Help me to choose the best solution.

[Andrea69]

Hello everyone,
I ask for your help in choosing the best solution.
I have a denon 3500h in 5.2.1 configuration, the front speakers are klipsh rp8000f and the central is klipsh RP-504C all rated 150w continuos and 600 peak.
In addition to watching movies from the most common streaming services (netflix, Amazon prime Video, Disney+..) in these pandemic and smart-working times, I listen to a lot of music from qobuz via roon connected to the avr via NUC8 via HDMI.
I was thinking of adding an external amplifier Emotiva XP3-Gen3 to give more boost to the speakers but much impotant to have better power and maybe better sound in stereo music. (using pre-amp of avr). I know that fornt amplifers of x3500h can't be turned off this cause a poor quality signal out from preamp. So 'im in doubt whether to take the new denon AVC-4700h instead of the external amplifier for the same price.
What do you recommend?
One last question The Emotiva XP3-Gen3 has 300w rms could this more power be a problem than what the speakers are given? What could I do to make sure I don't damage them?
Thank you very much for the time you want to dedicate.
Sorry for the English but I'm not a native speaker.

 

[nathan_h]

You have more than enough power to drive this Klipsch speakers way louder than is safe, very cleanly, already. There is very little likelihood that a bigger amp will make an audible difference.

There are, however, things you can do to improve your system.

You don’t mention whether you have a subwoofer. Bass management with a subwoofer, or even better with two subwoofers that are set up properly, would make a lot more difference than a bigger amp.

You don’t mention what kind of acoustic treatment you have, but that is the cheapest and most impactful improvement you can make to your room.......way more useful than an amp.

 

[Pogre]

Didn't see a sub mentioned in your setup. Big opportunity there. Subs do more then just add bass and thump. They can really help open your system up.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Agreed on the sub. But what actually is all of the gear? In the op it says 5.2.1 (which should be 5.1.2 if really Atmos) but no listings of subs or surround speakers. As mentioned, the rp8000’s are very easy to drive and I can’t see where you’d benefit from an external amplifier.

 

[Andrea69]

Hi Sorry,
yes the configuration is 5.2.1 atmos (two high front speaker) i have 3 subs 2 svs pb3000 and 1 pb 2000 i'm using a minidsp x4 hd to equalize the response and time align subs (REW + umik-1, I made an house curve of +7/8db in low frequencies, the response is as it is no mean fft was made. the graph is only subs active after ausyssey calibration). The room hasn't acoustic treatment it is a livingroom and my wife could be a problem!

My goal is to have better clean amplification in two channel with lower distorsion... and parhaps it's useful for films too.

Thanks for your time.

 

[nathan_h]

Great to learn you have the subs taken care of.

And I'll be honest, you already have more clean low distortion power than you need, so adding more will look pretty on the rack, but won't make a measurable difference in the output level or quality.

 

[lovinthehd]

How are you defining "better clean amplification" than what you have? Just how loud are you listening? Have you used an spl calculator to help estimate your needs? Speaker wattage ratings are among the least useful specs....

 

[Pogre]

Nice looking bass fr! You look covered there.

The only direction to go from here would be a speaker upgrade, imo. Not that you have bad speakers right now, but that'd be path to explore for improvements. You already have plenty of clean undistorted power on tap for those speakers. More power or a different amp isn't likely to offer any audible improvements. Might look cooler tho.

 

[Andrea69]

Thanks for all the help,

The doubt came to me when reading a review on audiosciencereview where the avr 3500h was not recommended for an inadequate cleaning of the sinad signal. And I was thinking of the cheapest way to remedy as much as possible. But maybe I let myself be influenced too much and you got me back down to earth. Thank you for saving me some money that actually wouldn't have made a difference. I will save money and in a little while I will maybe change AVR when this is convenient. Thanks again really.
I rarely listen to movies and music at more than -20db reference -15 only for old movies that have a low volume in the recording. My illusion was perhaps also due to the fact that it is commonly said that dedicated amplifiers have a cleaner and more controlled power than AVR's, and for stereo music there is no comparison, I wanted to understand if I could have both a good stereo music than a good AVR and that's why I was asking you for advice! But maybe in the end to get good stereo music I should get a dedicated stereo but being the speakers the same I see it very complicated.

 

[Pogre]

Thanks for all the help,

The doubt came to me when reading a review on audiosciencereview where the avr 3500h was not recommended for an inadequate cleaning of the sinad signal. And I was thinking of the cheapest way to remedy as much as possible. But maybe I let myself be influenced too much and you got me back down to earth. Thank you for saving me some money that actually wouldn't have made a difference. I will save money and in a little while I will maybe change AVR when this is convenient. Thanks again really.
I rarely listen to movies and music at more than -20db reference -15 only for old movies that have a low volume in the recording. My illusion was perhaps also due to the fact that it is commonly said that dedicated amplifiers have a cleaner and more controlled power than AVR's, and for stereo music there is no comparison, I wanted to understand if I could have both a good stereo music than a good AVR and that's why I was asking you for advice! But maybe in the end to get good stereo music I should get a dedicated stereo but being the speakers the same I see it very complicated.

