Need your expert help !

[fab68]

I have a yamaha rv-x2200 set on a 5.1 B&W fronts and Energy's on the rest including the 12" subwoofer.the B&W I purchased a week ago and I fell that when I am in stereo mode ( 90% of my listening) it needs mor power to drive the B&W-683. I have an old yamaha m-45 power amp and and also a yamaha pre cx-u800 ( I had them for 12 years) Can I connect the m-45 to my rv-x2200 to increase power? If so how can I do this, will I not you the pre just the power amp?

Thanks

 

[Davemcc]

No problem. Just connect the Front R/L channels of the 6.1 analog outputs to the yamaha amp, set the gains and you should be good to go.

 

[fab68]

thanks dave. I did go to 6ch output from my rx-v2200 main output to the imput to my m-45. Do I connect the main towers to the power amp ( m-45) or do they stay in the RX-V2200 as main L/R.

 

[Davemcc]

Speakers connect to the m-45 in this case.

 

[fab68]

Wow !! much better. So the 5.1 decoding while playing movies will not be affected by this right ? In others words everything is the same exept I am adding the power of the M-45 to my reciever on the mains, correct ?

 

[Adam]

Wow !! much better. So the 5.1 decoding while playing movies will not be affected by this right ? In others words everything is the same exept I am adding the power of the M-45 to my reciever on the mains, correct ?

Not to steal Dave's thunder...but, yes. You are just using a different set of amps (external versus internal to the receiver). Everything else will be the same.

I do suggest that you recheck your speaker levels, though. When I added an external amp, I had to adjust my front speakers (which got connected to the external amp) by about 1 dB to get them back at the same level as the others.

 

[zumbo]

In others words everything is the same exept I am adding the power of the M-45 to my reciever on the mains, correct ?

No. You will not be "adding" to the power of your receiver. You will only be using the power from the M-45 for the speakers connected to it.

 

[fab68]

Thanks Adam and Dave. I will do that. The adjustment on my front mains I know is not posible but ( I think i can drop it by -10db only) I am sure what I need to do is offset with the adjustment on the rest of the speakers correct. I have a Radio Shack sound level meter that I have used to calibrate my system. This should do it correct?
I am sorry to overload with questions, but I do not want to mess anything up.
Thanks

 

[Adam]

No. You will not be "adding" to the power of your receiver. You will only be using the power from the M-45 for the speakers connected to it.

An excellent point, Zumbo. I saw that, too, but figured that it was just semantics - I could interpret it either way. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Adam]

Thanks Adam and Dave. I will do that. The adjustment on my front mains I know is not posible but ( I think i can drop it by -10db only) I am sure what I need to do is offset with the adjustment on the rest of the speakers correct. I have a Radio Shack sound level meter that I have used to calibrate my system. This should do it correct?
I am sorry to overload with questions, but I do not want to mess anything up.
Thanks

Let me look up your receiver's owners manual, but I think that you'll be able to set the levels on your fronts exactly the same as for all the other speakers. Because the receiver is sending the signal to your external amp, if you adjust the speaker levels in the receiver, it will have the same effect as it did before you ever put that external amp in the system. Again, all you've done is chosen to use amplifiers that are in a different box than your receiver. Everything else should act the same way.

The Radio Shack meter would work perfectly. That receiver probably has a set of test tones that it will emit (I'll check that when I get the manual).

 

[fab68]

Zumbo, is there a way to add the power of the m-45?. Currently I have to say it does sound better, more natural.
Thanks

 

[Davemcc]

But the m-45 has adjustable gains, does it not? Just use the SPL meter to adjust the gains to your existing settings.

To your post above, no you cannot sum the power of the receiver and amp. It is either/or.

 

[Adam]

Just a follow-up on something that you probably know - that receiver does generate test tones (page 23 of the manual). I wanted to see if it had an automatic set-up routine, but it doesn't.

 

[zumbo]

Zumbo, is there a way to add the power of the m-45?. Currently I have to say it does sound better, more natural.
Thanks

No. But utilizing the added power from the outboad amp does in fact lighten the load on your receiver, which is good for the receiver, and the other speakers.

 

[fab68]

Thanks Zumbo. So there is no way to add the power of the M-45 to the rx-v-2200?

 

[zumbo]

Thanks Zumbo. So there is no way to add the power of the M-45 to the rx-v-2200?

You are adding power to the system. You are just not adding the sum of your receivers l/r output to the sum of your M-45's output. Also, do not connect anything to the l/r speaker terminals on the receiver when the l/r pre-outs are utilized.

 

[Adam]

So there is no way to add the power of the M-45 to the rx-v-2200?

Well, there is. Kinda. Sorta. But, few people here would recommend it. You could bi-amp your front speakers. For example, you could use the M-45 to power the low frequency input on your front speakers and use the RX-V2200 to power the high frequency input on your front speakers. You most definitely would need to remove the terminal links (the metal bands) between the two sets of inputs on the speakers if you did that. Definitely. That's not meant to be patronizing, but if you didn't know that and left them there, you could potentially damage your receiver and amp.

You can always try that, but it might do nothing for you. How many watts is the M-45? I'll go look it up, but I figure that you know.

EDIT: 125 wpc into 8 ohms is what I found for that amp.

 

[fab68]

Zumbo, you mean on the reciever I should not connect anything on the L/R correct?

 

[zumbo]

Well, there is. Kinda. Sorta. But, few people here would recommend it. You could bi-amp your front speakers. For example, you could use the M-45 to power the low frequency input on your front speakers and use the RX-V2200 to power the high frequency input on your front speakers.

It's not that easy. You have to reassign outputs. Can be more trouble than it's worth. You can't just use the l/r speaker terminals on the receiver while utilizing the l/r pre-outs.

This is a can of worms I was not going to open up.

 

[Adam]

It's not that easy. You have to reassign outputs. Can be more trouble than it's worth. You can't just use the l/r speaker terminals on the receiver while utilizing the l/r pre-outs.

Are you sure? That's news to me. The manual for the receiver doesn't indicate that.