Budget 2-ch amplifiers

WagBoss

I'm thinking about upgrading to some towers in my L/R channels such as monitor 60s 70s or rti a5 or a7s. I am using a yamaha rx-v671 as the avr running center and rears, and would use the 2 ch pre-outs to run an external amp with the towers. I am looking in the 200$ price range for an amp such as http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-M-282-2-Channel-Power-Amplifier/dp/B000069E2V/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top or even using a 2 ch stereo as the seperate amplifier such as http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-3490-Receiver/dp/B00198F89A/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327344793&sr=1-2. Is it worth it to get a cheap amplifier like this to run my towers, or would it be better to just run the towers from my receiver? Any recommendations on an amplifier or if I should even get one? Any insight is appreciated.

tonyb

I would imagine your receiver is adequate for all those speaker choices, any bigger though, and your in amp territory. That said, every speaker can benefit from better power, do you need it ? No.... Will they sound better with an amp ? Yes. Up to you, not a necessity though given the speakers you listed.

PSOVLSK

I got my start into separates with an Adcom GFA-545. They can be had for under $200. A 535 would be evern cheaper. The Onkyo's you linked look like a good deal to me, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Yes, I think it's worth it even for a cheaper amp.

DaveHo

I've owned that Onkyo in the past. Don't waste your time. I have an Audiosource Amp Two in the bedroom rig. It's a decent amp, but I'm not too sure about the bottom of the barrel Amp 100. In the $200 & under range used is your best bet. The Adcom 545 recommendation is a solid choice. I've owned the 535 in the past & have a 555 now. You really can't go wrong with any of those 3.

nwohlford

The Yamaha rx-v671, unlike previous versions of rx-v6XX series, does not have L and R preouts. It does have output intended for recording which can only use an analogue input. This output along with the zone 2 output will not include any room correction or crossover applied to the L and R speaker outputs. I would skip an amp for now. If you find the receiver is not adequate, then you will have get a new receiver in order to add an external amp.

shawn474

DSkip wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-AMP-100-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B00026BQJ6/ref=pd_cp_e_0

I have this amp and am using it for my zone 2 speakers in the kitchen and on the deck. It works great for that purpose, but wouldn't think it capable of running main room duty. I wouldn't imagine there would be any difference in running that amp (unless its bridged I guess and you are using a pair) and running your AVR.

I dont know if this is budget enough, but these are pretty nice monoblocks that you could use for your purpose: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Outlaw-audio-mono-block-monoblock-amplifier-M220-M2200-pair-x2-/180801676075?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a189ea32b

WagBoss

nwohlford wrote: »

The Yamaha rx-v671, unlike previous versions of rx-v6XX series, does not have L and R preouts. It does have output intended for recording which can only use an analogue input. This output along with the zone 2 output will not include any room correction or crossover applied to the L and R speaker outputs. I would skip an amp for now. If you find the receiver is not adequate, then you will have get a new receiver in order to add an external amp.

You are sure on this? That really sucks... I don't understand why the older rx-v667 has full 7.1 pre-outs and mine doesnt even have 2 ch pre-outs... ugh.

Do you know if I could use my zone-2 pre-outs as the L/R channel for my zone 1?

Or if not, would using a 2-ch stereo amplifier be viable then because I could then re-set the cross over and distances?

WagBoss

tonyb wrote: »

I would imagine your receiver is adequate for all those speaker choices, any bigger though, and your in amp territory. That said, every speaker can benefit from better power, do you need it ? No.... Will they sound better with an amp ? Yes. Up to you, not a necessity though given the speakers you listed.

I really just want to be safe and not clip my receiver. at what volume levels would clipping be caused at around? I just don't like not knowing the limit on my speakers. apparently I can't even use an external amp so I'll have to run everything off my receiver anyways.

Syndil

PSOVLSK wrote: »

I got my start into separates with an Adcom GFA-545. They can be had for under $200.

That was going to be my exact recommendation. GFA-545 is a great amp.

Lietuvis91

Bud... you're all over the map.

