Recommended 7 channel x200w Amp

sarvic

Just wondering what people recommend for a good 7-channel amp these days.
Will be used to power:

Fronts: LSiM 703 bookshelf
Center: LSiM 706c
Side Surrounds: LSiM 702 F/X
Back Surrounds: LSiM 702 F/X

thanks!

kuntasensei

Someone's gonna ask it, so I'll get it out of the way: What's your budget?

sarvic

no real set budget, just want to see what good quality amps were out there. I guess anything in the $2000-$3000 range.

oh, and that's 200w x 7 in 8ohms

polkfarmboy

Krell showcase

sarvic

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Krell showcase

unfortunately that one's only 125w x 7 with 8 ohms

sarvic

This was one I was looking at:

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7700.html

as well as this one:

http://www.sunfire.com/productdetail.asp?id=4

polkfarmboy

You want something super high end used for that kinda money your talking

snake1

Coming soon from Emotiva! :cheesygrin:

350wpc x 7!! Probably within your budget as well, but you'll have to wait for release. Note the power requirements however. :eek:

sarvic

this was another possibility:

http://us.marantz.com/us/products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVSeparates&ProductId=MM8077

sarvic

snake1 wrote: »

Coming soon from Emotiva! :cheesygrin:

350wpc x 7!! Probably within your budget as well, but you'll have to wait for release. Note the power requirements however. :eek:

nice! I was originally looking at the Emotiva's but their current multi-channel one unfortunately didn't have enough power for what I was looking for.

PrazVT

I've had a NAD M25 for the last year and really enjoyed it. 160W x 7 @ 8 Ohms (220W dynamic). They run about $3500 new, but I've seen them used for ~$2500.

http://nadelectronics.com/products/masters-series/M25-7-Channel-Amplifier

kuntasensei

I was gonna say... the closest thing I could think of new was the Nad M25, but that's only 160w/ch and it's $3,500. There's a Lexicon LX7 on Ebay right now for $1,850 and that would work for you. There's also a B&K 200.7 on Audiogon for around the same price. I'd poke around used and see what you can find.

EndersShadow

Here is my question: Why do you need an amp for those speakers?

Honestly just pick up a Pioneer SC-68 and call it a day. You dont need nearly the wattage you think you do for the LSiM's to drive them to ear bleeding levels. Also factor in you need to double the wattage per 3db you add. So for example if your AVR puts out say 125 x 7 (actual wattage rather than spec wattage) and gives you 100 db, to get to 103 db you need to have 250 x 7 (actual wattage), to get to 106db you need to have 500 x 7 (actual wattage, and more than your speakers can take per spec's). Its hard to tell the difference between db's the higher up you go as well, so you might not even be able to tell the difference sound wise, even though you may pay 2 or 3x more for an amp with those specs.

If you just had to have an amp get a 2 channel one for your front 2, and drive the rest with a really good AVR (again with the Pioneer SC series).

One of the nice things about the redesign of the LSi series into the LSiM series is the move from 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm ones. Allows you to use an AVR to power them (assuming its a good quality one).

I wouldnt go out and buy a cheapy AVR by any means, but anything in the 1.5k range up should work fine, and then you save yourself the cost of the AVR + an amp + interconnects. Allows for a simpler hookup and cleaner source to speaker connection.

snake1

sarvic wrote: »

nice! I was originally looking at the Emotiva's but their current multi-channel one unfortunately didn't have enough power for what I was looking for.

7ch amps with 200wpc are not very common. You could look into some Parasounds as well. Get a 2ch for the L and R and a 5 channel for the rest. All above 200w with either the new classic or Halo line. Being that you have LSiM's I'd say Halos perhaps.

kuntasensei

sarvic wrote: »

nice! I was originally looking at the Emotiva's but their current multi-channel one unfortunately didn't have enough power for what I was looking for.

