5.1 vs 2.0 main speaker power

snake1

In 5.1 or whatever ht configuration you have, do the mains get all the power from the avr if its in stereo music mode, or does simply having all the extra speakers hooked up pull power when in stereo mode? Im just curious for the time between getting all the speakers and then saving for a 2 ch amp.

FastGame

There are a few AVR's that have an option in setup for bi-amp where power from the other channels is directed to the mains. It's my understanding that most AVR's don't have that option and the mains only get the same power as the surrounds no matter what mode you run. Hopefully an expert will chime in....

snake1

That is a possibility for my AVR but it has no effect that I can hear. I'm only planning on doing a 5.1 or .2 system anyway so I could make that happen if it would help.

FastGame

snake1 wrote: »

That is a possibility for my AVR but it has no effect that I can hear. I'm only planning on doing a 5.1 or .2 system anyway so I could make that happen if it would help.

Is everything hooked up (wired) correctly from the AVR ? did you remove the bi-amp jumper straps from the speaker connection ? what difference are expecting to hear ?

If I had your system it would be setup for 5.1 and if that Onkyo can't power your speakers for decent 2ch stereo then I'd get a good 2ch power amp. I would think the Onkyo would be fine :eek: but I don't know the requirements for the speakers......

tonyb

When it comes to AVR's, the more speakers you use, the less power is available to all of them, no matter how you dice it up. Bi-amping from a receiver isn't going to do much. Adding an amp would. Plenty of threads available for you to research to your hearts content by way of the search feature too. Good luck to you and happy listening.

mantis

Bottom line here is this , buy a receiver that can handle the requirement of your room and speakers. Underpower and your receiver will not be able to do it's duties.
If any money is going to be spend , buy the very best receiver you can afford , maybe even buy the next one up from there and save you pennies for it. The worse thing you can do to any system is under power it.

External amps are not necessary IF you purchase the right receiver. If your room and speaker package require external amps , then maybe a receiver is not the right choice. I would then suggest going with a preamp. I'm not one to buy a receiver and then add amps because it doesn't have enough power. I honestly think thats silly and a waste. With Integra's preamp as damn good as it is , there is no reason to buy a receiver and then add amps IF the goal is to have all the features you want and add more power to. This is sometimes the goal as many pre amps of the past do not offer what most higher end receivers offer. You get better sound quality with a preamp but have to give up many features you may want.

Honestly there are few theater packages that need external amps vs a high end receiver. I have done small , medium and large rooms with many different receivers and speaker packages and never once did I feel I needed more power then IF the correct receiver was spec'd. I've also done mono blocks on all 7 channels in large rooms with 4 ohm hard to drive speakers as there was no receiver I felt had enough juice to push that speaker package correctly in that room.

Now to answer your question , all receivers drop in power some when running all 5 or 7 channels vs only having to drive 2 channels. The Shared power supply and Caps have more available power with less channels driven. The SC models from Pioneer Do probably the best job at retaining all of it's power no matter how many channels are driven. This is due to design of the Class D digital amps ICE or the new ones. All Class A-B designs lose more power the more channels you add. BUT keep in mind that most receivers will do a fantasitc job running all available channels just fine. Again you must buy a receiver that can support the speaker package you want to use in the room you want to use it in.

The other reason for adding a amp to a receiver is for more musical 2 channel experience with large main speakers. This however can and will throw off the balance of the rest of the system when running a movie in 5 or more channels. I have done enough of these systems to notice and I'm not a huge fan of this. I am however a fan of using the internal amps on your main channel speakers for movies and then using a external amp for 2 channel if you willing to do some rewiring every time you want to use one or the other. Another better idea for this system would be to have a smaller version or matching pair of speakers to the rest of the surround system installed on the wall of even book or floor standing and then have a 2nd pair of musical speakers connected to the external amp and just turning off the amp when watching movies. This is the ideal way to use a surround system and adding better 2 channel to it. I really like this way as I have done it in my own system and liked the results as well as hundreds of others in the field.

On a last note , some don't mind having their main speakers in their theater system with a 2 channel amp on them and just using the receiver to power the rest of the package. Some care more about the music abilities are are completely happy with the slight imbalance or don't even notice it. It's not how I would build anyones system , I would get a multichannel or add the same amps to all channels so it stays balanced for theater use as well. No Dynamic issues what so ever.

snake1

Sorry guys, I may not have been clear in what I was asking, but Tonyb and Mantis pretty much got what I was saying. Sometimes its hard to articulate the issue. It was really just a wonder question, and I did save and shop to buy the biggest receiver I could get my hands on (without my wife killing me). I was just thinking it might cut the power to the center and surrounds if I put it on stereo mode for listening to music (which is what I do most of the time) and would send the full 135w to the towers. I will be going with a 2ch amp down the road, but not til I get the rest of the speakers to finish the 5.1 or .2 :cheesygrin:

Thanks guys for your input!!!!