Amp suggestions for outdoor speakers - Help!

[jamster]

After searching the many threads on the forum on amp technology and amp suggestions, I could not find the answers I need. So I am turning to forum experts to suggest the best amp for my outdoor speakers. I am in the process of buying a new home theater receiver (another challenge in its self). This new receiver will have zone 2 pre outs to connect to the the new amp. The new amp needs to drive 6 outdoor Boston voyager 6's (max 150w) that are distrubuted throughout the pool deck and back yard.

This would be the first time I purchase an amp so I am trying to gather as much information I can from thos that have experience. From a budget perpective I am not really sure what a high-end vs lowed amp could cost and if there is really much of a difference in tems of performance between the two. I am more interested in finding a proven solution with mid to high-end quality.

Any feedback from experienced form members would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! - AV newbie.

 

[mike c]

you're in luck!

Rotel RMB1066 is 60watts x 6 channels! it should be around 600 bucks.

 

[zumbo]

NAD 80x6 on sale for $799.00 total to your door.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NACI9060

 

[jcPanny]

Budget amp

Here is a low budget option to power the outdoor speakers:
Behringer A500: $180
Impedance matching speaker selector: $50
Total: $230.

 

[jamster]

Cheap amp solution

JC, thankd for the feedback. How would I wire your suggested solution. Do I have any limitations or trade-off in terms of sound? Thanks again

 

[jamster]

How much power is enough?

How much power does my new amp need to have to drive the following outdoor set-up?:

The new amp needs to drive 6 outdoor Boston voyager 6's (max 150w) that are distrubuted throughout the pool deck and back yard.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Seth=L]

Do you have a receiver that you will using Zone 2 with, or is this a completely independent sound system?

 

[jamster]

how much power is enough?

My plans are to pull from the pre out of the receiver to the amp which will drive the outside speakers. The receiver will manage zone 2, but no amplification. Looking to get a better idea of AMP range I should be looking for without actually overdoing it and end up spending a whole lot of cash for nothing. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[jamster]

how much power is enough?

BTW, I don't have my receiver yet. I am still have not decided yet which one to go with since it seems, or what is being suggested, that there is no single receiver that can drive both home theater and my 6 outdoor speakers with one single unit. Therefore I am looking at getting both a new receiver and an AMP for my outdoor speakers. Thanks again for any advice.

 

[jcPanny]

Behringer A500 Amp

JC, thankd for the feedback. How would I wire your suggested solution. Do I have any limitations or trade-off in terms of sound? Thanks again

To use the Behringer A500 and speaker selector you would connect the line level output from the receiver to the inputs of the amp. The speaker level amp outputs would connect to the speaker selector. 3 sets of wire would connect from the speaker selector to each pair of speakers. If you have impedance matching VCs for each pair of outdoor speakers, then you wouldn't need the speaker selector and could connect all wires directly to the amp. The Impdance Matching feature allows the stereo amp to see a 4-8 ohm load when more then 1 pair of speakers are connected.

For power, 50-60 Watts per speaker should be loud enough to annoy the neighbors. The Behringer, for example, delivers over 200 Watts into 4 ohms which is 60-70 Watts per speaker. If you want people to call the police you could hook up 2 behringers is bridged mode (500 Watts/8 ohms) and send the full 150 watts to each speaker.

For sound quality, many people on the Forum are using the Behringer in bridged or stereo mode as an HT amp with good results. Outdoor speakers are not a critical listening environment so it should be more than adequate for sound quality.

 

[jamster]

If you have impedance matching VCs for each pair of outdoor speakers, then you wouldn't need the speaker selector and could connect all wires directly to the amp.

JCPanny, sorry for the ignorance, but what is "matching VC's"? Also, do you have any recommendations for a good speaker selector for this application? I have 6 total speakes I want to run off this amp. Thanks so much for the great feedback.

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker selector and VCs

First, do you have seperate Volume controls for each set of outdoor speakers? If so, check if them have a switch or jumper labeled 1x, 2x, 4x, etc. These have the impedance matching feature that allows you to connect all 3 pairs of speakers to a stereo amp.

If you don't have VCs or they aren't the impedance matching type, here is a speaker selector that includes this feature:
http://www.audiosource.net/2005/ihism4.html