Need help with picking a Amp. New to home audio

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Hello, i recently started looking into home audio gear after close to around 6-7 years and before that i didn't know much to begin with lol.
Anyway i have a small setup goin but have no idea what type of amp/amps to look at and what i would need for the current setup.
I'd really like to put a amp on the fronts for sure but i know if i do this then the surronds will be left behind so to speak. I don't mind running two differant amps for differant soeakers just not sure where to start. Any help would be great.
Like i said i'm very new to home audio gear.
The setup i ahve right now is as follows:
Harmon Kardon AVR247
Polk Audio RTI A5 towers
Polk Audio RTI6 bookshelfs
Polk Audio CS2 center
Polk Audio RTI A1 small bookshelfs
KLIPSCH RW-10D subwoofer.

I guess my overall budget would be around 700bucks give or take a little.

cfrizz · August 2008

Welcome to Club Polk.

Think about getting a 5-7 channel amp and be done with that particular upgrade.

Good bang for the buck amps are Outlaw Audio & the new Emotiva XPA-5.

Other amps that you can purchase on Audiogon are Rotel, Parasound, Sunfire, Adcom, B & K, etc.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1221870219

Here's a good choice right here!

hockeyboy · August 2008

If you are looking for new, then this would be a decent choice for your budget. This is a 7 channel amp, so you could drive all of your speakers with 125 WPC.

http://emotiva.com/upa7.html

What I might do if I were in your shoes would be to get a 5 channel amp that puts out more WPC, and use that for my 5 primary speakers.

http://emotiva.com/xpa5.html

Also, many on this forum will tell you to consider going used. Use the search function at the top right and search for "amp" or "amplifier". You will find quite a few useful threads. Here is a link to the biggest website for buying and selling used equipment. However, if it were me on that budget I personally would go with the XPA 5 because that will be useful even as you upgrade speakers since it has plenty of juice.

http://audiogon.com/

hockeyboy · August 2008

Wow Kathy- great minds think alike, I was typing my response while yours posted!

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Cool, thanks for the replys.
I'll take a look at the links and try searching a bit.
If i got a 5 channel amp and ran that could i still use the reciver to power the other two speakers?
If i did/could and ran it to the fronts it would be 65 watts goin to them. I'm thinking 65 watts to the two smaller bookshelfs might not be too bad if i picked up a 5channel amp?
Or am i way off and that idea hold no water?

AndyGwis · August 2008

You are right, touch of evil. The rear / surround speakers don't really require the same level of dynamics as the front soundstage. I ran a 5.1 setup with an HK recevier and 3-channel B&K amp with good results. I'd start with a good 3 or 5 channel amp and go from there.

Good luck! Don't be afraid to purchased used. You can get way more bang for your buck that way, and you can always resell for about the same price down the road.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Ok i got another question, if i get a 5 channel or 7 channel amp what do i do about the high power output of these amps? By this i mean the fronts can handle the high power but the surrounds and center won't hold 150+ watts.
So how do i get around that other than upgrade those speakers lol.
Or does this not really matter as more power = better? Just tone down things goin to the smaller speaker via the receiver?
Or should i get two amps like say i found these two on audiogon...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1221868995 rotel amp 3/5channel for 250.00

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1221249318 rotel 2channel for 250.00

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

I also found this with a $450/OBO price
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1222640652

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

anonymouse wrote: »

Do not worry about getting a higher rated amp than your speakers can handle. You will never drive them that hard, and even if you do, clean power without distortion delivered by a higher power amp is much safer than distortion caused by a lower rated amp when overdriven.

Makes sense thanks for the reply.
Would this be a decent amp to run?
The price is fairly low and it seems to push decent power....
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1222999920

Shicks18 · August 2008

If your main use is for home theater.. a 5 channel amp would suffice. Your rear surrounds never scream for more watts and don't use a whole lot of power. Your HK AVR 247 will provide enough power to the rear surrounds for HT use. A good 5 channel amp would be Doro's in the for sale section of this forum.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69391

On the other hand, if you were going 7 channel stereo for music then you would need a 7 channel amp.

edit: Didn't read any previous posts, Andy is 100% correct about powering the rears

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Shicks18 wrote: »

If your main use is for home theater.. a 5 channel amp would suffice. Your rear surrounds never scream for more watts and don't use a whole lot of power. Your HK AVR 247 will provide enough power to the rear surrounds for HT use. A good 5 channel amp would be Doro's in the for sale section of this forum.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69391

On the other hand, if you were going 7 channel stereo for music then you would need a 7 channel amp.

edit: Didn't read any previous posts, Andy is 100% correct about powering the rears

Thanks, that is a very nice looking amp. I'm gonna ahve to look around a bit but man that thing just looks like it wants to sit in my room!!!

AndyGwis · August 2008

All of the amps you linked would push your speakers well and seemed to be very fairly priced. Give one of them a shot!

