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Integrated amp question


Alej

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Hello!

 

I am new to audio equipment and have a question about integrated amps.

I recently bought a pair of rp-280f and a Yamaha a-s301 integrated amplifier.

a-s301 is rated for 60 wpc.

 

I enjoy very much the music from the speakers and haven't experienced any clippings at the volume I listen.  Apparently based on what I read, amp should be providing enough power if there is no clipping (?).

 

My question is, would the sound improve if I upgrade the amp to something more powerful like Yamaha a-s501 (85 wpc)?

I stream most of my music via bluetooth.

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

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I"m no expert but I don't think in general, moving from 60 to 85 watts would be considered a significant move up in power.

 

It takes something like double the power to get a 3-db (a noticeable) gain in volume.  You'd have to go to 120 "to notice"

 

Now, I don't know the specific units and it's quite possible that the 501 is a better built unit than the 301....  I'll leave that to others but in general if you are moving up in watts, you want to genuinely move up, not incrementally move up.

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Welcome to the forum Alej. 

 

Like Coytee said about the db gain, the watts have to double.

I sold, then took in trade, a Sansui G5700 to a Sansui G8700DB (80 watts to 160 watts). I Large jump in watts and price for a 3db gain. 

 

The biggest difference that I've notices is the type of watts (Digital, SS, Tube) and the source (digital such as off of flash drive, CD, Vinyl). Upgrading my sources rather than louder has done the most for my listening enjoyment.  

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Alej,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

From what I have read, the Yamaha A-S301(60w/ch, 19.8lbs) is a very nice integrated amp for it's low price point.  I don't think moving up to the A-S501(85w/ch, 22.7lbs) will make much of a noticeable difference.  

 

Now with that said, the upper two Yamaha integrated amps/DACs, the A-S701(100w/ch, 24.7lbs) and A-S801(100w/ch, 26.7lbs) with their larger power supplies, might offer a noticeable difference in a larger room.

 

I have the "lower" model of the non-DAC Yamaha integrated amps, the A-S1000(90w/ch, 48.5lbs), and believe me it has an easy time driving my Klipsch RB-75's to very high volumes in a 4000ft3+ room.

 

How large is your room and how loud do you play your music?

 

Bill

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Good responses.

You also run relatively efficient loudspeakers. Which helps to skirt the power issue. For example, most loudspeakers come in at 89dB/2.83v. The rp280f is rated at 98dB/2.83v, which means you can create roughly twice as much output with the same amount of power. Stated another way, you can accomplish the same amount of output with 10 watts as the other speaker can with 100 watts.

The reason you're not pushing your low powered amp into distortion is because of the high sensitivity of your loudspeakers.

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Thanks for the welcome and responses.

Listensing space is 26ft x 15ft, with low ceiling of 90 inches.

In listenig sessions, the loudest I turn the volume knob is to about 70%.

From the answers, looks like I should get a more powerful amp if I want to crank up the volume. I don't need louder volume.

So if my current integrted amp drives my speakers to the max level I would listen without any clipping, I woulnt get any benefit in sound quality by upgrading to a more powerful amp beside louder volume? (supposing the quality of the amps are similar)

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"In listenig sessions, the loudest I turn the volume knob is to about 70%."

What does that mean exactly? 12 o'clock on the volume control is normally close to max. Where is your normal setting in relationship to that?

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Hello!

 

I am new to audio equipment and have a question about integrated amps.

I recently bought a pair of rp-280f and a Yamaha a-s301 integrated amplifier.

a-s301 is rated for 60 wpc.

 

I enjoy very much the music from the speakers and haven't experienced any clippings at the volume I listen.  Apparently based on what I read, amp should be providing enough power if there is no clipping (?).

 

My question is, would the sound improve if I upgrade the amp to something more powerful like Yamaha a-s501 (85 wpc)?

I stream most of my music via bluetooth.

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

Save your money, not worth it.   If you are not clipping and don't need to crank it buy something else. 

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An amp can be measured by distortion. More amp doesn't mean less distortion. Anthem amps for example have extremely low distortion. An amp should make the input signal louder without "distorting" it. Distortion at RMS is the value you want to look at.

 

S/N Ratio is distortion, higher is better...

Edited by mustang guy
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Good responses.

You also run relatively efficient loudspeakers. Which helps to skirt the power issue. For example, most loudspeakers come in at 89dB/2.83v. The rp280f is rated at 98dB/2.83v, which means you can create roughly twice as much output with the same amount of power. Stated another way, you can accomplish the same amount of output with 10 watts as the other speaker can with 100 watts.

The reason you're not pushing your low powered amp into distortion is because of the high sensitivity of your loudspeakers.

Good responses.

You also run relatively efficient loudspeakers. Which helps to skirt the power issue. For example, most loudspeakers come in at 89dB/2.83v. The rp280f is rated at 98dB/2.83v, which means you can create roughly twice as much output with the same amount of power. Stated another way, you can accomplish the same amount of output with 10 watts as the other speaker can with 100 watts.

The reason you're not pushing your low powered amp into distortion is because of the high sensitivity of your loudspeakers.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-efficiency.htm try this !
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