Marantz NR1508

[MiddleMan]

Well I'm finally looking to upgrade my ageing Yamaha DSP E800 Sound Processor/AV amp.

I use this to run centre/rear and sub speakers with the fronts run from the pre-outs to my hifi amp and speakers.

Getting this set-up in a new AV amp doesn't seem easy, as not all new AV amps have pre-outs for front speakers. So, one choice is the Marantz NR1508 Slim. This has those all important pre-outs, but of course, is a lot less powerfiul than most full-size amps.

So, my question for anyone who knows about this stuff: Becuase I run the front speakers from my hi-fi amp, does this mean I can get away with a lower powered AV amp? My listenting room is average size/small anyway, so this amp's 50W output I guess is more than enough for running the other 3 speakers and sub woofer?

Or does anyone know of a sub-£500 AV amp with those all important pre-outs for front speakers?

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Since you don't say what your "proper stereo" output is, its hard to say what the relative outputs will be. 50 watts can still be very loud indeed in a regular house sized room, but won't fill the Albert Hall.

But, in general, an AV amp will output up to its rated power output on any one (or two) channels regardless of whether FL FR LR RR etc. The idea being if there's a "kaboom moment" behind the viewer or if the Starship Enterprise roars diagonally across the room, the AV receiver tracks the sound.

The other constraint on AV amp output is the power supply, and that limits total power output from all channels running, simultaneous or not.

What I think, repeat think, you will find is that if the power for your FL and FR is coming from your "proper stereo", that will free up enough of the AV amplifier's power supply, er, power, to let the centre and rears run pretty much full tilt when demanded.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

PS when you run the Audessey equalization software be sure to have the fronts set to normal listening levels. The software should take care of the rest.

Otherwise either look at a more powerful receiver, or ones with preamp outs for all channels, e.g. the SR5011 / 5012 and up, and add a multichannel power amp. The Emotiva XPA2 gen 3 is a modular design that can handle between 2 and 7 channels at up to a geniune sumultaneous 300 watts per channel with 2 channels dropping to 200 wpc into each of 7 channels.