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

AndyGwis wrote: »

All of the amps you linked would push your speakers well and seemed to be very fairly priced. Give one of them a shot!

Thanks for the help. Now i'm torn from the amp Shicks18 posted up lol.
Think i'm gonna have to sleep on it before i pick something.;)

Shicks18 · August 2008

Big, heavy amps are usually a good thing. Rotels are known for producing good clean power, and great sound. One of the next major steps up from this amp would cost another $2000 or so.

ben62670 · August 2008

Don't worry about an amp being too powerful. If you get something strong you can keep using an amp for a long time. I had my ears on the XPA-5, and for the price new that is the only amp I could really recommend new. I like the older Adcom's, and Parasounds. Great bang for the buck.
Ben

jayman_1975 · August 2008

$250 for a Rotel RB 1080?? Holy SH$t. That's a helluva deal. I paid $425 for it's little brother the RB1070 last year. I'd grab that one if i was in the market.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Well Shicks18 i just sealed the deal on Doro's rotel unit. So i guess i need to watch alot of movies/tv and listen to some music as well as inform the little lady to do so as well so my speakers are nice and broken in for when the amp gets here lol.
Now i need to get some more money and buy a amp for the living room setup haha.

hockeyboy · August 2008

Just buy a new pre to pair with your Rotel and move your AVR into the living room. CONGRATULATIONS!

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

hockeyboy wrote: »

Just buy a new pre to pair with your Rotel and move your AVR into the living room. CONGRATULATIONS!

Lol, oh boy here we with my wallet haha. What pre should i be looking at and what advantage will i get from doin the swap?
I have a HK in the livingroom as well and a all vega speaker system....
The HK in the LR is a older model like the vega setup itself as i bought the stuff about 4-5 years ago and didn't know a whole lot when i did. A buddys brother owned a shop and he basically gave me a great deal on the setup so i just grabbed it.

Gonna end up putting an AVR in the girls room haha for surround sound. I can't help it really they don't have anything crazy but it is there for em ages 4/5 about to be 6 this week and the other 5 in 2 months.
The ol lady tells me i'm crazy and every room doesn't need speakers.
I just tell her to enjoy it as i can't help it haha.

leadfoot1 · August 2008

I emailed the guy with the $250 Rotel a couple of days ago and haven't had a reply yet.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

leadfoot1 wrote: »

I emailed the guy with the $250 Rotel a couple of days ago and haven't had a reply yet.

So did i, actually i emailed about 6 differant people on there and got a response from 2 out of the 6 and both were sold already.

Shicks18 · August 2008

Your gonna love the Rotel, TouchofEvil. Your HK AVR 247 will do just fine for now. Your money would, in my opinion, go further on buying an amp for your other room, if thats what you plan on doing in the future. If not, some decent pres are: Outlaw 950, Outlaw 990, Emotiva LMC-1. The 950 and LMC-1 can be found <$350 used.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Shicks18 wrote: »

Your gonna love the Rotel, TouchofEvil. Your HK AVR 247 will do just fine for now. Your money would, in my opinion, go further on buying an amp for your other room, if thats what you plan on doing in the future. If not, some decent pres are: Outlaw 950, Outlaw 990, Emotiva LMC-1. The 950 and LMC-1 can be found <$350 used.

Yeah, i'm actually tryin to find some cheaper less powerful amps for the living room as i don't want to break the bank right now.
Looking at some of the rotel units for 250ish if only people responded to thier adds that is.
I'll look into the pre units you mentioned but again what benefits will i get from swapping down the road?

Shicks18 · August 2008

A receiver is a jack of all trades and a master of nothing. A preamp is dedicated to being the best preamp possible. In return, it will sound better, usually give you less problems, etc etc. Anytime you break down your system piece by piece and assign 1 electronic to 1 specific task, the end result will be clearer and better sound. However, this is the costly way! A receiver is an all-in-one unit containing: Preamp, processor, amp, dac, video upconverter, etc. You could spend a lot more money and get each individual unit and higher quality sound.

In your situation, you can use your HK AVR 247 as a preamp to 5 of your channels, an amp to the back 2 channels, a processor, and a dac. The HK is a pretty good preamp as well, better than most other receivers.

Hopefully, I didn't open up a can and have you wanting all of those things instead of an amp for your other room! It would be best for you to get the other amp, then the next upgrade would be to save up for a real nice pre/pro

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Well i'm watching/looking for a amp for the other room right now but i'm kinda keeping a eye out for a pre as well. I guess whichever i find first for a good price i will buy first.
I was actually looking at the unit by emotiva but they are out of stock?
IDK just depends on what i can find i guess.
Oh and what does DAC stand for?

