Help- Amplification question.
AudioBOOM
Posts: 2
My question conerns the Polk Monitor70's. I upgraded my Sony receiver to an Onkyo 806 and there was a HUGE difference in power and sound quality. The Monitor70's are rated up to 275 watts. I was thinking about buying either an Adcom GFA 535 (60x2 RMS @ 8 ohms) or an Onkyo M-282 (100x2 RMS @ 8hms).
Now this is what I need to clarified for me, because I hear two different things all over the internet when adding extra power.
I want to know if I can use the external amp to power the Highs on the M70's and leave the receiver to take care of the lows. I want more power without spending big $$$ on an XPA or Adcom 555. Those amps would indeed be nice but are overkill for my speakers.
Now this is what I need to clarified for me, because I hear two different things all over the internet when adding extra power.
I want to know if I can use the external amp to power the Highs on the M70's and leave the receiver to take care of the lows. I want more power without spending big $$$ on an XPA or Adcom 555. Those amps would indeed be nice but are overkill for my speakers.
Post edited by AudioBOOM on
Comments
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ok... I am going to try and answer this. If I am wrong I will be told immediately...lol
1st, I am guessing you have more power now than you did with the Sony since the Onkyo is rated @ 130WPC.
2nd- The Onkyo 806 does not appear to be pre-amped so you need a pre-amp if you want to add an amp.
3rd- If you buy the GFA535 and run that to your high's you will only have "60 WPC" it does not add to the existing wattage your receiver is producing. This can accomplish this via Bi-amp your one line through the amp to the highs.
4th- You could just Bi-Amp your existing system. But you would probably not notice any difference (My opinion)
5th- Invest in a quality used amp that is 5 channel or 2 channel and have at least 200wpc and call it a day. However, you will still need pre-amp.
I hope I provided appropriate information...lolMarantz SR 5010
Kenwood DR-V5070
Polk RTi A9- Mains
CSI A6- Center
Elemental Designs A2-300 Subwoofer
Panamax M4300-PM Power Conditioner
Working on updating my set up :rolleyes: -
The onkyo does have preouts.
The m-282 wouldn't be much of an improvement if any. You can get good stereo amps used for a couple hundred bucks on craigslist. More power the better usually, 200 watts would not be an overkill. Personally I wouldn't want anything under a 100watts. Just do some research before buying anything.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant -
I want to know if I can use the external amp to power the Highs on the M70's and leave the receiver to take care of the lows.
For starters you have that backwards. You would want the external amp on the lows, AVR on the highs. However, you'd have another issue with the gain differential between the AVR and amp.I want more power without spending big $$$ on an XPA or Adcom 555.
Neither of those are big money.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Yes I have Pre-outs, the Onkyo is more powerful than the M-282 So I figured you'd want more power where it's needed (lows).
For me, those amp's are expensive right now. I'll start saving up for some muscle but it feels like a waste to let the power of the Onkyo go to waste. After all, the main reason I got the Onkyo was because of the power. -
Then based off of your answer you should be good with what you have for now.
No you can add other toys if you do not have them i.e. Turntable, nice stand, ect...
Take care.Marantz SR 5010
Kenwood DR-V5070
Polk RTi A9- Mains
CSI A6- Center
Elemental Designs A2-300 Subwoofer
Panamax M4300-PM Power Conditioner
Working on updating my set up :rolleyes: -
Get a better amp, and use your pre-outs. Bi-amping a system like this is will be a waste of time and money.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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Ditto what Steveinaz said. Get a better amp of at least 200 watts per channel. The resulting sound should be more effortless and dynamic. You don't have to spend big bucks either. An Adcom GFA-1 or GFA-1A (200W x 2) can be found for under $200.00. There are four of them on eBay right now going for $150.00 and $160.00 BIN. I have had the GFA-1 in my equipment collection, and it is a very good amp, really nice sounding. Packs a lot of punch in its shoebox-sized chassis.Main System: Denon DP-59L | Audio-Technica AT33EV | Marantz SA-11S2 | Classe DR-10 | Classe CA-300 | Classe RC-1 | PSB Stratus Gold i's | DIY Balanced AC Power Conditioner | Acoustic Zen and NeoTech cables | Oyaide and Furutech power connectors | Dedicated 20A isolated ground line.
Home Theater: Toshiba D-VR5SU | Laptop #1 |Outlaw Audio OAW3 wireless audio system | Marantz SR-19 | Phase Linear 400 Series 2, modified | AudioSource 10.1 EQ (for subs) | Axiom M3 v3’s | Axiom VP150 | Optimus PRO-X55AVs | Dayton 12” powered subs (x2) | Belkin PureAV PF-60 line conditioner.
Party System: Laptop #2 | Audioquest Dragonfly USB DAC | Technics SU-A6 | Acurus A-250 | Radio Shack 15-band EQ | Pioneer SR-9 reverb | Cerwin Vega DX9's | Dayton 100° x 60° horns with titanium HF/MF compression drivers. -
Yes I have Pre-outs, the Onkyo is more powerful than the M-282 So I figured you'd want more power where it's needed (lows).
For me, those amp's are expensive right now. I'll start saving up for some muscle but it feels like a waste to let the power of the Onkyo go to waste. After all, the main reason I got the Onkyo was because of the power.
No, an AVR's power is lower with all channels driven. AVR specs do not tell the full story and you will have less power with 2, 3, 4 channels driven. Seeing you are probably running a surround system (I assume seeing you have an AVR that is normally the case), then the more speakers the less power to those speakers.
The power you get out of a dedicated amp is normally better than what you will obtain from an AVR.
F1 is correct, if you do it, you would want to run the AVR to the top and the amp to the bottom but you will have a difference between the gain of the amp and the gain of the AVR. -
but you will have a difference between the gain of the amp and the gain of the AVR.
Right and that difference in gain makes the whole bi-amp idea pointless because it will not sound right.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
What F1nut means by not sounding right, is the 2 will have different sound characteristics and different speeds on which the power is delivered to the speakers. Follow ?HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
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lsi 9's -
Not an expert on AV equipment but I powered Monitor 70s with a 100wpc NAD receiver & was very happy. Plenty of punch from the bass & never turned the amp over 1/2 way in our modest size living room. This was perfectly acceptable to my wife & I. Regardless, I moved up to a 200 wpc dedicated amp & noticed positive improvement. I can not say the improvement is because of more power or because of the quality of the new (to me) components but the speakers seemed to fill out. Long story short, there may be more to your dilemma than just horsepower but I am not familiar with the Onkyo.
