need help choosing an amp for 5.1

ziviorr

hi all, i recently purchased a Pioneer VSX-1326 K (which some said is equivalent to a Elite 53), RTI A9, CSI A4, FXI A4 and a BIC F12 sub. Since i know the avr itself is not enough to drive the A9s, im looking at Emo amps but not sure if i should get the XPA2, 3 or 5. I'm thinking the A9 will get huge benefit from the XPA 2 but not sure if my avr will produce enough power for A4's. And if i get the XPA 3 it seems im not giving enough for the A9 since they are rated 50-500 wpc and the XPA 3 is only 200 wpc. And for the XPA 5 im just not sure if the FXI needed the extra power. thx.

dkg999

The center channel and the front mains are the most power-hungry in a HT system. In your AVR the main limitation is the amount of load on the power supply. If you get an external amp for your front mains you will take away some of that load on the AVR power supply, allowing the remaining channel amps in the AVR to supply more dynamic sound to the center and surround speakers. Any good external amp in the 100 to 300 wpc range will power your A9's. If you want a new amp I would look at Outlaw Audio in addition to Emotiva. A used Adcom would be another alternative.

ziviorr

hm.. so the XPA5 is not needed then right? what abut between the 2 and 3? should i get the XPA2 just to power my fronts or XPA3 for the center and front? will it be noticible between 200 pwc and 300 pwc for the fronts?

dkg999

I don't think you'll notice a difference between 200 wpc and 300 wpc in a HT system. If you can swing the XPA3 I would go that route.

cfrizz

All speakers including the rears benefit from more power. I started out with a Parasound 2 channel amp, then got an Outlaw monoblock for my center channel, and finally got my 5 channel Sunfire for all of my speakers. My FXi3's really came to life just like my main three when they got more power.

I say get a 5 channel Emotiva or other and be done with this upgrade.

Evrythngmatters

deleted.

reeltrouble1

yes ziv you are getting it, you dont need the five channel amp, wont hurt anything but you dont have to have it. If you can get the three channel go for it, if not get the two channel, you can always get a three channel later if you really think it will matter.

RT1

jbooker82

If you get a 5 channel (XPA5) amp and only power the front 3 you have the benefit of having a larger power suply / transformer. The price for the XPA3 vs. XPA5 it is a no brainer to get the 5.

ziviorr

so should i biamp my A9 with a XPA5 and my avr if i dont find the need to run my surround with the XPA5? will there be any benefit?

chumlie

No need for that. You will have enough power to drive them without biamping them.

jbooker82

No bi amping. I was just stating that using only 3 of the 5 channels could be slightly better than using all 3 channels of the XPA3. So if your only interested in powering the front 3 I would still get the 5 channel.

ziviorr

ic, so from my avr to the amp which brand is better? http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00006RVNS/ref=mp_s_a_18?qid=1324929703&sr=1-18 ?

jbooker82

You might look at blue jeans cable. They have a 5channel set. That way the ends will be color coded, and bjc makes pretty good products for the money.

jbooker82

Here you go.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/6channel/index.htm

ziviorr

thx:biggrin: just ordered a set of 5 channel since i already have a monster sub cable on its way. There is still one small confusion, what is the 12v trigger on my avr use for?

PrazVT

The amp will have a 12v trigger (usually do) port as well. If you connect a 3.5mm audio cable to the amp and the receiver's 12v trigger, when you turn the receiver on/off, the amp will do the same. It just saves you from having to turn on the amp separately when you power on the system.

justlord

jbooker82 wrote: »

If you get a 5 channel (XPA5) amp and only power the front 3 you have the benefit of having a larger power suply / transformer. The price for the XPA3 vs. XPA5 it is a no brainer to get the 5.

Both of the amps are extremely powerful for powering 3 - 5 speakers. Why would a larger power supply/transformer be a benefit, other than having the option of powering more speakers? At the time I'm ready to purchase Emo amp, the holiday sales will be over and I'll be lucky if I have enough money left over to get the XPA-3. Why should I consider the bigger power supply?

jbooker82

Generally they will have more reserve. A XPA5 would probably have a higher watts per channel rating than the XPA3 if they were both rated with 3 channels driven.

There is no question that if I had a 5 channel amplifer I would use it to power a complete 5 channel system. I was just saying if your dead stuck on only power the front 3 the 5 channel still might be the better option due to the larger power suply, and or the ability to power a 5 channel system down the road.

I dont have any personal experiance with Emo amps. I have just herd that the XPA 5 has a larger power suply / transformer. More power could never hurt but at some point it really isnt nessary.

My carver A-753x is a 250 wpc x 3 channel amp. With my avr in stereo mode (just the L&R) I can get around 104-106 db, and the meters on the amp indicate that I am only using around 125 watts. That is just powering my RTI A7's at full range.

For a $169 more bucks the 5 channel would be hard to pass up, even if you only had a 3.1 system.