Which way to go

bob1964

Apart from the obvious what would be the difference to my system with either a two or five channel amp ? I have a Denon AVR2801 reciever with RTi-10 fronts a CSi-5 centre and Dalquist QX-8 as the rears now i love 5 channel music as well as HT, music though is more predomident about 70-30 split .
I guess my question is how hard would it be to set up just running a two channel amp to my fronts be it as i like five channel music ?
Thanks in advance to a great forum and knowledgable members.

kingkip

Welcome Bob, Not hard at all. In fact it would make your Denon sound better for the center and surrounds as well. This is assuming that the Dennon has pre-outs? Otherwise feed those 10s the power they crave and you will be surprised at the difference.

Zen Dragon

Bob:
It's as simple as plugging your 2 channels amp in and running a set of RCA jacks from your main pre-amp outs to the amp input. Connect your amp to the main speakers and your up and running.
Your Denon will continue to output amplified signals to your other speakers when you select any multi-channel listening mode and with the added load of the mains removed you will get cleaner power to the rear and center channels from the Denon.
For two channel listening your receiver will have a selection for turning off multi-channel modes.
After that it is just some tweaking to get the sound balanced in multi-channel.

janmike

Welcome Bob. Totally agree with the ones above. One question. Is a 5 channel amp a possibility down the road. I did the 2 channel thing and then jumped to a 5 channel as I found out what the additional power could do. Just food for thought.

Tour2ma

bob,
What, if any, sub are you running?

bob1964

Thanks for the warm welcome and the many replys. Yes the Denon has preouts for the amp and at the moment i dont have a sub i really dont like the way a sub replicates bass in music perhaps i might get one for home theatre as i do like the rumble the produce in films. So im guessing its kind of a waste going five channels for the amp and two will suffice just fine.
Thanks again

cfrizz

Hi Bob Welcome!

+1 on what Janmike said. I started out with getting a 2 chnl amp, then got a monoblock for my center, now I desparately want to go for a 5 chnl amp! I just have to consider the weight issue of one.

Whatever you get, make sure you get one with a lot of wattage to get the most benefit of getting into separate amplification. 200 wpc & up.

Tour2ma

bob,

Reason I asked about the sub is that it can be either a viable alternative or an intermediate step to the addition of a 2-ch amp.

While a sub is an HT must, IMO, a good sub, properly placed will work for music as well. It takes time and patience, but it can be done. And, crossed to at 80 Hz or so, in both duties it will relieve your mains of a decent percentage of their duty, and thus your Denon's amp section of the same.

While a 2-ch amp addition for your 10's is almost certainly in your future, even should you opt for a sub now, personally, in your situation, I'd opt for the sub first. If you had RTi12's, I'd say amp first. You own my favorite offering in Polk's current line-up, and while it will benefit from added power, it is not that hard to drive, so a sub is a viable option.

On the 2 ch amp choice... Cathy's in the right ball park, but there are some amps under 200 wpc that have current capacities that exceed what are apparently "more powerful" amps. Look at your candidates', peak-to-peak current capacity specs. 20 amperes per channel is decent; more is better. B&K amps are an example of "less powerful" amps that tend to kick the snot out of amps with 50 to 100% higher wpc ratings.

You should also consider bi-amping your mains using the 2-ch amp for the LF and your Denon for the HF. Not all AVR's are capable of simultaneously sending a signal to both their internal amp and an outboard amp, but I believe your Denon can. Advantage here is that the Denon feeding the tweeters cross your front stage should help insure tone continuity.

As for a 5 ch amp... When you start thinking along those lines, it's time to also think of selling your AVR and going to a separate Pre-Pro.

jeffwalter

You can never have too much power but remember that clean power is always better than amps rated for high wattage that cannot deliver the goods. 200W/ch is nice if you can afford it. There are some very nice 100W/ch amps which still have good headroom. Look for used NAD, Adcom or the like. They are well made and do not cost much. If you require a lot of clean power on a low budget look for pro gear such as Crown.