USNRET Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Any good preamp/power amps that seem to be "mated pairs"? Budget please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_surfer Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Well, I would like to stay under 1000, the cheaper the better. I still need to get a tv for said theatre room too lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 In that budget range, I'd stay with the best avr I could afford and add a separate power amp later on. As others have said, just make sure it has pre-outs. I agree with those who say separates are a better way to go, but good quality separates will likely be well over your budget. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a good avr and upgrading later on. That's what I did. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Yup, this is husker country. But I will let you in on a little secret, I am not a fan of any sports in the least. I prefer my movies and videogames to have plot. Never understood the modern battlefield that pits 2 armies against eachother with "rules"... In war there are no rules... I digress. I have learned a lot here. So doing a component setup would be smart as it would allow me to upgrade the preamp/processor when new tech became available, all while keeping the muscle that i prize relevent. I see people being fans of emotiva, is that a place I should focus some attention, or do you folks have better suggestions? What are some good 7.1-9.2 power amps out there? Any good preamp/power amps that seem to be "mated pairs"? I am totally with you in not following sports and I use my Home Theater listed below mostly for multichannel music, which I listen to around 85 dB with peaks close to 94 dB and movies at near Reference level after Audyssey calibration...That said, I asked the same question you have here on the AVS Forum and found it quite helpful: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1532635/would-i-benefit-from-an-external-amp Edited June 3, 2014 by tkdamerica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Think it's been said, but, adding at least a 2 channel amp to the Denon X4000 allows you to go from 7.2 to 9.2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_surfer Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 One more question then. I am unfamiliar how these components link together. I will start with source, lets say blu ray player. I then run blu ray to the preamp/processor. From the processor, i fees into my power amps (which I assume is decoding the sound properly to the channels). From the power amps we go into the speakers. So lets say I have a 7.1 processor, and I feed that into these emotiva xpa-5 and some other power amp for the final 2 channels. Will each channel have an in to the power amp so that the surround experience remains true, or does one line go into the power amp and then feed all 5 channels with the same sound. I really want my sound to remain differentiated for the surround experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted June 3, 2014 Moderators Share Posted June 3, 2014 Yes your understanding is correct on the flow each channel from your preamp will connect to a channel on the amp using a single RCA cable so everything will remain discreet coming from the preamp to the amp per individual channel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 It will be different, unless you select MULTI Channel Stereo. You may use an external amp to power say 2 to 5 channels & the AVRs internal amps to power the remaining channels, if you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Blu-Ray to pre/pro (or AVR) via HDMI. Pre/pro or AVR out via RCA (unless using balanced XLR, not required just another opf both pre and amp have them) interconnects to amplifier inputs. Each channel (5,7,8,11) out from pre/pro or AVR has been processed and feeds the power amp channel then on to speakers. Sub-woofer channels .1 or .2 (single or dual subs) are connected to the AVR or Pre/pro sub (or LFE low frequency effects) to a powered sub(s) If using multiple amps of various ouputs I recommend using the most powerful in this order Left and right mains Left, right and center then use remainder in the surrounds, rear, excetera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Think it's been said, but, adding at least a 2 channel amp to the Denon X4000 allows you to go from 7.2 to 9.2. That is a good point. I went from 7.2 to a 9.2 which the Denon AVR-4311ci allows without adding outboard amps and like the results, but feel it may only be a slight "upgrade." That said, another difference between the Denon x4000 and the older AVR-4311ci is that the latter is rated to drive 4 Ohm speakers (as well as the THX Ultra II model avrs) but the x4000 is not. Fwiw, I've mentioned/debated that at AVS but there was a good argument made that the improvement and SPL increase was due to the EQing program (s) but I'm not convinced--Yet. Edited June 3, 2014 by tkdamerica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Or, in your case, you could go from 9.2 to 11.2, with @ least 2 channels of ext amp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Or, in your case, you could go from 9.2 to 11.2, with @ least 2 channels of ext amp... Thanks Sancho--My wife will be glad to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Well, not like YOU didn't know that; was aimed at the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Well, not like YOU didn't know that; was aimed at the OP. Fwiw, my birthday is coming up in the middle of the month...If I decide to purchase a 2 channel amp I am going to point my lovely wife to our discussion here and make it look like it was your idea. j/k--I CAN'T fit anymore speakers in and have way too many sitting in our hallway. Edited June 3, 2014 by tkdamerica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The best bang for buck way to go is that if your AVR is good and current, then used STEREO power amps work great, are easy to find and are at reasonable prices. Everyone hears differently but for my money, better prosumer amps tend to sound similar, similar enough that when run in pairs such as one for mains, one for sides, one for .... you get the idea, I can't hear a tonal difference. I have a reasonable quality Yamaha AVR and the addition of external amps made a HUGE difference in quality of sound. Older AVRs are pretty inexpensive and while the pre section in them may be hopelessly dated, the amps are just fine. Pick up a couple of old 5.1 amps, feed them from the good AVRs pre outs and enjoy. Sure, you will have a lot of stuff to look at with a stack of, say 3 AVRs but only 1 controls everything, the other 2 are just adding their power amps to the setup and all their knobs, switches etc won't do a thing. This is a cheep way to see if it makes a difference to you, if it does make a positive improvement then you can save to get something sleeker looking in the future. Minermark, I do come around and read but my posting has been down. The wife is getting along OK and when the fact of her missing apx 1/4 of her brain well, she is doing pretty darn good! I do still get frustrated with her from time to time, sometimes she gets into "a loop" just saying the same thing over and over etc when trying to discuss something with her, she knows it isn't right but can't help it. This board has a lot of great folks on it, a real family away from home. 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.