using to power thosse speakers, an amp or receiver? How happy are you with that amp or receiver?

Very happy with everything in my signature[8] [~]

Lastly whats your favotite color?

Copper!