Advice on amplifier setup

Dawgfish

Hello everybody,

I posted this earlier in the electronics section, but figured this was probably the more applicable area to post this question. I'm a longtime lurker, but new poster. I have been really enjoying the wealth of knowledge I have read here on this board. I am picking up a set of RTi12s tomorrow to use as my front speakers in an home theater setup. These will replace my current set of RTi10s which I am going to move to my sorround speakers, and use a set of RTi8s for back sorrounds (I'm also using a CSi5 as my center and have two subs, a Klipsch Sub-12 and a Polk DSW pro 500). I am currently using an Onkyo 806 as my reciever. Needless to say, with this set-up, I think I'm going to need an external amp to really get the most out of the speakers. I have narrowed my choice for amps to either the Emotiva UPA-7 (125w x 7), or MPS-2 (200x7).

My question is this, when I hook up either one of these amps to my Onkyo 806 and use the reciever as a preamp, can I still use the recievers amplifeier and bi-amp my speakers? In other words when you hook up an amp to the reciever, does the recievers amplifier still output wattage via the speaker terminals, or does the recievers amplifier section shut off when you connect the reciever to an amp? If the reciever's amplifier will still work when connected to an external amplifier, I am thinking of buying the Emotiva UPA-7 for about $650, and bi-amping my speakers using both the reciever and the UPA-7. If this does not work, than I'll have to pony up for the MPS-2, which will give me more power, but will cost about $1700 new. Obviously I would like to go the reciever plus UPA-7 route if possible. Are there any problems with this set-up? What do y'all think? Thanks in advance for your help!

strider

Going on the assumption that you have 2 pairs of binding posts on the speakers you want to bi-amp, and that your receiver's pre-outs work the same as mine, yes you could bi-amp with the UPA-7 and your receiver's internal amplification. You would need a "y" cable to split the signal coming out of the pre-outs for each channel, sending one end of the "y" to the main in on the receiver, the other to the input on the UPA-7.

If I wanted to bi-amp, that's not the way I'd do it though. IMO, the front L/C/R soundstage is the most important in the 5.1 or 7.1 set up, at least for movies. Surround music is a bit different, but let's assume your going to be doing the HT thing primarily. I'd use two channels of the UPA-7 to bi-amp the left channel, another 2 for the right channel, then use the other 3 for the center channel, left and right surrounds. Use the internal amplification of the receiver to power the other 2 channels. Another way would be bi-amping the L/C/R channels and not using the seventh channel of the amp.

Despite all this, I wouldn't be too concerned with your system sounding underpowered with the UPA-7 driving all seven channels. If it were me, out of your choices, I'd grab the UPA-7, hook it up, live with it for awhile, and see how you like it. If you still think you need more power you'd have time to let the budget recover and maybe pick up a 2-channel amp to run your front L/R.

Dawgfish

Thank you very much for the advise Strider! That was just what I was looking for.

cfrizz

Get the UPA & not the LPA, specially if you are driving towers. All of your speakers will be getting 200wpc, so the biamping really isn't necessary, but try it for yourself.

Sherardp

If you feel you want more power check D-Sonic Iceamps, cool to touch, but able to provide tons of power. www.D-sonic.net or www.wyred4sound.com, I run a Magnum 1000S to my Rti12s.

reeltrouble1

hey Dawg, a shout out to another Ga. Polkie. You say HT, so I would interested in hearing what you are trying to gain through seperates/bi-amping and so on, is there something you feel the onk is lacking in? They are high current receivers that Polk does recommend with their HT systems. Of are you just wanting to experiment with things a bit to see what happens?

RT1

Dawgfish

Thanks everybody for the advice. It looks like I have several options out there and that's just part of the fun!

Reeltrouble1, I see you are in the Golden Isles. I now live on St. Simons myself so it's a small world. I listen to music and movies 50/50 with my system. I think the setup sounds good now, especially for movies, but I would really like to get the most out of the system for music. I really like to watch concert DVD's mostly, so music performance probably has a little more weight with me than home theater performance, even though I want something that will be strong with both. It really comes down to two things; I want to get the most out of my system and I like tinkering with things. Adding a high current amp should take care of both of these issues. Based on the other's advice, I'm not considering bi-amping with the amp and reciever as much anymore as I am trying adding a good high power amp or amps and seeing how that performs. If I still want more, that I'll probably add a second Emotiva UPA-7 and bi-amping the system later on down the road.

Judging by your handle, it looks like you are a fisherman. I am a transplanted North Georgia flyfishing guide that is working in the Golden Isles area on a a longterm job assignment with my fulltime job (guiding was part time with me). Don't let the flyfishing guide thing fool you though, I like to fish for everything using any kind of equipment. If you want, drop me a line and we'll check out hometheater set-ups or wet a line sometime.

Steve

reeltrouble1

Sounds like a good plan on both ends. I might of caught a couple of fish around here.;)

RT1