Amp for fronts

[Hostility]

hey, its been to long since ive been on this forum, and after watching a movie last night without my sub on, i found that my fronts could use some more. they are Polk audio RTI 10's now im only looking for a cheap amplifier to give them some better sound and a bit of bass out of them. now im only looking to spend around $200 cdn. and i found online a yamaha M-50 for sale. do you think that is what im looking for, or what else is out there for a good bang for my buck, winters coming and its time to get back into my HT

 

[Adam]

What are you powering those speakers with at the moment? That knowledge will help us in determining if the M-50 would be a step-up for you.

 

[Hostility]

yea i guess that would have helped, lol, my current system consists of a JVC reciever (but keep in mind it will be replaced around xmas time for a yamaha HTR6290B (futureshop sells it), fronts are Polk RTI10's, Center is Polk audio also, and some cheap rears and a velodyne 15 sub. p.s i was also looking at the behringer ep2500??

 

[Adam]

The HTR-6290 looks like a nice receiver! It's actually rated at a higher power (130W/channel) than the M-50 (120W/channel), but that doesn't mean that it provides more power - at least, based on what I've read here about power ratings.

How much would the M-50 cost you?

Also, which JVC receiver are you using right now?

 

[Hostility]

the M-50 is up for $175, so you think i should just wait untill i get my new reciever, and see if i like the difference? the JVC im using right now is RX-6030V, bought it about 5-6 years ago.

 

[MatthewB.]

I think you would find nominal differences between adding an amp and your reciever. An amp doesnt improve the sound, it just will alllow it to play louder and say you have a 100 per channel receiver you would need 200 watts and it would only add 3db of sound and I seriously doubt that you would notice it that much, you would have to have it really loud. You are far better off turning that sub back on and use the money that you would spend on an amp and use it on room acuostical treatments which will greatly improve a persons room farther than any amp can and it's cheaper.

 

[Hostility]

ok, i was just seeing if i could do anything to make the speakers come more alive, and more natural sound? i guess you could put it.

 

[Adam]

I have no experience with the M-50, so I can't say if you should wait or not. I will say this, though - your JVC receiver doesn't have any pre-amp outputs, so you can't run an amp from it. The HTR-6290 does have pre-amp outputs, though - but if you need to wait until you get it to use the amp, you might want to just go ahead and wait to see if the HTR-6290 has enough power for you.

 

[Adam]

ok, i was just seeing if i could do anything to make the speakers come more alive, and more natural sound? i guess you could put it.

I'm not the only one on this forum that has added an amp and noticed an improvement. It does depend on your speakers and how loud you listen to them. My NHTs are pretty inefficient, and so require relatively more power to play at any given volume level. My Pioneer VSX-1015 performed just fine at normal listening levels, but when I turned it up louder (for a music DVD, as an example), I found it sounded muffled and lacking. When I added a 200W/channel stereo amp, the system sounded much more clear and dynamic.

It's true that the average power output of an amp is pretty low (much lower than most people think - less than 1W a lot of times). However, there are transient peaks that can require a lot of power. My VSX-1015 wasn't able to handle those well with all five speakers being powered by it. When I lightened the load on the 1015 by powering the front two speakers with another amp, it sounded much better to me - but again, that was only at louder-than-everyday levels.

 

[Hostility]

yea i think i just might wait, see how it sounds with the new amp. i listen to my movies pretty loud. but ill wait and see and make my decision after. thanks adam!

 

[mtrycrafts]

ok, i was just seeing if i could do anything to make the speakers come more alive, and more natural sound? i guess you could put it.

Come alive? You mean an DNA infusion?
I doubt the amp will do that; perception might though
You need a good sub, good speakers and room acoustics.