New System

[devildog]

Hello,

I have a rather mundane question to ask, but I can think of no better place to ask the question since I intend to purchase a set of Reference Premiere Speakers (2x RP-280FA, RP-450C, R-115SW, and 2xRP-160M) in the very near future. Upgrading from Home Theatre Speakers in a box from 10 years ago (Onkyo).

I recently picked up a Denon x3300W Receiver (have not taken it out of the box yet, could return it for full refund) and Denon states it is 105W x7 @ 8 ohms. The Front Klipsch tower speakers in regards to power handling show 150W/ 600w.

Would I benefit with getting an amplifier such as the Emotiva  Audio XPA3 3-channel (or whatever amp you guys think would be best if needed), which produces 275 watts per channel w/ all channels driven? And if I did benefit from buying this Amplifier, approximately how beneficial would it be?

            Thanks for your time!

[Youthman]

Welcome to the forums.  I previously had RF-83, RC-64 and RS-52, powered by a Yamaha RX-V1800 (140 x 7) receiver.  When I added a Parasound HCA-2205 (220 x 5) amp, I did notice a difference.  More detail, better bass (especially at lower volume) and better separation of musical instruments.  I paid $750 for the amp and often wondered if I heard $750 worth of difference.  My experience was that adding an amp was not a night and day difference, but it was noticeable.  I swapped the Parasound for a B&K 200.7 (200 x 7) and later a Sherbourn 7/2100a (200 x 7) amp and I was not able to hear a difference between the three amps.

[RoboKlipsch]

Welcome Devildog!  

 

Youth did a great job of addressing sound quality, which I could not answer like he did.

The other consideration is room size.  The speakers, like most, can have more and more power added to get higher output.

The sensitivity of those speakers however, is very high.  98db according to Klipsch, and even if it's a few down from that in reality, it's incredibly high.

 

That means at 1 watt, you get 98 db at 1meter.  Let's say you sit back 12 feet from your speakers you may be more like 10 down from there at 88db.

Now double to 2 watts, you are at 91 db.  4 watts, 94db, 8 watts, 97 db, 16 watts, 100db, 32 watts 103db, 64 watts, 106db, 100watts, roughly 107 or 108db.

 

Reference is 105db peaks, so you've got that with about 40 or 50 watts at 12 feet away.

So you can see how room size/listening distance has a dramatic effect upon what you need.

 

Klipsch are all designed as high efficiency speakers that many run actually using high quality tube amps -- just a few watts.

 

So the easy answer is no you don't need more most likely, unless your room is very large, or you are seeking out the highest quality sound and willing to pay a premium for it.  The 3300 imo is an excellent model with great features and Audyssey XT32 to boot.   A very nice model.  

 

 

[holtrp]

I can only echo youth and robo here. 

 

A separate amp is worth the money invested IMO. The good thing about it, if you buy a used, quality amp (like emotiva) they hold value. It isn't like a receiver that will be out of date and worthless in 10 years. It should be worth what you paid for it or possibly more. Well built, inexpensive amps will never go out of style. I have been hunting another gen 1 XPA 5 for about a month now and the ones that are listed are sold within a few days. 

 

As for sound quality, I think going from an on board receiver to outboard amp will give you dramatic results. I think the bigger the drivers in your speakers, the more dramatic the results. Those 8" woofers will really move when properly powered. You'll gain more headroom than you'll ever need. 

[Paducah Home Theater]

9 hours ago, devildog said:

if I did benefit from buying this Amplifier, approximately how beneficial would it be?

 

 

Some people say it's a world of difference, some people say they've done blind tests and can't tell the difference.   Personally I think the biggest thing that is noticable is with dynamics and impedance dips.  An external amp will always handle dynamics better.  Also if you get into bass heavy multi-channel music, receivers don't like impedance dips too much, it can be pretty obvious that it runs out of gas.  

[CECAA850]

OP, you don't really give enough info to answer your question.  It all depends on:

How big your room is

How loud you listen

How far away from the speakers you sit

 

The larger the room, the louder you listen and the farther away you sit from your speakers will determine if an outboard amp will help.  Robo alluded to some of this in his post as well.

[devildog]

Thanks for the replies, lets me know I am on the right track. Although I will say it is what I have generally read, that some can tell a difference with an AMP, and others do not see a big difference! heh

 

Something I noticed is that Emotiva AMP I mentioned above (XPA3 3-channel) needs pre-out voltage of 1.5v and based on a few older models (couldn’t find any info on the x3300w without contacting Denon directly) the receiver might not be able to run the amp anyway as previous models where around 1 or 1.2v. If I did decide to throw the dice, perhaps I should be looking at a different 3-channel amp?

 

Roboklipsch would be correct in in the viewing distance, as the room size is 17x14.5 with viewing distance of around 10ft. The ceiling does start to slant up East to West, watch the TV from North to South Atmos speakers (RP-280FA) facing North(Obviously facing us!), so the Atmos speakers would operating in a room at a height of 8ft and 12ft respectively within the room (Clear as mud!) I should add that I will be replacing the TV first, in a couple weeks, as the current TV was bought in 2008… :/     Looking pretty hard at the Sony 930E, and going from a 52in to a 65in.

 

 

Thanks again!

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by devildog