Additional Power for a Marantz 8400

[taaldridge]

I got a great deal on an 8400 and it is a very good receiver. However, I'd like a little more power but i am not sure how to proceed. I have a 5.1 setup at this time and will probably stay that way for a while. Should I purchase a 5.1 or better AMP and hook up my Marantz to it or how do I proceed.

Also, if an AMP is the answer, is $500 a good price point or do I need to spend more and finally, what would be a good choice.

Thanks

 

[j_garcia]

What are Middies? The towers or bookshelf speakers? Do you have a large room? The Level 3s are a bit low sensitivity, so I guess they might like more power. What I might suggest is just starting with a 2ch or 3ch amp for the mains. You probably don't need additional power for the surrounds. There isn't really such a thing as a "5.1" amp, because the sub normally has it's own power in all but a few cases. You would be looking for a 5ch amp to drive all the speakers, but if the receiver is struggling, just offloading the most power hungry speakers can make a noticable difference. I have an 8300 and I am running 4 Ohm speakers in a fairly large room so it struggled. I added 2 monoblocks for my mains and everything is sounding good.