AMP Recommendations

simoes

Thanks Tony for your insight. Listening position to the LR is about 11 feet, but the room is not contained. Its an "L" shape and open to the entire basement. I guess my mindset is that since the price range of the two speakers is so close now that it might be beneficial to get the bigger speakers (future-proof). If I move the system to a bigger room down the road, I may have to upgrade to bigger speakers at that time and that might come at a much steeper price (no pun intended). But as you indicated, I really don't want to do that at the expense of performance now. The problem is that my knowledge base is very limited so making these types of decisions can be very challenging lol

gp4jesus

simoes wrote: »

Thanks Tony for your insight.

you’re most welcome. To honest & fair, I’ve gained far more insight from reading others’ posts than posting. Though being into audio for 40 years come December 30th, like that insurance commercial, I’ve seen, done*, and, “worked**” a few things.
* $1.5K*** of gear driving a tiny pair of $80 RS in a 12X12 dorm w/10’ ceiling - blew AWAY some classmates!
**employed a couple of years in the industry
***mid ‘80 $s

simoes wrote: »

Listening position to the LR is about 11 feet... ...[but] "L" shape[d]... open to the basement.

your “space” is L-shaped in a larger room* - how big*? Matters most to your bottom octaves thus guiding your sub** purchase** - I must defer to others’ advice on this** because I took a different approach. OTOH almost no bearing on your system’s spatial performance - how big it sounds.

simoes wrote: »

...since the price range... ...is so close... ...it might* be beneficial to get bigger speakers (future-proof)[now]. If I move... ..to a bigger room... ...may have to upgrade to bigger speakers...

Dude, save the $ for your next purchase. As I illustrated above, you don’t need big speakers to get big sound. Those skeptic busting, tiny Radio Shack (RS) speakers had 4” mid-woofers in a 6” X 3” X 3” closure driven by the amp below*.

I purchased my LR (RTi A7s) for a 13 X 17 “space” in an open floor plan w/16’ cathedral ceilings throughout. In 2 channel full range, the warm (sounding), stout 100 WPC amp* would lift them off the ground, shake the walls (a little) @ about 3/4 volume. Clean, robust power will make a greater difference than under-powered size. I’m confident those Outlaw** Monos** driving those A7s full range will run over the above w/better SQ, in a still bigger situation. Add a sub (or subs) to “do the heavy lifting (anything below 80hz) I fail to understand why you shouldn’t be happy, unless you’re talkin’ BI-I-IG**** down the road.
**I’ve read very favorable reviews
****20” X 26” 15-20’ ceilings w/out a sub?

Pardon while I go a off-topic as you still have BIG stuff to take of: your acoustics will affect your sound more you think. A few members have addressed this simply, effectively, & inexpensively. After you’re satisfied you have 5 channels powered correctly and you want to try some of that - get your read on. I confess I haven’t touched that yet because my system isn’t home* yet but this IS on the WAF* planning board - material & paint colors; details for another day.
*another room in this house.

Tony

simoes

Listening space is approx. 13x16 but open to a room approx. 13x25 (L shaped).

As a newbie, its always tempting to go as big as you can but that's why its important to pick the brains of people who actually know something lol. I bet 80% of the people out there who are buying this huge speakers are doing so thinking that they are going to sound amazing with their 60-100 WPC AVRs. What they fail to realize is that they need an additional 1-4k in external amps to power those babies. Everyone on this forum have been consistent though, that bigger is not always necessarily better.

I will keep the A7s and I bet once its all hooked up it will be more then enough power/sound for me.

What type of RCA cables should I use from the AVR to the Monos? Are the cables from Monoprice good enough? Is it the same as HDMI cables, where it's all gimmick between the so-called high-end cables and lower-end ones. Is it the same thing with audio cables?

gp4jesus

BTW: I sen you a PM of some kind. I wish i could tell you how to access

Muchieman

@OP, how are you liking your Outlaw monoblocks?

simoes

Muchieman wrote: »

@OP, how are you liking your Outlaw monoblocks?

I recieved the monoblocks last Thursday but I'm still waiting for my A7s to arrive from boxing day. I can't wait to see how it will sound!

gp4jesus

simoes wrote: »

...but I'm still waiting for my A7s to arrive from boxing day. I can't wait to see how it will sound!

Expect a pallet - I didn’t!

