kietton Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) I'm a novice when it comes to audio equipment. I have a RF82II HT 5.1 Package on a Denon X3100W. I don't feel like I'm getting the best out of my RF82II Fronts. I'm thinking about purchasing an Emotiva XPA200 to run my RF82II. Will this make a big difference? Any recommendations? Any information will help. Thanks. Edited December 15, 2014 by kietton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 15, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 15, 2014 I doubt adding any amp will be a night and day difference. When I purchased my first power amp, a Parasound HCA2205a (220 x 5) to my setup, it added some clarity and definitely more bottom end (even at low volumes) but it wasn't night and day difference. Honestly, I'm not sure you will hear much difference between your Denon's amps and the Emotiva XPA-200 amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 15, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 15, 2014 One thing that will be night and day difference is adding acoustic panels to your room. That made a huge difference in my room. Before, the sound was somewhat muffled (lots of slap echo in the room due to flat surfaces). Now the room is quiet and the sound is extremely clear. Adding an amp to a room that isn't acoustically treated will only amplify any acoustic problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 15, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 15, 2014 What sub are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 that amp isn't gonna make any noticeable difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 what do you feel you are missing? clarity? bass? spl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kietton Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Youthman, I'm running a Klipsch SW310. Regarding what I think I'm missing, I just feel I'm not getting enough punch out of the speakers. HT sounds great but when I'm listening to music, it just lacking some punch. Could it be in my settings? Also my SW is not on Airplay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 How' do you have the eq set up on the denon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I'm thinking about purchasing an Emotiva XPA200 to run my RF82II. Will this make a big difference? When I added my first amp(B&K Reference 4430) to my RF-63's, there was a clear difference across the board than with just my Onkyo TX-SR705. When I replaced the B&K with my current Acurus A200, punch, detail, and soundstage improvement were very noticeable but some of that can be attributed to the NAD T175HD pre/pro. I have no experience with the Emo XPA-200(only the UPA-2) so I can't say for sure in your case. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I was running an Onkyo 9.2 receiver to drive my RF-7s. There was harshness to the upper midrange and the speakers sounded unbalanced overall. The bass was far overshadowed by the horn. If I attempted to increase volume to get that powerful punch I was missing, the horns were already shredding my ear drums. I switched out the Onkyo with an Emotiva mini-X and my problems were solved. The speakers are much more balanced and deliver powerful bass at more comfortable volumes. An amp can make a difference, but probably only with finicky speakers such as my gen 1 RF-7s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peshewah Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I noticed a difference on my 62's by adding emo xpa 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I'm a novice when it comes to audio equipment. I have a RF82II HT 5.1 Package on a Denon X3100W. I don't feel like I'm getting the best out of my RF82II Fronts. I'm thinking about purchasing an Emotiva XPA200 to run my RF82II. Will this make a big difference? Any recommendations? Any information will help. Thanks. kietton, Going to an outboard amp can affect clarity and punch for the better. Emotiva is a budget conscience amp and I am not particularly well versed in their equipment although many hear like it. I personally believe your main problem is your speakers. You have speakers that were mainly built for movies more than critical listening of music and are colored acoustically, the sound can be improved but it is much easier to improve your music enjoyment AND your home theatre experience by going to a speaker that was built for critical listening! Youthman found this out the hard way on his long trip through most of the Top End reference series to the "UGLY" old LaScalas (at least he used to think they were ugly and dated looking) Ask him how changing from reference top line Klipsch improved his system in clarity and musicality compared to a separate amp??? I run Klipsch TSCMs which is Klipschs Pro Version of the Klipschorn. Your biggest limiting factors is how much room do you have? There are many on hear that would have you over for a listen to their Heritage speakers before you drop your money on investing in an amp. I believe separate amps do make a difference, I run four two channel amps because surround sound amps just aren't built well enough, but your best improvement in sound for a buck will always be in your speakers until you have spen ALOT of money. Roger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 (edited) How' do you have the eq set up on the denon? I think that is a good question. You have a nice 110 wpc AVR, and since you said you were a novice at this, there is a LOT of technology in these new AVR's that is confusing. My Onkyo 717 took me months to figure out what sounded best. Your Denon has Audyssey MultiEQ XT; have you set it up yet? Getting the timing set for all speakers makes a big difference how how much synchronized punch you will get. Also, what listening modes have you used? They make a LOT of difference in the sound. For instance, Music Mode will distribute more sound to the L/R, while Theater Mode will increase sound in the Center speaker and have way less punch in the L/R. It might also help to know what source you are using (TV, CD, Blu-ray, etc). That also makes a LOT of difference in how much punch you are likely to hear. How long have you had your speakers? I'm wondering if they are broken in yet. Edited December 18, 2014 by wvu80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think that is a good question. You have a nice 110 wpc AVR, and since you said you were a novice at this, there is a LOT of technology in these new AVR's that is confusing. My Onkyo 717 took me months to figure out what sounded best. Every hand EQ tweak screws around with the DSP setting and EQ'ing more than two bands and you don't know what it did to the system. It does take months to get things right when you are new at this stuff. I have been at it for years and maybe I am getting close, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 If you want more "punch" or "impact" your money would be much better spent on a $1k subwoofer than it would be on a $1k amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 18, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 18, 2014 Youthman found this out the hard way on his long trip through most of the Top End reference series to the "UGLY" old LaScalas (at least he used to think they were ugly and dated looking) Ask him how changing from reference top line Klipsch improved his system in clarity and musicality compared to a separate amp??? Yeah, I was 100% against heritage because they looked "dated" and "old school". I'm not quite 40 so I couldn't see myself ever keeping a set of heritage in my setup. I honestly bought the LaScalas out of curiosity to see how they sound in my room, with my gear. Wow, was I surprised. My son even said, "Dad, I didn't think the LaScalas would sound near as good as the RF-83's. I was wrong." Detail and clarity is what I gained from the LaScalas. Crystal clear no matter how much of the 200 watts / ch that I feed them. I also agree with K5SS in that if you are looking for punch and impact, a quality sub will certainly give you that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 You no sub on airplay. Do you have your speakers set to small crossed at 80hz? Cause sounds like you have em at large so no sub. Also I prefer music with audyssey dynamic eq off and I boost the sub by 6db. Sounds the best to my ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Have you ran audyssey in all 8 positions? After that make sure you set speakers back to small and let sub do what it's supposed to. And if you take my advice on boosting sub make sure you do it in the avr menu and NOT the volume on the sub itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhound Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Have you ran audyssey in all 8 positions? After that make sure you set speakers back to small and let sub do what it's supposed to. And if you take my advice on boosting sub make sure you do it in the avr menu and NOT the volume on the sub itself. This is great advice, I would make sure I have exhausted all AVR setting options before purchasing more equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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