What speakers do i need for an amplifier?

chieftai

I am planning on buying an amplifier so that i can plug in my tv, dvd player and ps3 and have them all on the surround sound. If i buy an amplifier which has an output of say 500watts, when i come to buying speakers(7.1) does there combined output of them have to be greater than 500 watts?

jbooker82

I think you mean AVR (Audio Video Reciever).

You really should buy one that at least has amplifer pre outs. This will allow you to hook up an external amplifer later on down the road if you ever need more / clean power. If your intrested in an Onkyo then it will need to be a TX-NR709 or higher. The TX-NR609's and lower do not have amplifier pre outs.


What kind of speakers are you running? What are your future plans for your system?

mdaudioguy

I don't think a "buy an amp with pre-outs" recommendation is in order just yet... There are plenty of options that wouldn't require that. Perhaps he only has a set of satellite speakers in mind. We need more info - budget, and exactly what it is he wants to achieve.

jbooker82

I guess wouldnt recomend buying an AVR with out pre outs.

mdaudioguy

jbooker82 wrote: »

I guess wouldnt recomend buying an AVR with out pre outs.

Not everyone has the same goals, needs, or wants. I have a nice 5.1 sat-based system with just an AVR and it's just fine like that.

tonyb

Even a 500 watt receiver at 7 channels is going to be pretty light in the power department. For sat speakers, yeah, your cool, but we all know how this turns out. 6 months from now they will post about adding RTIA9's. I guess if you have no future plans to upgrade, and you can be satisfied with sats or bookies for a few years, then you wouldn't need preouts in a receiver. However, from what I've seen over the years, thats rarely the case.

More direct to the OP, don't worry about adding the watt ratings on speakers, means nothing. Buy a receiver that has all extra's you want and match with most any 8ohm speaker. Keep in mind the future though, if your the type to want new things on a regular basis, a receiver without pre outs will limit the speakers available to you. Just a thought.
Obviously your somewhat new to HT, so I might add a hearty welcome to the club, and suggest you stick around,read up on a few threads and gain a better understanding of HT and audio in general. It will only serve to help you in your decision making process.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

Some more info would be useful. AVR ratings, are pretty, much as tony describes them--something to be taken with a grain of salt. What are you "trying" to drive? That would be a good start?

cnh