Vanhester1 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I currently have a marantz sr6010 avr. I will be adding a pair of RF 7 ii's. I will currently be using a 2 ch stereo system mainly for music but will upgrading to a 5.1 in the near future. My question is if I were to add an emotiva xpa-2 how well would this drive the speakers, and also can I set it up to watch tv through the 2 ch system for now using the marantz and emotiva? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) Hmm. I would suggest that an assessment be taken for power use before pulling the trigger on any purchase. But let's look at your options. The Emo will have 3db more power @ 8 ohms, and ~5db more @ 4 ohms. RF-7 are 4 ohms where it counts. That's a decent increase. The question is, do you need it? Unused power simply goes unused. (That's one of the benefits of using RF-7's: you simply don't need herculean amplification to drive them to fairly copious output levels.) Edited January 16, 2016 by Ski Bum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) For music and regular TV the RF 7 II's don't need a lot of power. If the avr has preouts,just connect the speakers to an amp and a rca cord from the avr to the amp. BD movies can demand a lot of power. Try things without the amp and see what you think. I use amps with my RF 7's, an 80 watt tube hybird and a 200 watt amp. I use the 80 watt amp for music. The specs say the avr does 110 watts 2 channels driven. The question is how much power will you have if you grow into a 5.x or 7.x system. I would look for a 5 ch amp. Edited January 16, 2016 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) I would add that the more powerful external amp may make sense down the road when you expand to more channels, the key word being "may". Again, assess your actual needs before spending. Having sensitive speakers is like cheating (by virtue of getting a huge head start) in the power race. Few folks using speakers as sensitive as RF-7's use more power than a decent AVR can deliver (particularly if subs are involved), and your Marantz is pretty decent. Edited January 16, 2016 by Ski Bum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I don't know that particular Marantz, but typically an external amplifier will deliver better sound quality regardless of power increase(or decrease). I say go for it. Get the Emotiva and use the Marantz as your preamp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) I'm pretty sure the Marantz is the next gen version of the 6009 that I have some familiarity with. It's easy to spend other's money, I suppose, and at the risk of sounding hypocritical, I do subscribe to the tenet that when it comes to ss power, too much is just enough (no clipping allowed). But it makes sense to determine just how much "too much" is before spending hundreds (up to a thousand or more?) on amps. Edited January 16, 2016 by Ski Bum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) I would go for the Emotiva addition. Either an XPA-5 or the XPA-2. If you add the XPA-5 now you will have less of an upgrade path to add on later. If you add the XPA-2 now and run the rest of the channels off your Marantz that may suit you for now, but the upgrade bug will probably bite and you will have to incur higher costs of the additional amp down the road. Also, in two channel the XPA-5 makes even more power than the rated 200 wpc since it shares that single massive torroidal power supply. I believe it runs 300 wpc with two channels driven. There is no replacement for power reserve and headroom availability. Also, if you are interested in the Emotiva amp, buy in the near future as the XPA line of amps is being replaced with a more pricier line. I own both Emotiva amps you speak of and I have nothing bad to say about either one. All of my Klipsch speakers sing nicely powered by Emotiva amps, whether in two channel or surround. Tim Edited January 16, 2016 by teaman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) I say go for it. So do I. Good quality amplification is cheap especially on the used market. But Emo would not be my choice. Bill Edited January 16, 2016 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalcomfort Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I have both amps also, love them both. I would get the xpa-5 to start with, it will grow with you and has enough power to drive any klipsch speakers. I have a 5.2 system and am using the xpa-2 to drive a couple WO32 subs with the xpa-5 driving the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanhester1 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Thanks for all the advice everyone! I just hooked up the rf7's and the tv through the avr. I followed the set up directions but I'm barely getting any volume when I try and watch tv through the rf7's. Also when playing music it seems like it should be much louder than what I'm getting. I have to turn the volume way up to get little volume. Could I have missed something in the set up or is there possibly a setting on the reciever that I'm not aware of? Sorry but I'm new to all of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Are the speakers set to Large or Small? Did you run autocalibration after setting things up? Make a Signature via setting and list equipment. This way people know what you have and may be able to help better. Edited January 17, 2016 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanhester1 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Are the speakers set to Large or Small? Did you run autocalibration after setting things up? Speakers are set to large and I did run auto calibration. Will auto calibration work with only 2 speakers set up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Auto calibration will work with any amount of speakers theoretically. It's just measiring distances and setting +/- dB to equalize all speaker outputs...in a nutshell. Check your wiring. Make sure everything is properly connected & clamped down where applicable. Also- what do you mean by really turning it up? My garbage heap cheap AVR ($200) has a range of 0-100.. 1 is audible. 10is reading a book level at 10 feet 20is movie at midnight with wife and kids sleeping 30 is music / movie during the day with others home 40is music / movie at night for the real experience (I usually listen at 42 music, 48 movies) 50 makes the wife get pissy 60 hurts 70 really hurts 80 haven't been here 90 see above 100 see above So your -- turning way up may be normal? If I was at 0 and dialed up to 48 without you having any concept of scale you may go "whoa bro, don't go so loud!" Whereas other avr's the dB scale is a bit easier to work with. 0db being reference. -db's below that +db's above reference levels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanhester1 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Auto calibration will work with any amount of speakers theoretically. It's just measiring distances and setting +/- dB to equalize all speaker outputs...in a nutshell. Check your wiring. Make sure everything is properly connected & clamped down where applicable. Also- what do you mean by really turning it up? My garbage heap cheap AVR ($200) has a range of 0-100.. 1 is audible. 10is reading a book level at 10 feet 20is movie at midnight with wife and kids sleeping 30 is music / movie during the day with others home 40is music / movie at night for the real experience (I usually listen at 42 music, 48 movies) 50 makes the wife get pissy 60 hurts 70 really hurts 80 haven't been here 90 see above 100 see above So your -- turning way up may be normal? If I was at 0 and dialed up to 48 without you having any concept of scale you may go "whoa bro, don't go so loud!" Whereas other avr's the dB scale is a bit easier to work with. 0db being reference. -db's below that +db's above reference levels I would be happy if I were getting these results that you mention. My 50 is probably more Ike your 30. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Without knowing your receiver and all equipment and how hooked up- that may be totally normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 The volume knob is just that. The gain structure my differ from one avr/amp to another. For now, until a problem is identified or there is a lot of distortion, crank her up to taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 It could be as simple as the speaker wiring. Does your speaker wires from your AVR go to one terminal on the back of your speakers, then a metal jumper connect to the other terminal on that speaker? You can also connect both terminals with a short piece of wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Also make sure wiring yo speakers are correct. You could have one reversed and maybe cancelling each other out?? Doubtful... But worth a look. I still say it's the normal volume structure of tv/AVR. Depending on how it's hooked up from tv to AVR-- of your tv volume is low, you could be limiting our output? Try turning tv volume up and see if AVR output increases??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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