Muchieman

simoes wrote: »

Muchieman wrote: »

@OP, how are you liking your Outlaw monoblocks?

I recieved the monoblocks last Thursday but I'm still waiting for my A7s to arrive from boxing day. I can't wait to see how it will sound!

Cool deal bro! I’m very Interested on your thoughts when you do hook them up and get them running.
I’m thinking of adding couple of them myself to my RTi-a5’s . By the way don’t let anyone tell you your RTi-a7’s aren’t good for music my a5’s are awesome for music! i’ve had much higher end speakers LSi-15’s, RBH, for the money i paid my a5’s are a Excellent buy! I may go with Outlaws 5000 amp.

simoes

gp4jesus wrote: »

Expect a pallet - I didn’t!

Purolataor called to let me know that, due to the weight of the shipment, I would have to wait until Thursday as that's when "heavy weight" gets delivered lol

The speaker wire you recommended arrived today! Wasn't expecting the box to be so heavy and almost dropped it on my feet. I can rewire my house with that wire!

simoes

Muchieman wrote: »

By the way don’t let anyone tell you your RTi-a7’s aren’t good for music my a5’s are awesome for music! i’ve had much higher end speakers LSi-15’s, RBH, for the money i paid my a5’s are a Excellent buy! I may go with Outlaws 5000 amp. [/quote]

Great to hear! I'm using them solely for HT so it's a great match. I'll report back how they sound with the monos! I love the idea how each channel gets 200W dedicated power!

Now I just need to add the VTF-15H MK2 without the wife knowing. lol

simoes

Muchieman wrote: »

@OP, how are you liking your Outlaw monoblocks?

So It's been a couple weeks now and I'm loving the outlaw monoblocks. They kick some serious ****! I have them paired with two A9s and I'm finding that they overpower the rest of my system lol I'm looking at adding another amp but I'm unsure how to proceed. I find that the outlaws are exceptional value for the amount of power you get and was thinking of adding two more to power the A7 surrounds, allowing the AVR just to power the rear A5s. Anyone know of any issues of having that many monos powering a system? I also like the idea of getting a two channel (2x300?) amp for my RL speakers but the cost is just crazy and would there really be a noticeable difference in performance to justify the extra $$. Is it preferred getting a 2 channel amp over the monos?? What are the best "bang for your buck" amps out there?

Also, I'm loving the RFE output of the new HSU sub paired together with the A9s. I love hearing my door frames rattle lol

mrloren

Hit the easy button and get a Outlaw 5000 for the surrounds

rooftop59

simoes wrote: »

Muchieman wrote: »

@OP, how are you liking your Outlaw monoblocks?

So It's been a couple weeks now and I'm loving the outlaw monoblocks. They kick some serious ****! I have them paired with two A9s and I'm finding that they overpower the rest of my system lol I'm looking at adding another amp but I'm unsure how to proceed. I find that the outlaws are exceptional value for the amount of power you get and was thinking of adding two more to power the A7 surrounds, allowing the AVR just to power the rear A5s. Anyone know of any issues of having that many monos powering a system? I also like the idea of getting a two channel (2x300?) amp for my RL speakers but the cost is just crazy and would there really be a noticeable difference in performance to justify the extra $$. Is it preferred getting a 2 channel amp over the monos?? What are the best "bang for your buck" amps out there?

Also, I'm loving the RFE output of the new HSU sub paired together with the A9s. I love hearing my door frames rattle lol

Man that looks like an awesome setup! Are you running the surrounds as small? Hard to believe you would need an extra amp for surrounds if running as small...also, did you level check everything with an SPL meter? An app on your phone is good enough for this purpose...

afterburnt

https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/vavin-mm-monogram-empreinte-nvprod1160033v

Who the hell needs this?

simoes

afterburnt wrote: »

https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/vavin-mm-monogram-empreinte-nvprod1160033v

Who the hell needs this?

Unfortunately, I'm saddened to say that my wife would disagree with you. She just bought one for Christmas.

dromunds

Yeow

afterburnt

simoes wrote: »

afterburnt wrote: »

https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/vavin-mm-monogram-empreinte-nvprod1160033v

Who the hell needs this?

Unfortunately, I'm saddened to say that my wife would disagree with you. She just bought one for Christmas.

She could have had a really nice amp, go figure.

afterburnt

At least you can put a ladder in this

simoes

afterburnt wrote: »

She could have had a really nice amp, go figure.

