Amp advice

[bowlman]

Wanting to improve 2 channel sound. Currently have B&W 804s front speakers,using denon 3803 as pre,with Adcom gfa 555 amp.Would there be any benefit to add another Adcom gfa 555 to get more volume and power, or should I buy a single amp like the Emotiva xpa-2 ?? Or should I just leave as is?
Reason for questions is,I do not get much volume with out turning volume knob way up.
Thanks for any advise.

 

[jinjuku]

From a former Adcom (5503), Carver, Parasound owner: Get a Crown DriveCore XLS 1500. You can get them at guitar center and they have a no hassle return policy.

 

[bowlman]

jinjuku, Thank you for responding.Crown amps are a great price,do they really work for 2 channel stereo? Do they make a multi channel amp?

 

[PENG]

Wanting to improve 2 channel sound. Currently have B&W 804s front speakers,using denon 3803 as pre,with Adcom gfa 555 amp.Would there be any benefit to add another Adcom gfa 555 to get more volume and power, or should I buy a single amp like the Emotiva xpa-2 ?? Or should I just leave as is?
Reason for questions is,I do not get much volume with out turning volume knob way up.
Thanks for any advise.

If the 555 is in good condition, it is powerful enough for a pair of 804S that are not hard to drive. B&W recommends 50 to 200W into 8 ohms for their 804 diamond version.

Product Review

The 555 should have no trouble delivering 300W average power into 4 ohms all day long.

 

[jcl]

From a former Adcom (5503), Carver, Parasound owner: Get a Crown DriveCore XLS 1500. You can get them at guitar center and they have a no hassle return policy.

If you go this route check techbargains as they have coupons - 12% Guitar Center or 15% off Musician's Friend, I think each off a single item only.

 

[bowlman]

My Adcom seems to work fine and has great sound, I just have to turn volume way up to get reasonable sound.The volume knob is at about 3/4 volume.When running the 804s off my Denon receiver the volume is at about 1/3. Maybe I am reading to much into it,and every thing is correct.

 

[bowlman]

I did find the Crown amp thread.

 

[PENG]

My Adcom seems to work fine and has great sound, I just have to turn volume way up to get reasonable sound.The volume knob is at about 3/4 volume.When running the 804s off my Denon receiver the volume is at about 1/3. Maybe I am reading to much into it,and every thing is correct.

I used to have a 3805 preouts hooked up to the 555 and I did notice the 555 has a slightly lower gain their the 3805's built-in amp so the level has to be adjusted 1 to 1.5 dB higher. That really isn't much though, compared to what you called 1/3 vs 3/4 volume. Something is not right.

 

[slipperybidness]

My Adcom seems to work fine and has great sound, I just have to turn volume way up to get reasonable sound.The volume knob is at about 3/4 volume.When running the 804s off my Denon receiver the volume is at about 1/3. Maybe I am reading to much into it,and every thing is correct.

As long as the amp isn't showing obvious signs of clipping, the reading on the dial is pretty much arbitrary.

 

[bowlman]

My Adcom shows no signs of clipping,I just expected it to play a little louder.Maybe all is good and I just need to turn up the volume.

 

[cpp]

You have enough power in that 555 amp to handle those speakers. I'm just wondering and you might have already tried this, but have you set the Denon to Direct mode on your remote.

 

[mtrycrafts]

My Adcom seems to work fine and has great sound, I just have to turn volume way up to get reasonable sound.The volume knob is at about 3/4 volume.When running the 804s off my Denon receiver the volume is at about 1/3. Maybe I am reading to much into it,and every thing is correct.

I just have a question about your terminology about the volume control since I am not familiar with your receiver.
Does that volume control have a mechanical stop at minimum and maximum volume or just keeps rotating without increasing or decreasing the numbers on the panel? Mine can turn continuously with no effect beyond the min and max of the amp. So, I am not sure how you are judging the 1/3 and 3/4 on the dial. What are the numerical displays with each amp and did you re-calibrate the trim pots with each amp with the internal test tone? If not, that may explain part of your dilemma, I think.