If you go with m60s or rtia5s you shouldn't rally need an amp. But just this difference here is huge in terms of price per speaker m60s=$99 vs rtia5=$250.

Otherwise, if you have the coin for bigger rtia7's or 9s, then certain adcoms and parasound hca1000 can be had for roughly $200. You will have to look and shop around. My parasound hca 1000 powers my lsi9s, and it does fine. More power would surely be better and if you can afford the speakers, you should be able to afford the juice. So a nice 2 channel amp in the $500 range should not be out of the question, or out of your budget.

If you are really on a TIGHT budget, go with smaller speakers, or otherwise wait and save till you can afford the good gear that you want. I would wait and save, do it once, do it right!

What good is a monster truck if you can't drive it over 20mph and can't take it off-road?!

WagBoss

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

Bud... you're all over the map.

If you go with m60s or rtia5s you shouldn't rally need an amp. But just this difference here is huge in terms of price per speaker m60s=$99 vs rtia5=$250.

Otherwise, if you have the coin for bigger rtia7's or 9s, then certain adcoms and parasound hca1000 can be had for roughly $200. You will have to look and shop around. My parasound hca 1000 powers my lsi9s, and it does fine. More power would surely be better and if you can afford the speakers, you should be able to afford the juice. So a nice 2 channel amp in the $500 range should not be out of the question, or out of your budget.

If you are really on a TIGHT budget, go with smaller speakers, or otherwise wait and save till you can afford the good gear that you want. I would wait and save, do it once, do it right!

What good is a monster truck if you can't drive it over 20mph and can't take it off-road?!

Well the speakers are in the same price range, the m60s and 70s are just cheaper because they're older. They all can take in 200W of power or higher.

This is why I am asking. I don't want to get speakers that are too big for my receiver to handle or to get an external amp that doesn't power them like they should be powered.

Lietuvis91

WagBoss wrote: »

Well the speakers are in the same price range, the m60s and 70s are just cheaper because they're older. They all can take in 200W of power or higher.

Monitors are cheaper not because they are older, but because they are Polk's entry level line of speakers and they are not as high quality as rtia or lsi speakers.

Just remember that a big speaker will need big power to act/sound like they are meant to. I wouldn't get a big speaker unless I was willing to power it properly, and yes 200w/ch is a very good place to start.

Set a budget and see what fits and makes sense for your need and wants. That will help you make your decision. If you decide on big speakers, there is nothing wrong with getting the speakers first and saving for an amp later. Just don't be disappointed if they don't bump like you thought they would without the extra power. And at that point you shouldn't be playing the "budget" card, and should be saving for an amp in roughly the $400-$600 range.

nwohlford

WagBoss wrote: »

You are sure on this? That really sucks... I don't understand why the older rx-v667 has full 7.1 pre-outs and mine doesnt even have 2 ch pre-outs... ugh.

Do you know if I could use my zone-2 pre-outs as the L/R channel for my zone 1?

Or if not, would using a 2-ch stereo amplifier be viable then because I could then re-set the cross over and distances?

It was a shame that Yamaha dropped the preouts on v671 and a710; the v667 and a700 were good inexpensive options for using as a pre/pro with an external amp.

Often zone 2 preouts cannot be used with digital sources, but maybe they can here (the manual specifies that the other outputs will only do analog sources, but says nothing about the zone 2). I think trying to fake out the crossover, equalization, and delays for the zone 2 would be more trouble than it is worth (if even fully possible).

I would say give the receiver a chance. Unless you have a really big room, you may find that it works great with any of these speaker choices. If you want to be on the safe side, I would say to err towards the smaller speakers and take care in setting the crossover to take some strain off the AVR's amps.

WagBoss

nwohlford wrote: »

It was a shame that Yamaha dropped the preouts on v671 and a710; the v667 and a700 were good inexpensive options for using as a pre/pro with an external amp.

Often zone 2 preouts cannot be used with digital sources, but maybe they can here (the manual specifies that the other outputs will only do analog sources, but says nothing about the zone 2). I think trying to fake out the crossover, equalization, and delays for the zone 2 would be more trouble than it is worth (if even fully possible).