Shicks18 · August 2008

Digital to Analog Converter. MP3s, CDs, DVDs all send audio signal digitally. A DAC converts it to analog so the sound comes out of our speakers. Every source (Computer, CD Player, Discman, etc) sends audio digitally. We hear analog signals. The better the DAC, the more revealing the sound. This is a good and bad thing though! If you have a great recording, great speakers etc., then the audio quality is awesome since the DAC reveals all sorts of sound that you wouldn't have heard otherwise. On the contrary, if you have a Great DAC with poor recordings, the quality won't sound too good since it will reveal all the static and whatever else was put into the crappy recording.

This is why people love SACD (Super Audio CD's), because for the most part, they are great recordings, and the DAC and other sources bring them to life.

edit: The Emotiva LMC-1 is discontinued, however look on the Emotiva Lounge boards under Emporium, and AV123.com forum. They pop up for sale there from time to time. So does audiogon. Only problem is that they don't have HDMI. These sell around $300 used.

If you wanna spend more money for a slightly better product go with the Emotiva MMC-1. It has HDMI and all of the other good stuff. $700 new, I would guess $450-550 used since they are still on the market.

As for your amp, check out the Parasound auctions on Ebay. They are great amps! They run around $200 or so. They are on par with Rotel for the most part. Check out the HCA-1200, HCA-1000A and the HCA-800.
You can also try Adcom. Good models are the GFA-535 , GFA-545, GFA-555.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Shicks18 wrote: »

Digital to Analog Converter. MP3s, CDs, DVDs all send audio signal digitally. A DAC converts it to analog so the sound comes out of our speakers. Every source (Computer, CD Player, Discman, etc) sends audio digitally. We hear analog signals. The better the DAC, the more revealing the sound. This is a good and bad thing though! If you have a great recording, great speakers etc., then the audio quality is awesome since the DAC reveals all sorts of sound that you wouldn't have heard otherwise. On the contrary, if you have a Great DAC with poor recordings, the quality won't sound too good since it will reveal all the static and whatever else was put into the crappy recording.

This is why people love SACD (Super Audio CD's), because for the most part, they are great recordings, and the DAC and other sources bring them to life.

edit: The Emotiva LMC-1 is discontinued, however look on the Emotiva Lounge boards under Emporium, and AV123.com forum. They pop up for sale there from time to time. So does audiogon. Only problem is that they don't have HDMI. These sell around $300 used.

If you wanna spend more money for a slightly better product go with the Emotiva MMC-1. It has HDMI and all of the other good stuff. $700 new, I would guess $450-550 used since they are still on the market.

As for your amp, check out the Parasound auctions on Ebay. They are great amps! They run around $200 or so. They are on par with Rotel for the most part. Check out the HCA-1200, HCA-1000A and the HCA-800.
You can also try Adcom. Good models are the GFA-535 , GFA-545, GFA-555.

Cool, i'll check out those amps and see what i can find.
On the Emotiva MMC-1 i was looking at it on the site but it says out of stock? Not sure if it's just a short supply for now or what.
Also what would be some good DAC's to look at? What about cd players etc? or these the same are all differant components?
Thanks for the tips man.

Shicks18 · August 2008

No problem! A DAC is already built into ever source (CD Player, DVD Player, etc.) Furthermore, they play a more important roll in 2 ch. listening than HT. With that said, getting good up-to-date sources for DVDs, CDs, SACDs will come with pretty good DACs already that you wouldn't need an external DAC. If you want a great universal player check out the Oppo 980 .. they play CD, SACD, DVD and more. They sell for $170 new. If you want a step up, costing 3x more for a new product, check out Marantz, they sell great sources. The Marantz DV7001 is also a good player, but its mighty expensive.

Another option is that Marantz DV7600 that is a remarkable unit for DVD/CD's. They go for $300 used. It doesn't upscale video, its a progressive scan, but its supposed to be really high quality stuff.

As far your preamp situation goes, I would recommend getting one with HDMI. You could call up Emotiva and ask when they expect more of the MMC-1 to come in. If HDMI isn't a necessity to you then an Outlaw 950 or 990 would work perfect for your needs.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Yeah thats why i want the MMc-1 for the hdmi and such. Right now i have a cheap sony upscale 5 disc dvd player for normal dvds and a toshiba hd dvd player. i kept the sony hooked up because the toshiba makes reg dvds go to a full screen display with black edgs all around and it annoyed me lol.
Living room had toshiba hd dvd, ps3 for blueray and a older pioneer dvd player.
I may eventually get a pre for both rooms but not this minute as i need hdmi on both and two MMC-1's would be a pretty penny.

TouchOfEvil · August 2008

Just got a ROTEL RB-976 guess this will be ok for the living room.
What ya'll think?

thuchien · August 2008

at audiogon i see outlaw audio 200W x 5 sell for $600. Should check this out.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1221870219

Need help with picking a Amp. New to home audio

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