Adding a Poweramp to Yamaha RXV-2700 5.1 setup - new to audiophile country

[Cacophonix1984]

Hello,

I have a Yamaha RXV2700 receiver (Claimed 7.1 channels delivering 140 Watts into each full channel at .04% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion).

B&W 704s as front, B&W HTM7 center, B & W DS1 rears, and B&W AWS 700 subwoofer. The 704s are 8 ohm speakers.

My primary goal is to improve audio quality for music without investing in a parallel setup - my wife will (ahem) disapprove!

I am considering adding a 3 channel or a five channel power amp and am looking at the Emotiva XPA-3 or Emotiva XPA-5 power amp rated at 200 Watts per channel, or even an Emotiva UPA-700 or UPA-500 rated at 80 W per channel.

Any thoughts on the likelihood that I will get better audio performance from the UPA-700 or UPA-500?

If using the UPA-700, should I bi-amp the from speakers when using the UPA-700?

I live in Dubai and am trying to avoid shipping the 60-70 pound XPA-5 or XPA-3 from the US.

I am new to power amps and do not understand the technical explanations of the Receiver and Power amp measurements.

All I want is better quality audio performance, especially at lower listening volumes.

 

[Steve81]

All I want is better quality audio performance, especially at lower listening volumes.

What do you feel is lacking currently? Frankly, I don't foresee moving to a separate amplifier changing a whole lot at lower volumes.

 

[3db]

+1 ... Adding power amps only improves sound quality if your current receiver cannot deliver the loudness you are looking for in a large room using inefficient speakers. If you listen to low volumes, you will reap no benefit from adding a power amp. Besides, the amplifiers on a Yamaha RXV-2700 are very stout and of excellent quality.

 

[Cacophonix1984]

My living room is very large and uneven. The listening area has a ceiling height of almost 10 metres and is open on the back and the right side.

I feel I am not getting clarity and separation from music. I am less bothered about movies, can happily watch with lower quality audio.

My core question has to do with this. I do not know enough to understand the limits of the Yamaha to provide better music quality.

 

[agarwalro]

Yamaha 2700 amp section is very robust (AH measurements) and unless it is audibly distorting, there is no guarantee that adding an external amp will improve the sound. Further, the 704's have a claimed sensitivity of 90dB/W/m, meaning they are a relatively easy to drive. Last but not the least, at lower listening levels the amp has plenty of reserve power, meaning, yet again the amp is not your weakest link. It would be easy to rush you into purchasing an amp, but, let's try a few freebees before that .

How are you running the towers? Full range or crossed over to the sub? If crossed over, what is it set at? (Try raising it if you have set it at or below 50Hz.)

Have you tried playing around with speaker placement? (Keep the towers 0.5 - 1.0m away from front and side walls.)

It is also possible that your listening position is such that the room interferes negatively with the sound from the speakers. (Having your couch pushed up against the back wall will severely degrade sound.)

 

[Cacophonix1984]

Will try all these things tomorrow and see what happens. Thank you.

So, If I understood what you both of you are saying,

1. See what you can do about setup and room acoustics first.

2. worry about power amps only if I am looking to setup a separate audio only zone, or a completely parallel speaker, source, amp setup for audio.

 

[Steve81]

1. See what you can do about setup and room acoustics first.

Yes. You're not suffering from a lack of power at lower levels, and your receiver seems to be quite good, so an amplifier isn't liable to fix your problems. Making adjustments to placement, both of the speakers and the listening position on the other hand can make significant improvements with the problems you're having.

 

[j_garcia]

If you don't see power as a limitation, then adding an amp will not "improve" the sound. This is a very common misconception. That doesn't mean an amp isn't worth it, but not in a case where you aren't bumping against the limitations of your system and it doesn't sound like that's the issue here since an amp is primarily going to be a benefit at higher listening levels, not lower.

My Thoughts on it

 

[mtrycrafts]

My living room is very large and uneven. The listening area has a ceiling height of almost 10 metres and is open on the back and the right side.

I feel I am not getting clarity and separation from music. ....

30 foot ceiling? And the rest of the room problems?
You have an listening room problem not a power problem. Not sure how you will improve it short of a different listening room.

 

[agarwalro]

Here is some information on plotting the frequency response. This is the first step in identifying the cause of your dissatisfaction.

 

[agarwalro]

The Real Traps CD only goes up to 300Hz, to do a full response, this site has tones from 20-20,000Hz. Process is same, just more measurements.