Adding power amplifiers to AV receivers - experience anyone?

[Leeps]

I'm interested to know how people have got in with this, primarily using the AV receiver's pre-outs to use power amplifiers for the front main left and right speakers, mainly to improve current delivery for 2-channel performance.

How do you get the gain settings right, and especially, how do you avoid blowing your speakers in the set-up process? Also, if using fairly powerful amps for these channels, have you found it difficult getting the centre channel well-integrated with multi-channel sources?

There's very little mentioned about the subject in my AVR's manual - it just shows you how to connect them using RCA leads, but I kinda knew that already!

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Start with the volume turned waaaaayyyy down...

 

[Leeps]

Start with the volume turned waaaaayyyy down...

Ermm. Thanks for your insightful response! I'll certainly bear that in mind of course. Anybody ELSE have any helpful comments or anecdotal experience adding power amps to an AV receiver? Was it worth it? Did it help?

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

In the UK I used to feed my front AVR channels through a Cyrus Pre-X and twin X-powers into a pair of ProAc Studio 140s. In a 12 ft. x 12 ft. living room. The neighbours liked it so much they used to call the Police round so they could listen to it too

Here in the US I briefly tried using a couple of cheap Onky M-5010 power amps to drive front (bi-amped and bi-wired) Klipsch floorstanders (yuk) off the old Onkyo 717, before flogging them on as a bit like giving your granny a boob job. Nothing was going to improve the sound coming out of the Onkyo nor the mess the Klipsches made of it.

I still use one M-5010, however to drive channel 10 and 11 (the rear overheads) on my Marantz 7010 and 7.2.4 system.

Since the pre-amp outs from an AVR shouldn't exceed the 3 or 5 (?) volts (technically 0 to 3 but sometines with a +2 volt offset, I believe) line levels put out by a stereo pre-amp, CD player, you name it, and since all a stereo pre-amp really does these days is equalise voltages up to the +3 or +5 level and give you a volume knob to adjust those anyway, I'm pretty sure your power amp isn't in danger. I'd still start with the volume real low, and work it up to your normal listening level, then run the EQ program that came with your receiver to get all the channel levels and delays properly sorted out.

 

[Leeps]

Thank you Benedict, that's helpful.

 

[kikiso]

I have a Pioneer SC-LX56 connected to an Arcam P25 (3 channel version) that was bought from a famous auction site for not a lot of money. This drives my B&W CM8s (L+R) and B&W HTM61 (Centre) from my AVR's pre outs. The power amp has no volume controls, it's just driven at whatever volume I set the AVR at. The sound is fantastic. Music and films.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Emotiva XPA3 was a popular choice here in the US.

Oodles of power, 3 channels, and not too much money.

Emotiva have, I believe, stopped making the XPA3, but they've replaced it with the XPA Gen3 which is a modular design. The basic 2-channel amp is just USD764, and each extra power amp channel is USD140, up to the mximum of 7 channels that will fit in the rack / case and USD1614. The amp pushes out 300 wpc RMS 20 to 20Khz with 2 channels (and that's geniune, simultaneous watts per channel) dropping to "just" 200 wpc RMS with 7 channels. Each channel is a plug-in card, I believe, so you could start with the basic 2-channel job (I'd recommend 3 though) and add extra channels as you want / need to.

It's on my Chrimbo list but I don't think I'll be getting one this year, sadly.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_1653360097]

its almost impossible to blow your speakers on modern amps, you can either just use the auto calibration mic (room correction) etc, or you can buy a sound pressure reader and do it manually, you can also use a app and use your phone or tablet, but not sure how accurate this are, i just trust my ears and get it somewhere near