Amplifier with an avr

magneticblue

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Hi all,

I have just upgraded my whole surround sound system. I was running a Denon avr-x2300 with Dali zensor 5 fronts, zensor vokal centre and 2 pairs of zensor Picos. One pair as surrounds and one as height speakers angled downwards in a 5.1.2 configuration.

I now have a Denon avc-x3700h with Oberon 7 fronts, Oberon vokal centre, the zensor 5's are currently on surround duty and 2 pairs of alteco c1s as height speakers and an additional sub and it sounds fantastic in a 5.2.4 configuration.

I still have one pair of the zensor Pico and am considering buying a separate amp to run 7.2.4. I have never run a seperate amp through pre-outs from my receiver before and am wondering how the volume is controlled for the pair of speakers the amp will be running. Is this set by the avr through audessey or will I have to manually adjust the stereo amp separately to the avr each time I change the volume?

Thanks in advance
 
Using the pre-outs to a power amp or a stereo amp with HT by-pass is simple. Just connect to the correct inputs and re-run Audyssey to EQ the amp into the system. The volume is then totally controlled by the Denon. The speakers using the pre-outs will just be connected to the power amp or the stereo amp.

If you go for a power amp then that is slightly different from a stereo amp with HT by-pass. Only consider a stereo amp if you wish to have a better stereo music performance than that provided by the Denon. That is only worth doing if you can route all your music sources through the stereo amp completely cutting out the Denon. A power amp will be considerably cheaper than a stereo amp with HT by-pass.
 
That sounds great. My system is definitely more for home theatre use than music. Is there any particular spec I should be looking for, or would any amp do the trick? As you can tell I have recently spent a fair amount on equipment and don't want to spend a lot more as I don't think the jump from 5.2.4 to 7.2.4 will be that big and I can always sell the Picos. But... I know that if I didn't try 7.2.4 that I may be missing out on something and it would keep niggling at me.
 
I was in a similar position recently. I bought a used power amp, connected it, reconfigured my AVR, and it all just worked. I did, of course, rerun Audyssey.

I did, however, buy a power amp with my fronts in mind to maximise the power being offloaded from the AVR.
 
Ok guys, I think you have convinced me...now I just have to convince the wife!
 
Ok guys, I think you have convinced me...now I just have to convince the wife!
Will she even notice? Smuggle them in and wire them in while she's out!
 
Will she even notice? Smuggle them in and wire them in while she's out!

Looks tiny, she'll never know....! 😂😂

Useful thread as I am in a similar position to OP and would like to go to 7.2.4 at some point but was shocked at some of the prices of the power amps.... This looks like a reasonable alternative to power my fronts if I go down this route!
 
Just a quick update...Mentioned the idea of adding two extra speakers and she gave an immediate NO!. However, I'm going to throw in the idea of Oberon on wall speakers. Wish me luck 🤣🤣
 
Another update...
The boss has agreed to two more speakers and she wants a new sub! We have one black and one white sub and she has decided we need a new white one. I'm going for the svs sb1000 pro but it seems to be out of stock. That's not a problem, I can wait for the sub.

Oberon on wall speakers are the way forward :)

Need to decide on a power amp now. The Behringer A800 suggested before seems to be well reviewed but delivery times are a little longer than I would like. Can anyone suggest an alternative that I can buy for a similar price that will be delivered within a week (next business day would be even better) or find a Behringer with a similar delivery time?

I have to admit that I have no idea what I am looking at when it comes to power amps so am in need of some advice.

Thanks in advance 👍
 
Behringer A800 showing as in stock here:


The specifications on the Tibo are a bit sparse, but it would probably be okay.
 
Behringer A800 showing as in stock here:


The specifications on the Tibo are a bit sparse, but it would probably be okay.
Thanks for the info, I have emailed Thomann to find out how long delivery will take. Fingers crossed it will be swift.
 
Looks tiny, she'll never know....! 😂😂

Useful thread as I am in a similar position to OP and would like to go to 7.2.4 at some point but was shocked at some of the prices of the power amps.... This looks like a reasonable alternative to power my fronts if I go down this route!
Me too I found this Monoprice amp I Was considering, But I am not really sure if I need anything specific, I just want to run my last 2 speakers either rear atmos or rear surrounds with the amp so I can connect my 7.2.4.

 
I went for the tibo pa150 in the end. Thomann took 3 days to reply to my email, by which time I had ordered the tibo. Works a treat. Just one problem I ran in to, the receiver has pre-outs for all of the speakers so I assumed I could run any speakers I liked with the power amp and linked my new surrounds to it. Went to run audessey and found out I could only run the fronts or one of the height pairs using pre-outs so had to mess about with the wires a bit more. Only took an extra 10 minutes but worth checking first 👍
 
Just one problem I ran in to, the receiver has pre-outs for all of the speakers so I assumed I could run any speakers I liked with the power amp and linked my new surrounds to it. Went to run audessey and found out I could only run the fronts or one of the height pairs using pre-outs...
Weird! I would have thought that would work. It must have to do with which amps can be turned on/off, I guess.

Wanting to ensure that I could amplify the fronts was a reason I left Onkyo. It now seems there are plenty more reasons to, now, but I had very much enjoyed Onkyo for 20 years.
 

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