AV Receiver w/amp or seperates??

Frak601

Can someone please explain or discuss this topic as I do not really understand the major advantages/disadvantages of either setup? I was considering buying a Marantz SR7001 (125W X 7) and possibly adding a 7 channel multi amp to the pre outs on the receiver.....but after reading several posts, it seems this might not be beneficial.......so not understanding the whole idea of a pre amp and amplifier setup, can someone please explain in more detail........and do you lose anything by not having the av receiver........I just want to get the best system I can for my budget and not regret my purchases. I will use my system more for movies and tv, but will listen to music also. Any info or suggestions is appreciated as I am new to the HT realm! Thanks

cfrizz

Hi Frak.

The advantage of having a receiver is that you have everything, tuner, processor, amplifier all in one box. In short one stop shopping. The drawback to that is that they have to compromise on the power. So while they say you are getting 125wpc x 7 it is actually more like 50-60 wpc x 7. When you are driving all speakers especially towers you are not driving your speakers to their full potential. However, you will have all the latest surround modes & bells & whistles that are available.

Now with a separate preamp & amplifier everything is separate, and you will have 2 separate boxes. One for processing, and one for power. The advantage of this is that you can buy as much power as you want for the amplifier. The disadvantage of this is you may not have all the latest bells & whistles, and it may or may not come with a phono output or tuner. Companies that make separates also do not update their offerings as often as those that make receivers.

There is usually great debate as to whether separates are superior to a receiver + a separate amplifier. Most state that it is, but someone new here on CP stated that they saw a bigger improvement to their system by adding an amplifier to their receiver than they did when they switched to a separate preamp.

I know I saw a huge improvement adding 2 200wpc amplifiers for my L R C speakers to my receiver. I recently switched those out for a 405wpc 5 channel amp. I honestly can not tell a difference between the 2 except now my rear speakers are much more noticable. Both make sure my speakers are operating to their full potential.

Only you can decide which is your preference based on how often you update equipment & which features you wish to have & will use.

If you are a buy & keep it for years type, get separates & don't look back. Get a minimum of 200wpc amplifier since that will ensure that you will have enough power to drive any speakers you might get now & in the future and you will not have to upgrade that one component unless it breaks.

If you must always have the latest & greatest bells & whistles, then get a receiver with preouts for your separate amplifer.

Frak601

Thanks cfrizz for the info.....So if I understand you correctly.......If I use the Marantz SR7001 receiver and add a 7 channel 200wpc seperate amp to the preouts, I will be getting all the bells and whistles I want, plus an added advantage of more power to each speaker.......this sounds like it may be the choice to go with for me, as I will use my system more for theater,movies, sports, than for music.....although I do listen to quite alot of music, just not as much with HT system.

cfrizz

You got it!

Frak601

Thanks alot, I feel much beetre about my purchase decision on the Marantz knowing that, I didnt want to take delivery of it for a moment after reading all the posts!! lol....one last thing If I may ask, when adding a multi channel amp....do I need to just get one with enough channels for all the speakers I am going to use, or will the subwoofer also need to be hooked up as one of the channels? Again, thanks for the great info!

PolkWannabie

That's a function of the subwoofer ... Most but not all subwoofers have their own amplification.

As far as receiver .vs. receiver & amp .vs. preamp & amp goes ... I would expect that you'd have very noticeable benefits by having a separate amp. You might be able to save money by having for example a 3 channel amp to power only the front sound stage i.e. Left, Right & Center and use the receiver to power the rears and/or sides. If you go with a preamp instead of a receiver then you will of course need additional amplification for all channels. In any case if you have a receiver and an amp and you want to upgrade later you can always swap the receiver for a preamp. Personally I notice a significant difference between having a receiver and a GOOD preamp but going this route is not what I'd call a necessity, especially for HT applications.

cfrizz

The bulk of receivers come with their own subwoofer output! Also most subs come with their own amplifiers built inside. Just look at the back of your receiver & you should see it. If you think you are going to use 7.1 speakers get a 7 channel amp. if you know for sure you won't ever go over 5 speakers get a 5.1 channel amp.

John K.

Frak, one additional suggestion is to try(the 7001) before you buy(power in a separate amplifier). You may well find that the amps in your 7001 fully meet your needs(the advertised power must be met, by law, and is)and that your money can be spent on something more useful. Many factors, such as room size, speaker sensitivity, average listening level used, dynamic range of the material being played, etc. affect the results, but fine receivers such as the 7001 are designed with amps which meet the vast majority of requirements.

F1nut

John K. wrote:

but fine receivers such as the 7001 are designed with amps which meet the vast majority of requirements.

...........as long as you don't expect high fidelity.