They're supposed to have a XPA-7 coming out in the near future that will be 200w/ch x7. At least there's mention in their forums of one. If you're not in a rush and insist on new, that might be worth checking out.

sarvic

EndersShadow wrote: »

Here is my question: Why do you need an amp for those speakers?

Honestly just pick up a Pioneer SC-68 and call it a day. You dont need nearly the wattage you think you do for the LSiM's to drive them to ear bleeding levels. Also factor in you need to double the wattage per 3db you add. So for example if your AVR puts out say 125 x 7 (actual wattage rather than spec wattage) and gives you 100 db, to get to 103 db you need to have 250 x 7 (actual wattage), to get to 106db you need to have 500 x 7 (actual wattage, and more than your speakers can take per spec's). Its hard to tell the difference between db's the higher up you go as well, so you might not even be able to tell the difference sound wise, even though you may pay 2 or 3x more for an amp with those specs.

If you just had to have an amp get a 2 channel one for your front 2, and drive the rest with a really good AVR (again with the Pioneer SC series).

One of the nice things about the redesign of the LSi series into the LSiM series is the move from 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm ones. Allows you to use an AVR to power them (assuming its a good quality one).

I wouldnt go out and buy a cheapy AVR by any means, but anything in the 1.5k range up should work fine, and then you save yourself the cost of the AVR + an amp + interconnects. Allows for a simpler hookup and cleaner source to speaker connection.

I probably won't be getting a receiver yet for my theater room til next year sometime. If I had to get one now, it would be probably the Denon AVR-4520 although I did look at that Pioneer SC-68. The Marantz AV8801 looked nice but i'd need an amp for that one.
Just looking into my options is all.

EndersShadow

snake1 wrote: »

7ch amps with 200wpc are not very common. You could look into some Parasounds as well. Get a 2ch for the L and R and a 5 channel for the rest. All above 200w with either the new classic or Halo line. Being that you have LSiM's I'd say Halos perhaps.

kuntasensei wrote: »

They're supposed to have a XPA-7 coming out in the near future that will be 200w/ch x7. At least there's mention in their forums of one. If you're not in a rush and insist on new, that might be worth checking out.

Again fella's I ask

EndersShadow wrote: »

Here is my question: Why do you need an amp for those speakers?

Surrounds will never need that much power, and lets remember the LSiM's are 8 ohm speakers so they are not the LSi's of past which required an amp to sound good.

The LSiM's should sound quite good on a high end AVR that has close to its rated spec's per channel with all channels driven. I dont think the OP needs an amp for all 5 speakers by any means, maybe the front 2, but with his budget he could just get the Pio 68 and call it. He wont get more out of the LSiM's without REALLY upping his budget and I dont think there would be enough of a difference to justify the cost.

Keep in mind every 3 db increase in SPL requires double the wattage.

Also we dont know room size, are we talking a 10x12 room, a 300x500 room, etc as that plays into all this.

Lets not get too far down the amp rabbit hole before ensuring its one we actually need to go down.

EndersShadow

sarvic wrote: »

I probably won't be getting a receiver yet for my theater room til next year sometime. If I had to get one now, it would be probably the Denon AVR-4520 although I did look at that Pioneer SC-68. The Marantz AV8801 looked nice but i'd need an amp for that one.
Just looking into my options is all.

Do you have the speakers now? If so how are you driving them?

The Marantz SR7007 would be what you would need, you dont have to go separates with the LSiM's and honestly think you would spend more cash than you needed doing so.

snake1

EndersShadow wrote: »

Again fella's I ask


Surrounds will never need that much power, and lets remember the LSiM's are 8 ohm speakers so they are not the LSi's of past which required an amp to sound good.

The LSiM's should sound quite good on a high end AVR that has close to its rated spec's per channel with all channels driven. I dont think the OP needs an amp for all 5 speakers by any means, maybe the front 2, but with his budget he could just get the Pio 68 and call it. He wont get more out of the LSiM's without REALLY upping his budget and I dont think there would be enough of a difference to justify the cost.