Trust me, I tried everything imaginable to convince her how she would benefit from a second VTF-15H MK2..

simoes

rooftop59 wrote: »

Man that looks like an awesome setup! Are you running the surrounds as small? Hard to believe you would need an extra amp for surrounds if running as small...also, did you level check everything with an SPL meter? An app on your phone is good enough for this purpose...

I have the fronts as large, center as small, surrounds as large, and rears as small. I'll change the surrounds to small and see the difference. I have the crossover set to 80hz. Should I keep it the same? I don't know know how to use a SPL meter. lol I just download the app and place it in the room?

gp4jesus

mrloren wrote: »

Hit the easy button and get a Outlaw 5000 for the surrounds

I’m w/mrloren on this.

Either that or another* 4(+) channel amp. I must say caution* here, however. I (recently) replaced my surrounds amp** w/the same make/model as my LR***. The “immerse” factor kicked up 2-3 notches. Any sort of front to rear pan or “spin” was mind blowing.
** Hafler XL-280
***powers mids & tweets

So don’t be surprised, when you fire up your rig w/that Outlaw 5K powering your back half you think: I have a new system! Those ‘A7s especially, set to large*, will really appreciate the diff compared to AVR power - I might take a 🍅 or 🍅🍅 for that remark.
*like power almost as much as A9s set large

“Our” two cents. Tony

One more penny: try to locate rear amp as close as possible to its speakers. I know you may encounter issues due to longer signal cable runs.

simoes

gp4jesus wrote: »

So don’t be surprised, when you fire up your rig w/that Outlaw 5K powering your back half you think: I have a new system!.

Sorry guys, I'm still new to this. That outlaw 5k is 120wpc, basically the same as my AVR, I'm so confused lol

Wouldn't it be better to add more m2200s?

txcoastal1

Trust me you are not getting 120w per channel with your AVR. Once you start breaking down the AVR into 5chnls you'd be lucky to have 60watts per channel

120watts at 1khz tone

txcoastal1

No need for that kind of power for surrounds

afterburnt

@simoes I started with an EMO XPA-200, then a EMO XPA-3 then a Parasound 2250 v2 then a Paroasound A31. Save some money and trouble and got straight to the A31.

gp4jesus

txcoastal1 wrote: »

Trust me you are not getting 120w per channel with your AVR. Once you start breaking down the AVR into 5chnls you'd be lucky to have 60watts* per channel

120watts at 1khz tone

Yuuup! Even divided among the four less-demanding surrounds, likely the same*. OTOH, If you check the original THX specs** you’ll realize the Outlaw 5K is actually a bit of a compromise for your surrounds but will suffice😊 When you take into account your LCR has on tap 600 watts WITH headroom; your four surrounds 240 without headroom...🤔
**100W for each channel; each channel (unrealistically) identical

In case you're wondering & you didn’t catch it earlier, I have a separate 130WPC* amp for my RTi A3s surrounds. While I have some big honey-doos in front of me, I’ve had, still do have in my plans to bi-amp my surrounds each w/their* own amp for more power. Each surround has a dedicated sub too

Overkill for my surrounds? W/ ~1500 watts** on tap for my LCR**, nah...
**includes subs

BlueBirdMusic

simoes,

This thread could use some pictures.

jeremymarcinko

The Outlaw 5000 is under rated at 120wpc ALL channels driven 20-20k. It’s closer to 135wpc, but is not like that matters. What is nice, is the 170wpc 20-20k with 2ch driven spec. It’s makes a good double duty HT/stereo amp.

simoes

jeremymarcinko wrote: »

What is nice, is the 170wpc 20-20k with 2ch driven spec. It’s makes a good double duty HT/stereo amp.

Ya, I've read that as well and I'm seriously considering the 5000 in a 2ch setup. I'm also looking at the used market for a Parasound A21, A31 or A51. Ultimately, the deciding factor will be the best bang for my $$ and what pops up on ebay. I'm also looking at adding a second HSU VTF-15H MK2 very shortly but this covid19 thing is making things more challenging.

mrloren

Outlawaudio sells a very good product. When I got my XPA3G3 I was looking at the 5000 or going with 3 monoblocks, I also tossed around the Monolith 3ch. In the end it was a coin toss and the XPA won.

The HSU sub @ under a grand in my opinion are the best sub you can get. Now if more than a grand is in your budget then it would be one of the bigger SVS subs