Confused. Intigrated amplifier or power aplifier

[jase1975]

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• #1

Hi again all . I have a small av set up
Merantz cinema 70
Dali oberon 5
Dali vokal
Dali rears
And dali sub
Eversolo a6 streamer
Now i wanted to get a intigrated amplifier to use with my floor standing speakers .and allso with the cinema 70 using ht bypass
I am new to this so i need educating.
Sorry to all who has read this on another forum

So i have started getting back into my music much more since i got my av set up. So i thought i would get a intigrated amp with ht bypass to add to my small set up
The thought beeing it would run with my floor speakers when i am listening to music . So i have a better musical experince .
And it would then add a little bit more when running with the av

But the music side was more important
Now i dont have rooom for 2 different set ups
Thats why i was going to go this way with the intigrated amp with ht bypass

The reson it says confused in my tital
Is because when i posted on other websites

I got so many different answers
People telling me .
This is not the way to go about it if you want a better sound.music wise .
People telling me i should be buying a power amp instead
People saying i should just get a better av.
People telling me to get a external dac
People telling me just to upgrade my speakers
Etc etc

So i thought i would ask on here to see if it becomes more clear

Yes my speakers will be upgraded
Budget for intigrated amp is aound £ 2000

Thanks j

 

[Bobby Bass]

Thanks for the questions. Are you unsatisfied with the sound of your system when just listening to music? If so, what are you trying to change or improve? You'll get a lot of advice, you already have. FYI your Eversolo A6 has a good DAC so depending on how you have it connected to your AVR you already have an external DAC.

 

[PENG]

• https://www.avforums.com/threads/confused-power-amplifier-or-intigrated-amplifier.2511387/post-32582536
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• #1

Hi again all . I have a small av set up
Merantz cinema 70
Dali oberon 5
Dali vokal
Dali rears
And dali sub
Eversolo a6 streamer
Now i wanted to get a intigrated amplifier to use with my floor standing speakers .and allso with the cinema 70 using ht bypass
I am new to this so i need educating.
Sorry to all who has read this on another forum

So i have started getting back into my music much more since i got my av set up. So i thought i would get a intigrated amp with ht bypass to add to my small set up
The thought beeing it would run with my floor speakers when i am listening to music . So i have a better musical experince .
And it would then add a little bit more when running with the av

But the music side was more important
Now i dont have rooom for 2 different set ups
Thats why i was going to go this way with the intigrated amp with ht bypass

The reson it says confused in my tital
Is because when i posted on other websites

I got so many different answers
People telling me .
This is not the way to go about it if you want a better sound.music wise .
People telling me i should be buying a power amp instead
People saying i should just get a better av.
People telling me to get a external dac
People telling me just to upgrade my speakers
Etc etc

So i thought i would ask on here to see if it becomes more clear

Yes my speakers will be upgraded
Budget for intigrated amp is aound £ 2000

Thanks j

It's the internet, forums, so you bound to get told by many people with different opinions. To avoid being confused, try answering the questions in post#2 would be a good start.

Or, if you focus on the objective side of things, then use an online calculator to find out the "power" requirements your targeted speakers first and then decide on the power amp option.

Integrated amp typically is not the way to go because unless your Cinema 70 has lack of certain features that you need that can only be provided by your targeted integrated amp. If not, then an integrated amp with bypass will only introduce redundancy (and potentially complications/inconvenience) that may degrade overall audio performance. It's not even logical, to pay extra for features not needed, and then bypass it.

 

[TLS Guy]

• https://www.avforums.com/threads/confused-power-amplifier-or-intigrated-amplifier.2511387/post-32582536
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• #1

Hi again all . I have a small av set up
Merantz cinema 70
Dali oberon 5
Dali vokal
Dali rears
And dali sub
Eversolo a6 streamer
Now i wanted to get a intigrated amplifier to use with my floor standing speakers .and allso with the cinema 70 using ht bypass
I am new to this so i need educating.
Sorry to all who has read this on another forum

So i have started getting back into my music much more since i got my av set up. So i thought i would get a intigrated amp with ht bypass to add to my small set up
The thought beeing it would run with my floor speakers when i am listening to music . So i have a better musical experince .
And it would then add a little bit more when running with the av

But the music side was more important
Now i dont have rooom for 2 different set ups
Thats why i was going to go this way with the intigrated amp with ht bypass

The reson it says confused in my tital
Is because when i posted on other websites

I got so many different answers
People telling me .
This is not the way to go about it if you want a better sound.music wise .
People telling me i should be buying a power amp instead
People saying i should just get a better av.
People telling me to get a external dac
People telling me just to upgrade my speakers
Etc etc

So i thought i would ask on here to see if it becomes more clear

Yes my speakers will be upgraded
Budget for intigrated amp is aound £ 2000

Thanks j

There is a golden rule. If you don't like your sound look at the speakers and sometimes the room, especially speaker position.

Integrated amps are over priced due to demand. They tend not to be very powerful. If you need more power then buy a power amp. Do not expect an amp to change the sound of your system in a significant way.

I have heard Dali speakers over the years as dealers used to favor them for some reason. They were far from the worst speakers in the world, but not speakers I could live with. They seemed to be to be voiced bright. That is not a fault I can tolerate.

So my advice is to speaker shop and not amp shop. That is what "the money is on."

