No improvement after adding an Amp

[sanjay.s]

Hi,

I have added Marantz 7055 to Arcam 390, I see the Arcam providing good output than with Marantz amp. Disappointed adding an amp. Appreciate your views.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

What kind of improvement were expecting? And what speakers are you using?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[ryanosaur]

The only time an amplifier may change your experience is if your speakers need more support at a low impedance. Add in a challenging phase angle, and you might need that Amp that can deliver 300w into 4 ohms.
For your situation, you added an amp that realistically is only giving you about 3dB more in headroom over your AVR, assuming the gain structure between those units is allowing full power from the Marantz.
Toward what Wayne said above: the Speakers and how you use them is the bigger question!

But in terms of adding an amp and expecting the SQ of a speaker to change? Most amps should not alter the SQ of a signal in any way: they should transmit that signal cleanly and allow your speakers to do their job (which is to take a hopefully clean electrical signal and turn it into sound).
The caveat to this if you are running your system somehow outside of safe parameters, overdriving the amp (causing clipping in the signal chain) for example, then you will hear a changed SQ, for certain.

Please share more info about your system and what you were/are experiencing, please. Also, what is your goal?

 

[eljr]

I have added Marantz 7055 to Arcam 390

What was it you were trying to accomplish?

 

[mazersteven]

What kind of improvement were expecting? And what speakers are you using?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

The OP purchased the Triangle Boria 08

Floor standing speakers

Hi, I am looking for a Speaker upgrade. Confused between Klipsch RP 8000 and Triangle Boria 08. Please give your views. Thanks

forums.audioholics.com

 

[mazersteven]

If I had to guess what the OP was trying to achieve is that the Arcam 390 receiver is a sub 100 watt receiver. So my guess is his thoughts was adding the Marantz at 140 watts per channel would make a difference in the sound quality of the speakers. That would be my guess as to what the OP was trying to achieve

 

[sanjay.s]

Hi all,
Thank you, I am using Borea 08 Tower speaker, observed that the Marantz 7055 output at volume 50 is equal to the volume of 40 in Arcam 390. My understanding was a 140 watt amp would deliver more volume than a 80 watt AVR, also adding an amp would give the same SQ at low volume (40) as when listening at volume at 60. Expected more punchier base with an amp. My expectations and understanding may be totally wrong, sorry about that as I don’t have good understanding on technical aspects.
I am unable to understand “outside of safe parameters” and “overdriving the amp”. What do they mean.

 

[sanjay.s]

If I had to guess what the OP was trying to achieve is that the Arcam 390 receiver is a sub 100 watt receiver. So my guess is his thoughts was adding the Marantz at 140 watts per channel would make a difference in the sound quality of the speakers. That would be my guess as to what the OP was trying to achieve

Yes, I was looking at improving SQ as well by adding a 140 watts amp.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

If your expectation when purchasing an external amp is noticeable sound quality difference, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

When I moved from powering the Sierra Towers or the VMPS SuperTower III's to the Monolith 7X200 from the Denon 4700 I experienced a slightly crisper sound and increased power handling. But to anyone participating in an AB test it would be really hard to tell the difference.

While a quality external 200-300W amp can offer better specs and more power before clipping, it's not going to be a game changer for SQ. I found this to be true whether I'm using the Adcom GFA-7000, Monolith 7X200 or the new Purifi based 400W at 4 ohm amps.

These external amps do take a load off the receiver which should allow it to run cooler, they offer more power during extreme peaks and are less likely to clip. A quality amp is a better setup for your receiver and your speakers. But I would not expect a big difference in sound.

It seems like no matter how many times we go over this topic, it's still a common misconception.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

If punchier bass was your goal I would suggest a subwoofer. You may also want to consider REW with a Umik to decide if adjusting bass EQ might be helpful.

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[mazersteven]

VTF-3 MK5 HP Subwoofer

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Does Hsu ship internationally or are they sold in India

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Not sure. The HSU order page I just looked at only includes USA. Might have to email them on international shipping?

 

[mazersteven]

Not sure. HSU

SVS is sold there. LOL

 

[VMPS-TIII]

 

[sanjay.s]

Does Hsu ship internationally or are they sold in India

Thank you for the clarification. I don’t see them available here in India. I currently have one SVS PB1000. I did download the REW and used the mike that came with Arcam, was not successful in using the REW, don’t know how to use it.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

UMIK-1

The UMIK-1 is an omni-directional USB measurement calibrated microphone providing Plug & Play acoustic measurement. From speaker & room acoustic measurement to recording, this microphone provides low noise and accurate results you can rely on.

www.minidsp.com

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Hi all,
Thank you, I am using Borea 08 Tower speaker,

Adding to what VMPS-TIII said about sound quality: If the published specs are correct, your speakers are very efficient. They could probably be driven to ear-bleeding levels with the Arcam, or close to it. So basically, you most likely did not need the Marantz amp to begin with.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[PENG]

Hi all,
Thank you, I am using Borea 08 Tower speaker, observed that the Marantz 7055 output at volume 50 is equal to the volume of 40 in Arcam 390. My understanding was a 140 watt amp would deliver more volume than a 80 watt AVR, also adding an amp would give the same SQ at low volume (40) as when listening at volume at 60. Expected more punchier base with an amp. My expectations and understanding may be totally wrong, sorry about that as I don’t have good understanding on technical aspects.
I am unable to understand “outside of safe parameters” and “overdriving the amp”. What do they mean.

You cannot say one amp has more output than another amp based on the different volume settings. The Marantz 7055 definitely have significantly more maximum output into 8 or 4 ohms, at a specified THD of say 0.1%. If you can't hear any improvement with the 7055 added, it just most likely means you don't need the extra power output. You can have 1,000 W rated amp hooked up, but your speakers only need 10 W to get your sound pressure level, then the extra output will be like money in your non interest bearing bank account.

The Arcam appeared to output less than 100 W at clipping:
Arcam AVR390 AVR Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

 

[VMPS-TIII]

You can have 1,000 W rated amp hooked up, but your speakers only need 10 W to get your sound pressure level, then the extra output will be like money in your non interest bearing bank account.

The Arcam appeared to output less than 100 W at clipping:
Arcam AVR390 AVR Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

View attachment 42751

Actually, from my experience adding amps is like placing money in a negative interest bearing account, buying a car or any other item that suffers from significant depreciation...

It sounds like the user was expecting punchier bass or midrange by adding an external amp. He did not realize a good hifi amp offers neutral SQ.

 

[mazersteven]

Actually, from my experience adding a Hegel amp is like placing money in a negative interest bearing account, buying a car or any other item that suffers from significant depreciation...

Corrected