add power amp to the failed receiver output

[k330]

Hi,

I'm a newbie and would like to get some advice on my audio setup:

bought a low end pioneer 5.1 AV receiver a few years back and it starts to crap out sometime ago, with one channel cut in and out and have static noise. Did some google and it seems to be a common problem for the model (VSX816) and I would not bother fixing it. I don't really watch a lot of movies and use it mainly for 2-channel music. Now I was wondering if should replace the receiver or get a 2-channel power amplifier and hook it up between the speaker and receiver (the receiver has pre-amp output which I will test to make sure it works fine). My music source is a Logitech squeezebox that stream the music from server on the network, and it feeds receiver with optical cable. So my setup with an power amp will looks like:

1. Receiver pre-amp out -> power amp -> front left/right speaker (Rogers bookshelf)
2. Receiver speaker out -> center and 2 rear satellite speakers;

For music I will use the stereo mode of receiver and two front speakers only, and for movies and other stuff I can use all 5 speakers.

Any problem in such setup ?

Also any recommendation on a decent power amp that's not too expensive. I'm no audiophile but still like to have decent sound.

 

[hatrack71]

No problem unless the problem is in the pre section of your receiver.

 

[k330]

No problem unless the problem is in the pre section of your receiver.

Thanks for the confirmation. Just tested the pre section by connecting the pre out into my headphone amp. Works fine. Only issue is that the sound is rather dry when comparing feeding the digital signal directly into headphone amp. I wonder how it may perform when I connect a power amp and speakers.

Also I wonder where should I control the volume when using power amp. Should I control the volume at the power amp? If so, I guess I need to bypass volume control on AV receiver and wonder if/how I am going to do that.

Thanks