Add a seperate amp???

V

vf-00

Audiophyte
If this has been posted before, just point me in the right direction. I did a search and didn't find anything so. . .

I currently have a Yamaha rx-v1500 and am thinking about adding an amp (like a rotel 1075) and using the receiver as a pre. I've read numerous user reviews that an addition of a seperate amp made a night and day difference in their system, but I also noticed that in each persons' case, with the addition of the amp came higher numbers in the wattage dept. The receiver and amp I am looking at are both rated at 120w/ch, however seperates seem to under rate their power (or receivers over rate). Anyway, I was wondering if there still would be a huge difference with this upgrade. The speakers being driven are B&W 600 and 700 series speakers.

Any and all opinions and comments welcomed. Thanks.
 
howie85

howie85

Full Audioholic
I added extra onkyo 100w amps to my Onkyo 100wpc AV and then ran the additional 100 watts to the lower posts and the av outputs to the upper posts. It was a nice improvment. :D
 
Rip Van Woofer

Rip Van Woofer

Audioholic General
Unless your current amps are insufficient to drive your speakers cleanly at satisfactory volume, no. More watts can give you more headroom for the loudest parts. Remember, each doubling of wattage gets you 3dB. Not much but it can make a real difference IF you are clipping on the loudest peaks.

A very unscientific rule of thumb I use is: if you usually have your receiver's volume control well past the midpoint (say 2/3rds or more of max) maybe a bigger amp would be worth getting.

Note: What Howie did, basically, is drive his speakers with 200 WPC via bi-amping. Could accomplish the same thing with a single 200 WPC amp. Not a bad solution since you already have the amps in the receiver, but make sure you have two sets of posts on your speakers. Otherwise, you'll be "bridging" two amps if you attach them to the same posts which can destroy amps unless they are designed to be bridged.

Oh, and if you can, get one that goes to 11! :D
 
Last edited:
jaxvon

jaxvon

Audioholic Ninja
That's always a good idea. If it's in your budget, go for it.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
It depends on how you define "huge". If you mean literally huge difference, I don't think so, the RX-V1500 sounds pretty good on its own.
 
B

BobbyT

Junior Audioholic
A seperate amp even rated the same as your receiver will be more likely to actually deliver the rated power. This is due in part to an amp not being current limited.
 
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