1jay5
Standard Member
Hi everyone,
I would like some help with gain, no maths please, just a simple guide for an idiot!
My set up is;
Arcam AVR360, Kef Q35.2 (fronts/LR), Kef HTS7001 (back/sides/centre), Kef C4 (Sub), MacBook Pro (source, EyeTV, Kodi, Apple Music streaming and Lossless CD rips).
I love music and movies equally and I am happy with the surround sound performance at the moment.
What I want to do;
Add at least one Power Amp to improve stereo performance with no negative effects on surround convenience of a single volume control. I do not want to use switching boxes or add more speakers for stereo duties (my wife hasn’t complained about ‘too many speakers’ and boxes and I don’t want to push my luck too far).
My questions are:
1. What Gain should the Power Amp be (if you know some brands that use the same gain, please let me know)?
2. If the Gain is not matched, will it mean as I change the volume the levels will go out of sync when in surround sound mode?
3. The AVR puts out 90w in stereo, does it matter if the power amp has a lower/higher watt rating?
4. Am I better off trying to stick with Arcam Power Amps to make life easier?
5. I would also prefer to use the triggers from the AVR to power up the Power Amps, again would sticking with Arcam make life easier.
5. At some point I will be upgrading the stereo pair and might add an additional matching Power Amp, what is better:
A. Mono bridge the Power Amps, dedicating a Power Amp to each speaker (jumpers across HF & LF on speakers)
B. Stereo bi-Amp each speaker (split the HF & LF and link the Power Amps in serial).
C. (for example 2xArcam P85) mono bridged, HF connected to A speakers, LF to B speakers on each Power Amp, and with the Arcams is this even possible?
I have been looking at Meridian, Cyrus and Arcam Power Amps.
Many thanks in advance, if you have a Arcam AVR and have added stereo/monobridged amps please let me know what your experiences have been.
I would like some help with gain, no maths please, just a simple guide for an idiot!
My set up is;
Arcam AVR360, Kef Q35.2 (fronts/LR), Kef HTS7001 (back/sides/centre), Kef C4 (Sub), MacBook Pro (source, EyeTV, Kodi, Apple Music streaming and Lossless CD rips).
I love music and movies equally and I am happy with the surround sound performance at the moment.
What I want to do;
Add at least one Power Amp to improve stereo performance with no negative effects on surround convenience of a single volume control. I do not want to use switching boxes or add more speakers for stereo duties (my wife hasn’t complained about ‘too many speakers’ and boxes and I don’t want to push my luck too far).
My questions are:
1. What Gain should the Power Amp be (if you know some brands that use the same gain, please let me know)?
2. If the Gain is not matched, will it mean as I change the volume the levels will go out of sync when in surround sound mode?
3. The AVR puts out 90w in stereo, does it matter if the power amp has a lower/higher watt rating?
4. Am I better off trying to stick with Arcam Power Amps to make life easier?
5. I would also prefer to use the triggers from the AVR to power up the Power Amps, again would sticking with Arcam make life easier.
5. At some point I will be upgrading the stereo pair and might add an additional matching Power Amp, what is better:
A. Mono bridge the Power Amps, dedicating a Power Amp to each speaker (jumpers across HF & LF on speakers)
B. Stereo bi-Amp each speaker (split the HF & LF and link the Power Amps in serial).
C. (for example 2xArcam P85) mono bridged, HF connected to A speakers, LF to B speakers on each Power Amp, and with the Arcams is this even possible?
I have been looking at Meridian, Cyrus and Arcam Power Amps.
Many thanks in advance, if you have a Arcam AVR and have added stereo/monobridged amps please let me know what your experiences have been.
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