 

[lovinthehd]

The Cinema 70 is already an integrated amp, what would another bring particularly? I wouldn't expect much difference, more an uneccessary duplication and unneeded complication. The fascination with integrated amps by "audiophiles" can be strange. You do have pre-outs for all channels so you can get more power via an external power amp, which might be a good thing for you and far more cost effective than another integrated amp. You'd be better off looking at better speakers/subs than adding an integrated amp in any case....

 

[Swerd]

… I wanted to get an integrated amplifier to use with my floor standing speakers, and also with the Cinema 70 using HT bypass.

The thought being it would run with my floor speakers when i am listening to music. So I have a better musical experience. And it would then add a little bit more when running with the AVR. But the music side would be more important. Budget for integrated amp is around £ 2000.

That would waste your £2000. The idea that an integrated or separate 2-channel system will sound better than your AVR is a myth often repeated over the internet. You must learn to ignore advice coming from salesmen at retail stores, manufacturers of such gear, or internet audio reviewers who accept paid advertising for these products. They all stand to gain from purchases of these products, so it makes sense that they will enthusiastically recommend it. Unfortunately this so-called advice is widely repeated in internet audio forums by people who don’t know any better, but are afraid that others on the forum will scoff at their ‘ignorance’. You seem to doubt this questionable advice. I’m glad to see that.

Modern AVRs, such as your Marantz Cinema 70, are quite good. Electronically, their designs are better (less distortion) than the 3-decade-old 2-channel designs. And, their sound quality is as good as or better than those 2-channel systems. There is no reason why your Cinema 70 playing music through your front left & right speakers would not sound as good as a more expensive 2-channel integrated amp.

Ignore the price differences. Modern AVRs cost less because they are mass produced. Scale of production and quantity of sales do matter. The older integrated and separate systems are made and sold in much smaller numbers. As a result, they sell for more than they are worth.

Because you asked some specific questions, I thought I’d try to answer them directly, even though most of us here at AH believe an integrated 2-channel amp along with an AVR is not a good choice.

… When I posted [this] on other websites, I got so many different answers:

People told me this is not the way to go about it if you want better sound quality.

Those people are correct. Integrating any 2-channel system into an AVR via HT pass through is an awkward and wasteful way to go about this.

People told me I should buy a power amp instead.

Maybe, or maybe not. If your speakers are truly difficult to drive, if your room is particularly large or dead sounding, and if your listening preferences involve very loud volumes, a more potent power amp might help. I don’t know how sensitive your speakers are, so I can’t comment further on this complex topic.

Your Cinema 70 does allow using an external power amp. If you must have more power, add an external 2-channel power amp to drive your front left & right speakers, while driving your other speakers with the Cinema 70. But don’t spend £2000 on that.

People said I should just get a better AVR.

In my opinion, also a waste of your money.

People told me to get an external DAC.

Forget that idea. It’s just wrong.

People told me just to upgrade my speakers. Yes my speakers will be upgraded.

Not a bad idea. Spending money on more capable speakers would more likely give you noticeably improved sound quality than spending money on ANY piece of electronic gear could. In my opinion, you should look for new speakers first, and add greater power through an external power amp only if the new speakers really need the greater power.

 

[Dull Eric]

Thanks for the questions. Are you unsatisfied with the sound of your system when just listening to music? If so, what are you trying to change or improve?

This ^^^.

The Dali Oberon series of speakers are well reviewed and well regarded.

Dali Oberon 5 review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2020 winner. Superb floorstanders, right up there with the best

www.whathifi.com

Dali Oberon 5 Review - The Absolute Sound

The Dali Oberon 5 is an economical yet formidable speaker that makes few concessions and balances practicality with audiophile quality.

www.theabsolutesound.com

As Bobby Bass asks, what are you trying to improve?

What settings are employed? What is the size of your room?

 

[Golfx]

• https://www.avforums.com/threads/confused-power-amplifier-or-intigrated-amplifier.2511387/post-32582536
• Add bookmark
• #1

Hi again all . I have a small av set up
Merantz cinema 70
Dali oberon 5
Dali vokal
Dali rears
And dali sub
Eversolo a6 streamer
Now i wanted to get a intigrated amplifier to use with my floor standing speakers .and allso with the cinema 70 using ht bypass
I am new to this so i need educating.
Sorry to all who has read this on another forum

So i have started getting back into my music much more since i got my av set up. So i thought i would get a intigrated amp with ht bypass to add to my small set up
The thought beeing it would run with my floor speakers when i am listening to music . So i have a better musical experince .
And it would then add a little bit more when running with the av

But the music side was more important
Now i dont have rooom for 2 different set ups
Thats why i was going to go this way with the intigrated amp with ht bypass

The reson it says confused in my tital
Is because when i posted on other websites

I got so many different answers
People telling me .
This is not the way to go about it if you want a better sound.music wise .
People telling me i should be buying a power amp instead
People saying i should just get a better av.
People telling me to get a external dac
People telling me just to upgrade my speakers
Etc etc

So i thought i would ask on here to see if it becomes more clear

Yes my speakers will be upgraded
Budget for intigrated amp is aound £ 2000

Thanks j

BTW, I was the lone voice on the AVforum recommending you just listen to stereo on your Marantz 70 first instead of adding a separate integrated amp.

I was quickly swamped by those whose logic was: 1. A 2 channel amp HAS to sound better than a 7 channel AVR. 2. Comparative measurements do not count, and 3. “This is exactly what I have done.”