Amp to add Atmos to Marantz SR7010

[pantthrower]

Hi guys,

I'm looking at adding 4 ceiling atmos speakers (B&W CCM665's) to my 7.1 setup (7 B&W M1's and a BK Monolith Plus). I've got a Marantz SR7010 reciever which powers 9 channels so to get all 11 surrond channels working I need an additional amp to run the last two.

Any recommendations on what to look at? Obviously I want to spend as little as possible - less than £300 ideally.

I'm wondering about the Marantz PM6006, would that do the job with minimal fuss.

Ray

 

[bigboss]

I've connected Marantz PM6005 to my Marantz SR7009.

I started a thread almost 3 years ago about it....let me find it for you.

 

[bigboss]

Check this thread.

 

[pantthrower]

Thanks Big Boss. So just to clarify; you simply connected all the cables, set the amp's volume to the 2 o'clock and run audyssey?

 

[bigboss]

Yes. Follow Audyssey's instructions during setup and connections. You may need to manually adjust the volume on the stereo amplifier to match other speakers (not necessarily 2 o' clock in all cases). Audyssey will help you with that.

 

[pantthrower]

Thanks Big Boss, that's a great help.

 

[bigboss]

Let us know how you get on. *good*

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi guys,

I'm looking at adding 4 ceiling atmos speakers (B&W CCM665's) to my 7.1 setup (7 B&W M1's and a BK Monolith Plus). I've got a Marantz SR7010 reciever which powers 9 channels so to get all 11 surrond channels working I need an additional amp to run the last two.

Any recommendations on what to look at? Obviously I want to spend as little as possible - less than £300 ideally.

I'm wondering about the Marantz PM6006, would that do the job with minimal fuss.

Ray

I am thinking your combination sounds interesting! I think I will have a look into it. Cheers. How does the ceiling speakers work? Where does the cable go? Thanks. Just thought I have tried that before but ceiling speakers won't work in my setup - rats!

 

[pantthrower]

We're having a load of work done to the house and at the moment that room is just a block- work shell; no plasterboard anywhere. I'm running the cables through a cut out wall cavity then through the ceiling timbers.

I wouldn't know how to do it if the ceiling was already there.

 

[bigboss]

It's actually quite easy for professionals. In my previous house, the installers managed to chase cables behind the walls and ceilings with hardly any damage. Just a bit of touch up was needed. Speak to your local home cinema installer.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I've got that very same receiver and basically you have three easy options, option 1 is the most expensive, option 3 the cheapest.

Option 1: route your front left and right through a "proper stereo" amplifier (integrated or pre/power combo, your choice, your budget - from affordable to the price of a good new car. And I'm not talikng a Dacia ;-)

Option 2: a good, powerful stereo power amp for your front left and right, or better a 3-channel power amp like Emotiva's XPA3. The XPA3 isn't actually made any more but you should be able to pick one up on eBay. Or you could look at their new modular power amps which allows you to start with 2 or 3 channels and up to seven (I think) inside one case. As you add more channels you stop using the receiver's internal amps for those channels, ultimately using the receiver for just the four Atmos channels, with or without a second "zone", or not at all.

Option 3: buy a modest 50-75 WPC stereo power amp and use it to drive the rear (ceiling) Atmos speakers.

I do the latter with an Onkyo M-5010, currently only US$250 brand new. It works a treat in our 19 ft x 12 media room.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I would just add that if you've got the ceiling down anyway, you might want to "future proof" your wiring for Atmos x.y.SIX and/or for more "around the room" speakers. It's sure to come.

Regardless, I would recommend using 12 AWG (3.3 mm2) ish 139 ish strand OFC speaker wire, brand unimportant, but make sure it's UL rated or the EU equivalent for use in walls and/or ceilings. Bigger wires = less power loss especially over long distances.

You should box in your in-ceiling speakers to keep insulation out, to stop the speakers and/or crossovers from overheating, to keep the wee beasties out, to project sound down into the room and not upstairs or into the cavity, and last but not least to maintain the ceiling's fire rating. I suppose that's more in case the speakers start a fire because if you think having ceiling boxes is going to save your house if you have a major fire in a room, well...

I made my own boxes out of 3 x 1 sawn pine boards and 3/8ths plywood, sealed with silicone. I stuck them roughly in position over the speaker holes and glued them down with construction adhesive out of a tube like a bathroom sealant tube. My media room has an attic space above BTW, so not boxing them in meant the bats got good sound but not the people below. No prizes for my woodwork and no dovetail joints I assure you! Some readymade items are available from Amazon etc. but you will need to verify your speakers fit into them.

Finally, think about putting in a power socket and a bendy plastic tube conduit for an HDMI cable in case you ever get a projector. Easy to do when the ceiling is down, a PITA to do later.

 

[pantthrower]

Thanks for all that advice guys, I really appreciate you taking the time.

Looking at all the options I think I'm going to go for B&W CCM665's as the height speakers with a Marantz PM6006 for the additional 2 atmos channels.

Good tip on the cabling and speakers boxing though. I'd not really thought of that.

It's probably another month before I get the room back from the builders but once I've put the system in I'll let you know how it goes.

Ray