Amir is pretty ruthless with a lot of equipment. Just keep in mind, and I've seen him concede this himself in reviews, a lot of the stuff he beats up on falls outside the range of human hearing. IOW, a lot of what he points out isn't all that audible, if at all.

 

[lovinthehd]

ASR is anal about spec as an indication of construction and engineering, it has little to do with any audible differences.

 

[Pogre]

ASR is anal about spec as an indication of construction and engineering, it has little to do with any audible differences.

Exactly. His comments aren't necessarily unfounded when viewed through that lens, and if you get more satisfaction just knowing your device measures "better" then it's relevant. It's not the right path if you want significant audible improvements tho.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks for all the help,

The doubt came to me when reading a review on audiosciencereview where the avr 3500h was not recommended for an inadequate cleaning of the sinad signal. And I was thinking of the cheapest way to remedy as much as possible. But maybe I let myself be influenced too much and you got me back down to earth. Thank you for saving me some money that actually wouldn't have made a difference. I will save money and in a little while I will maybe change AVR when this is convenient. Thanks again really.
I rarely listen to movies and music at more than -20db reference -15 only for old movies that have a low volume in the recording. My illusion was perhaps also due to the fact that it is commonly said that dedicated amplifiers have a cleaner and more controlled power than AVR's, and for stereo music there is no comparison, I wanted to understand if I could have both a good stereo music than a good AVR and that's why I was asking you for advice! But maybe in the end to get good stereo music I should get a dedicated stereo but being the speakers the same I see it very complicated.

LOL doubt sells a lot of audio gear. Kinda like fear in politics. You're fine and the measured SINAD is still quite good. At your listening levels I doubt you are lacking anything. I think your avr is just fine in 2ch mode, too. I have four avrs and 8 power amps in the house, too but have been using the power amps mostly for diy subs now. I am using power amps in my main setup for the last year or so after several years without, but it was more because they were just sitting there and had spent some money having a shop going thru them (they're 30 plus years old). I couldn't tell the difference after I hooked 'em up, tho.

What distance are you from the speakers?

 

[Andrea69]

What distance are you from the speakers?

The seat is 7-8 feet from the front speakers.

 

[lovinthehd]

The seat is 7-8 feet from the front speakers.

At that distance I certainly wouldn't worry about it....

 

[Andrea69]

At that distance I certainly wouldn't worry about it....

 

[Andrea69]

ASR is anal about spec as an indication of construction and engineering, it has little to do with any audible differences.

Exactly. His comments aren't necessarily unfounded when viewed through that lens, and if you get more satisfaction just knowing your device measures "better" then it's relevant. It's not the right path if you want significant audible improvements tho.

I agree with both of you. It is true that engineering level equipment analyzes are one thing and what you can listen to is another. Obviously in the end what you listen to and what you like counts, but it is also true that you try to buy the best for the budget you propose, and to do this you search through reviews and opinions until you decide. Then reading that you were wrong is not rewarding. Then to fix it maybe make other mistakes and spend more money .... hehehehe. Only to find that in the end there was nothing to correct

 

[lovinthehd]

I agree with both of you. It is true that engineering level equipment analyzes are one thing and what you can listen to is another. Obviously in the end what you listen to and what you like counts, but it is also true that you try to buy the best for the budget you propose, and to do this you search through reviews and opinions until you decide. Then reading that you were wrong is not rewarding. Then to fix it maybe make other mistakes and spend more money .... hehehehe. Only to find that in the end there was nothing to correct

I look at reviews for their measurements primarily, subjective comments tend to be useless, get more out of reading the manual. Think of the big craze in 70s/80s "vintage" electronics gear that measures more poorly in many cases as well as not being able to do anything with digital information....let alone the vinyl stuff. If buying a new avr no reason not to aim as high as you can with specs, but as a meaningful upgrade, not so much.

 

[Andrea69]

I look at reviews for their measurements primarily, subjective comments tend to be useless, get more out of reading the manual. Think of the big craze in 70s/80s "vintage" electronics gear that measures more poorly in many cases as well as not being able to do anything with digital information....let alone the vinyl stuff. If buying a new avr no reason not to aim as high as you can with specs, but as a meaningful upgrade, not so much.

Totally agree!
Thank you all,
and as I said above thank you for saving me money and definitely a disappointment too!
I'll save this money and maybe invest it in a higher-end AVR when it's really worth it.
But first I'll ask for your expert opinion!