Keep in mind every 3 db increase in SPL requires double the wattage.

Also we dont know room size, are we talking a 10x12 room, a 300x500 room, etc as that plays into all this.

Lets not get too far down the amp rabbit hole before ensuring its one we actually need to go down.

I'll concede here. Good stuff to think about. Just figured if he was asking about amps he had searched receiver options.

sarvic

Well, right now I just temporarily have them hooked up to my Denon AVR 2309 receiver in my living room.

As far at the dimensions of the theater room, they are 15x21 with about an 8-9' ceiling.

Was looking to purchase the speakers first, then various electronics and media furniture next, then lastly the TV and receiver to take advantage of the latest tech...

Yes, I have the speakers right now minus the dual subs which I was gonna get the SVS PB-12's

pdxfj

The dimensions of my HT are very close to yours (13x19x7) and I'm running all Rti-A series speakers in a 7.2 system. My fronts are powered off a 5ch Sony ES amp (120x5) that is bridged to 200x200 with the fifth channel at 120w for the center.

With room treatments, and my Onkyo 1010 running the side and back surrounds nothing breaks a sweat even near reference volumes. I'm sure I could run just the Onkyo for everything and be fine. Guess what I'm trying to say is a dedicated amp for everything is not necessary. If you really want an amp, save some coin and just get a 2 or 3 channel amp as others have said. Let your AVR do the rest. If I had bought an Onkyo 3010 or 5010 I wouldn't even keep the dedicated amp in the mix.

Also make sure you have the space for the PB-12's. I considered those, but they were just too big. So I got the PC-12's instead.

Not sure this really adds anything to the conversation.. too much coffee today....

sarvic

Well, thanks to everyone's input here, I reckon i'll just stick with a nice receiver instead of getting a separate amp. Hope to see some potential new things coming out for CEDIA 2013 this year. Thanks again for the help with this.

rpf65

Wyred4sound. Nuff said.

zeppage2

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7700.html

B stock at $1799 as well...

sarvic

Yeah, I saw that one. Definitely a nice price.

nwohlford

sarvic wrote: »

Well, thanks to everyone's input here, I reckon i'll just stick with a nice receiver instead of getting a separate amp. Hope to see some potential new things coming out for CEDIA 2013 this year. Thanks again for the help with this.

I would only get a receiver with Audyssey XT32 or the equivalent (Anthem's ARC is the only thing that comes to mind) unless you are EQing your subs separately. Good speakers (which you have), dual subs, and room correction/treatments are the biggest improvements.

snake1

Just curious since it pertains to the conversation, how does that Pioneer receiver put out 140wpc all channels driven and only weighs 40lbs?? What kind of tech allows for this?

EndersShadow

snake1 wrote: »

Just curious since it pertains to the conversation, how does that Pioneer receiver put out 140wpc all channels driven and only weighs 40lbs?? What kind of tech allows for this?

ICE Amps which are Class D. But dont ask me what that means lol...

kuntasensei

EndersShadow wrote: »

ICE Amps which are Class D. But dont ask me what that means lol...

Yup. Same reason my Crown XLS-1500 weighs all of 8 pounds and yet puts out 525w/ch at 4 ohms. It replaced a Samson 1000 that weighed 4x as much and yet it controls my sub and Buttkicker MUCH better. It's scary how light Class D amps are.

txcoastal1

Sunfire 7201

PrazVT

snake1 wrote: »

Just curious since it pertains to the conversation, how does that Pioneer receiver put out 140wpc all channels driven and only weighs 40lbs?? What kind of tech allows for this?

Class D amps as Enders mentioned. I think in testing, the SC 57 receiver put out ~110+ wpc 7 channels driven, which seems pretty decent.

http://www.hometheater.com/content/pioneer-elite-sc-57-av-receiver-ht-labs-measures