External Amp

acdds · October 2003

I am getting an audiosource Amp3 in a couple days. My question is how much power will this free up on my 3803 to use on other channels if I run the 70's using only the amp3? My other option obviously is to run the 70's tweeters w/ the 3803 and the mids with the amp3. Any thoughts?

Side question: What do you guys think of using that old Sony receiver to bi-amp my Csi40 (running the top binding posts) Will this degrade the sound quality at all?

Dr. Spec · October 2003

Dont get crazy bi-amping with cheaper AVRs. You are also mixing pre/pro sections and that will affect SQ.

The 3803 has more than enough power to run all your speaks set to small.

If you really want an external amp, use it to power the 70's straight and ditch the bi-amp idea.

It won't "add" any power to the 3803, but it will decrease the load on the 3803 and it will run cooler.

kingtut · October 2003

Accds, I also posted my experience w/the Audiosource Amp 3 that also runs the RTi70. The Denon has very good reviews. It should have no problem running the 70. Why do you decided to purchase the Amp 3?

faster100 · October 2003

I think the whole idea of adding other receivers as amps, in a bi-amp config, is excessive with Rti70's or any speaker for that matter, If you have an amp.. bi-wire as Doc said.. But you start adding different sound and tonal signatures of other amps all into one pair of speakers its not going to sound top notch... I say denon 3803 and your setup will be plenty of power.. use the amp 3 for second zone2 or something. Keep it simple when you can..

scornful · October 2003

I agree with Faster.... I have a 3802 running my old RT800's (virtually the same as the RTi70) and I like it loud. My typical HT volume is around -05 to 0. Never had any problems what so ever til I got the RTi150's. The 3803 should be plenty. Just my opinion.....

faster100 · October 2003

opps wrong post

acdds · October 2003

I was on the lookout for an external amp just to play around with. Woodyjacobs was selling the amp3 for $150, it looked like a good deal so I took it. When I hooked up the old Sony receiver to run the tweeters on the 70's, it did sound better to me, so I figured if I had a dedicated amp (i.e. amp3) to run the 6.5"s and the 3803 to run the tweeters, I thought it would sound even better. The amp should be showing up tommorow. I am going to play around with it for a little bit. If it doesn't do me any good, I'm sure one of the members here could use it. Also, I have been getting into the stereo/multichannel SACD and DVD-A and it seemed like the 70's lacked punch when the recording was in stereo. I thiught the amp might help out with that.

kingtut · October 2003

My Amp3 was afflicted with the annoying hum. Hopefully, this won't happen to you, but if it does -- just use a cheater's plug; it'll solve the problem. Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem with the amp3 -- according to the users' reviews on another forum. The amp3 runs really cool and should improve the RTi70 at loud volume.

bigsexy1 · October 2003

I concur with Faster and doc here on this one. If you had the 150s, then it might be a different story out of sheer neccesity, but with the 70s, especially when high passed set on small, the 3803 is more than enough for them. There's just something about mixing different brands of amps I don't like. For instance, I do bi-amp my 150s, but it's with a pair of Adcoms in which the gain is identical on both. If you were going to do anything, if you are only using a 5 channel surround set up instead of 7, just use the extra pair of amp chanels on the 3803 itself to biamp the 70s with.

******************EDIT*************************
Disregard the last part, as I just noticed that you do indeed run a 7 channel surround set up, so you need all of the 3803's amps as is.

acdds · October 2003

So you guys don't think it is a good idea to bi-amp the 70's using the 3803 for the tweeters and the amp3 for the 6.5"s? Forget all the stuff I said about the center channel. I thought that the 70's would reach their full potential with @250wpc going to each of them.

VR3 · October 2003

Atleast try it.....wont hurt anything.

eclypse · October 2003

Go ahead and try it! I did that before with my other pair of 70's and it sounded outragously different! Way better.. I plan on doing the same when i get the Denon 3803 and bi-amp with a Kenwood 6070.. I wonder how much better the Csi40 would sound bi-amping.. I never heard anyone do that one, though i could try it myself but damn the wife would be furious with 3 receivers runing!

faster100 · October 2003

your degrading the sound, running 2 and 3 receivers just to power a set of speakers.. its not needed. i bi-amped my csi40.. couldnt even tell a difference.. Bi-wire it and be done.. its apples to apples.. you wont tell much difference. The 3803 will do plenty of justice to your setup.. no need making things look and sound rigged..

acdds · October 2003

Just set up the amp3 in a bi-amp configuration w/ the 3803 running the tweets and the amp3 running the 6.5"s. I like the way it sounds w/ SACD's and redbook CD's. The midrange and the bass are much, much tighter. Also, I can hear details in those ranges that were lacking before. Is it worth the extra $150? I think so (also like having an amp around for future use). I haven't watched a movie yet because it is so late but will post my impressions as soon as I can! Thanks for all the good advice guys!

eclypse · October 2003

Rock on and turn them up when ya get the chance hehe.

My 3803 and 2900 DVD are on the way from Crutchfield.com.. I guess i'll do the same with the bi-ampin of the 70's but only be using an older 100 watt/channel receiver.

kingtut · October 2003

acdds, did you get a chance to try bi-wiring vs. bi-amping? I didn't get a chance to try them because my 5 month old baby is taking up most of my free time. If you tried the above, please let me know if there is a difference.

eclypse · October 2003

Bi-Amp yes.. but Bi-wire.. not likely to notice a difference.

kingtut · October 2003

When I bi-wired the Rti70, the treble was more detailed. Just my 2 cents.

danger boy · October 2003

Originally posted by acdds
I was on the lookout for an external amp just to play around with. Woodyjacobs was selling the amp3 for $150, it looked like a good deal so I took it. When I hooked up the old Sony receiver to run the tweeters on the 70's, it did sound better to me, so I figured if I had a dedicated amp (i.e. amp3) to run the 6.5"s and the 3803 to run the tweeters, I thought it would sound even better. The amp should be showing up tommorow. I am going to play around with it for a little bit. If it doesn't do me any good, I'm sure one of the members here could use it. Also, I have been getting into the stereo/multichannel SACD and DVD-A and it seemed like the 70's lacked punch when the recording was in stereo. I thiught the amp might help out with that.

here is what i would do.. use the amp3 to power your fronts from the preouts.. and hook up all the rest of your speakers to your 3803. What is the amp3 rated at? what is the 3803 rated at? Not a good idea to mixed Sony with Denon. why do you want to bi amp anyways? i'm just curious.

faster100 · October 2003

I tried the bi-amp deal with my receiver and an amp, Honestly with the 70's not much changes,, I now have the 70's bi-wired on my Amc amp and it sounds fine, maybe toned the harshness alittle, besides that i see no big change... do what you want and see what it sounds like, however the 70's are not to demanding and useing just the amp would take some stress off the receiver, after all the front pains pull the most current i would say on the receiver,

External Amp

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