 

[bowlman]

cpp
I tried every mode possible,but there was no change.

mtrycrafts
My volume knob goes from -80 db to +3 db, I usually listen at about -15 db when hooked to my Denon amp which is low.When hooked up to my Adcom amp I set volume at -10 to get same volume.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Wanting to improve 2 channel sound. Currently have B&W 804s front speakers,using denon 3803 as pre,with Adcom gfa 555 amp.Would there be any benefit to add another Adcom gfa 555 to get more volume and power, or should I buy a single amp like the Emotiva xpa-2 ?? Or should I just leave as is?
Reason for questions is,I do not get much volume with out turning volume knob way up.
Thanks for any advise.

Easy solution. Just turn the speaker channel level in your Denon to + 6.0dB. Then even a master volume of -30.0 will sound loud.

If you want it even louder, set the speaker channel levels to +10.0dB.

 

[PENG]

Easy solution. Just turn the speaker channel level in your Denon to + 6.0dB. Then even a master volume of -30.0 will sound loud.

If you want it even louder, set the speaker channel levels to +10.0dB.

I have to do the same with my Adcom, but only a couple of dB, not 5 that he is getting. I wonder if he checked it with a SPL meter though, or just played it by ears.

 

[PENG]

mtrycrafts
My volume knob goes from -80 db to +3 db, I usually listen at about -15 db when hooked to my Denon amp which is low.When hooked up to my Adcom amp I set volume at -10 to get same volume.

That is due to the lower gain of the Adcom, not unusual at all. Did you use a SPL meter to confirm the difference? As I mentioned before I also have an Adcom GFA555 and I used to have to increase the level by about 2 dB, 5 dB difference does seem a lot. I have since replaced my Denon 4308 with an AV7005 and the Adcom now just drives the center channel, but the difference of 2 dB remains. Again, it seems like your Adcom is doing a fine job, enjoy your very nice sounding 804S.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have to do the same with my Adcom, but only a couple of dB, not 5 that he is getting. I wonder if he checked it with a SPL meter though, or just played it by ears.

The speaker channel levels may also be set below 0.0dB, which was the case with DenPureSound when he complained to me that his amp was "underpowered". When I told him to increase the channel levels to 0.0, everything seemed peachy.

For some sources, like my weird Apple TV, I have to also increase the Denon Source Level by +6.0 in order to match the other source levels. Otherwise, it would be 6dB less than everything else. It's probably not the case w/ the OP, but just giving an example of the 2 areas where the levels may need to be adjusted:

1) Speaker Channel Level
2) Source Level

 

[PENG]

The speaker channel levels may also be set below 0.0dB, which was the case with DenPureSound when he complained to me that his amp was "underpowered". When I told him to increase the channel levels to 0.0, everything seemed peachy.

For some sources, like my weird Apple TV, I have to also increase the Denon Source Level by +6.0 in order to match the other source levels. Otherwise, it would be 6dB less than everything else. It's probably not the case w/ the OP, but just giving an example of the 2 areas where the levels may need to be adjusted:

1) Speaker Channel Level
2) Source Level

I thought about that (your point 1) above) but ruled that out because speaker level should affect both the internal amp's L/R channels the same. In other words, if he increases the L/R channel levels by 5 dB to make the Adcom louder, then the AVR's internal L/R channel amp will still be 5 dB louder than using the front L/R preouts to drive the Adcom power amp as they will both go up 5 dB.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... I wonder if he checked it with a SPL meter though, or just played it by ears.

If the latter, that is another source for the perception being different.
And, he should use the test tones or disc not program material.

 

[PENG]

If the latter, that is another source for the perception being different.
And, he should use the test tones or disc not program material.

Agree, definitely should use test tones.