Help with my 3083

[blakeyboy]

I have a Denon 3803 which I am really happy and gave me good sound with my B&Ws for the fronts. But I got bored and thought it would be nice to upgrade so bought some Kef References 2s for the fronts and would now like the 200c or 100c for the centre. I have a 7.1 setup with Missions for the rears. Now I don't think my 3803 is good enough. Will I have to change my 3803 or can I just just add on to it some how.

 

[Jase]

You could add some poweramps to it so that you can really drive the Kef Ref's well. You could go for a 3ch power amp across the front stage and let the Denon drive the rears. Or, if you get the Model 100c, a 2ch poweramp for the main left and right speakers will do and leave the Denon driving the centre and surrounds. It has Pre-Outs for all it's channels so you have plenty of flexibility.

 

[blakeyboy]

Jase - Thanks for the reply. This is going a step to high for me. I might sound thick here but what are poweramps and do they conect to the 3803?

 

[Jase]

As an example have a look here:-

http://www.rotel.com/products/multichannel-power-amplifiers.htm

Power Amplifiers are dedicated amplifiers to drive your speakers and are far better (usually!) than those found in the average AV Amp/Receiver. You connect them to the corresponding Pre-Out's on the back of your Denon (which has them for all channels - Front Left, Centre, Front Right etc etc) depending on which channel you wish to poweramp.

 

[blakeyboy]

What kind of cable do you use to connect them with. What would be a good S/H power amp to go for? When you connect the power amp to the 3803 does this mean you have to turn the volume up on both amps or just the 3803?

 

[MarkE19]

You would use a standard phono lead to connect the 3803 to a power amp.
Power amps are just the amp, they do not have a pre-amp ie volume control or input selection etc. Everything on a power amp would be controlled by the 3803. If you got an integrated amp with volume control etc then it is likely that you would need to set the volume on both of them. However some integrateds like my Arcam Alpha 8r have a processor mode that bypasses the preamp when being fed from my 3802. This is available on other makes of amps, but not all makes or even models have it.
The advantage of the integrated over the power is that for stereo music I plug my CD player etc into the Arcam and bypass the 3802. The preamp in the Arcam is far better for music than any AV receiver in this price range. If music replay is not a priority for you then just go for a power amp.

Mark.

 

[blakeyboy]

I do enjoy listening to music so I think a integrated amp would be better. I like the idea of a processor mode that bypasses the preamp. So could any body tell me some good integrated amps that could run my kef reference 2s and could they also run the 200c if I get one?

 

[MarkE19]

Any of the Arcam integrated amps have a processor mode and an 8r like mine should cost around £100 s/h.
These amps are normally 2 channel (stereo) and therefore will only drive 2 speakers. You could look for a 3 channel amp or just get another one for the centre speaker. Also you can just get a power amp for the centre as this will not be used for CD etc replay. Or just let your receiver drive the centre.

Mark.

 

[blakeyboy]

MarkE19 - Thanks with your help. Do you know of any 3 channel amps?
Think I will keep an eye out for a Arcam Alpha 8r on the S/H market.

 

[MarkE19]

I think you will only find 3 channel Power amps as I can't think of any uses for a 3 channel integrated. I know you can get the Arcam P35 as either 2 or 3 channel, but this is an expensive unit - see Here for details.
Expect to pay around £80 - £100 for a s/h Arcam 8r and if you want to biamp your speakers you can add the 8p and this will cost about the same again. They do appear to just about always be available on ebay and get bought very quickly when offered on the classifieds here.

Mark.