Amplifier for LCR or surrounds & heights question

[Kevin001]

I have a Denon avr-x4300h on the way. It will be going in a dedicated 3500 cft theater room. I also have Sonance Sonamp 875d mkII amplifier. The amplifier is rated at 65wx8 or 250x4 bridged, both at 8 ohms. I have a yet to be installed 11 speaker set-up for 7.1.4 Atmos.

The speakers are Polk rtia series. A5 for l and r. CSia6 center. Fxia6 for side surround, A3 for rear surround and 4 mc60 ceiling speakers.

I'm going back and forth as to weather to use the amp for the LCR or have it power the surrounds and ceiling speakers. I like the idea of having the front stage getting 250w a channel but I keep coming back to having it power everything else and take a big load off the Denon.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[yepimonfire]

I'd use an external amp for the center regardless of what you do. 60%-80% of the entire soundtrack is anchored in the surround, and I'm willing to bet its the biggest power hog. Are the surrounds closer to the listening position than the fronts?

The fxi a6 has a sensitivity of 88dB, the a5, 90dB. Let's assume you're 10' from the fronts but 6' from the surrounds, in this case the surrounds have a 3dB advantage at the same power as the fronts, meaning you'd need to double the power for the l/r to match. Its not so cut and dry. It depends on setup and your goal.

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