I would say give the receiver a chance. Unless you have a really big room, you may find that it works great with any of these speaker choices. If you want to be on the safe side, I would say to err towards the smaller speakers and take care in setting the crossover to take some strain off the AVR's amps.

Yeah just tried the audio out and zone 2, neither of them work with hdmi input. Only output if its analog. I am pretty mad about that. Just bought this receiver at christmas... Guess I'll just have to stick with no external amp and hopefully I won't clip my receiver XD

WagBoss

So from what I've learned here, I think I'm going to get the rti a5. Does anyone have any doubt that my rx-v671 can run rtia 5 as fronts, csi a4 as a center and rt25i's as rears?

Lietuvis91

In terms of power, perfect match I think, invest the money you save into a very nice sub and you should be very pleased!

WagBoss

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

In terms of power, perfect match I think, invest the money you save into a very nice sub and you should be very pleased!

I have a psw505 already. I am using rt25i's as my fronts right now with a cs245i and other small polk bookshelfs as my rears. I like them a lot but decided its time for an upgrade

Lietuvis91

Sould be a nice step up, did you get an answer from anyone on how yamaha matches up with rtia? Particularly if it's not an overly "bright" combo?

WagBoss

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

Sould be a nice step up, did you get an answer from anyone on how yamaha matches up with rtia? Particularly if it's not an overly "bright" combo?

Nope haven't really gotten much info regarding that. From what I can tell the rx-v671 is not bright , so with rtia it might be a bit bright but I don't mind bright. No review I've read suggested the rx-v671 was bright like older cheaper yamahas used to be.

Hmm after reading some reviews apparently "real world power" output is 80w per channel with 7 speakers, so with me running 5 I'm pretty comfortable with that output and even if I could get an external amplifier I'd have to spend a fair amount to get something that improves the sound.

tonyb

WagBoss wrote: »

So from what I've learned here, I think I'm going to get the rti a5. Does anyone have any doubt that my rx-v671 can run rtia 5 as fronts, csi a4 as a center and rt25i's as rears?

You'll be fine....just don't go crazy on the volume dial. At what level the receiver clipps is dependant on how much volume your asking it to do, with X amount of power it has to do it with and how much power the speakers draw to reach said volume. Your speaker choices don't represent a heavy load, but everything has it's limits. Don't know how the volume dial is numbered on that receiver, but normally once you start getting into the -10 on up towards 0 or the + side. your hitting dangerous territory.

WagBoss

tonyb wrote: »

You'll be fine....just don't go crazy on the volume dial. At what level the receiver clipps is dependant on how much volume your asking it to do, with X amount of power it has to do it with and how much power the speakers draw to reach said volume. Your speaker choices don't represent a heavy load, but everything has it's limits. Don't know how the volume dial is numbered on that receiver, but normally once you start getting into the -10 on up towards 0 or the + side. your hitting dangerous territory.

ok good to know. loudest i've had with 5 speakers going with my current setup is -20. with 2 speakers listening to music went up to around -5. The bookshelfs I have now are actually less efficient then the a5's though so that is a good sign I guess.

ShadesPG

With the luxury of time, you will find exactly what you want for the price you want to pay...if youre as serious about the price as you are about the project, dont rush through the hunting process.

patience and research will yield great reward.

leftwinger57

I also originally got started w/ a Yamaha RX-V665 about 3 yrs old now and wasn't all that impressed . I paired it w/ a set of Klipsch H/D 500 smalls and the avr clipped before the speakers were warmed over according to Klipsch.So to the advice of many here , first went w/ an amp the 665 has pre /outs and then went totally seperate w/ a pre and Infinity speakers.To finally answer your question of a cheap reliable amp I would go w/ an Adcom ,mine the gfa 555 200wpc might be to big for you but I always wanted an amp that more pwr was an asset and needed whatever it was pushung.The prices now for all Adcoms are quite reasonable and they are built like a tank and last.