Do I need a seperate amp?

[Rich0301]

I am just an audiophyte at this point. I have a new system composed of ;
Paradigm Studio 100 mains,a CC470center,ADP470 rears,and a PW2200 sub .My power is a Denon 3805. This sounds great to my ears and pdg to my wife who has very demanding ears. Will the addition of a seperate amplifier make a great difference if our playing level is at lower medium volume? Our room measures 14x25x8 and is set up like this.


-----------------------25--------------------
100 CC470 100 PW2200

'
14
'
A4 A4
D7 seating D7
P0 --------------------25-------------------- P0

 

[nm2285]

Although a new amp certainly wouldn't hurt, I think the improvement would be minimal. The Denon has a good power supply and your speakers have a sensitivity rating of 91db and an impedence "compatible" with 8 ohms. They shouldn't be too hard to drive. Plus, you're already very happy with them, why blow more cash?

 

[JoeE SP9]

If it works don't fix it. This is the technicians rule. In your case if you're happy don't change it. That is the rule to keep away upgraditis. I think all of us idly think of changing this or that in the quest of better sound. The more mature learn to control this, at least some of the time. Just remember this; more power causes one to want better speakers etc.

 

[20to20K]

There's one in every crowd...

I can't disagree in principle with the advice already given to you on this thread but I will offer my insight based on my extensive auditioning of your speakers.

Before I bought my Polk LSi15's the 100's were on my short list of speakers to audition. I thought they sounded slightly better than my Polks but I decided I couldn't afford to spend the extra $$$ for that setup.

One thing I noticed about your Paradigms was how significantly better they sounded when you threw higher quality, more powerful ampage at them. I heard them with your 3805, a 200 watt Adcom, Rotel, then finally a Mark
Levinson. Each increase in quality of amplifier power sounded sigificantly better to me. Not louder...just better.

I was never that much of a proponent of the difference in amps...but the way those Paradigms performed changed my mind. I have not heard that
much of a significant improvement with the outboard amp for my Polks. I
did it mostly just to relieve the strain of my 3805 driving a bunch of 4 ohm
speakers which Denon does not recommend.

Anyway...this is a long-winded way of telling you to listen for yourself and see if YOU notice any improvements. Hopefully you don't and you can spend your money on something more essential. But as the previous posters signoff mentions...'Let YOUR Ears Decide". I'm sure most shops will be able to accomodate this demo for you.

 

[mtrycrafts]

You have very good speakers and receiver.
Another amp of equal power will not help you one bit. A much more powerful amp will only help in the peaks of music but only if the one you have clips noticably, hardly the case at your listening habits. And, that amp would have to be at least twice as powerful.
So, in the end, it won't help.

 

[Privateer]

A higher quality amp will improve the sound, I say just demo a couple of amps and see what sounds best.

 

[mtrycrafts]

A higher quality amp will improve the sound, .

How so? Please explain.

 

[MacManNM]

How so? Please explain.

Because good amps sound better than crappy amps.


I think a 20w/ch class a tube amp will do wonders for your setup.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

How so? Please explain.

For the most part, receiver ratings are highly exaggerated. Larger power supplies, better transformers, and larger heat sinks all aid in lowering distortion levels which color sound. If there were no differences in amplifiers, we'd all be recommending these.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/letsgodigital/pa1000x.html

 

[20to20K]

For the most part, receiver ratings are highly exaggerated. Larger power supplies, better transformers, and larger heat sinks all aid in lowering distortion levels which color sound. If there were no differences in amplifiers, we'd all be recommending these.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/letsgodigital/pa1000x.html

That amp is cool...I bet it goes to "11"!

 

[Privateer]

How so? Please explain.

What Buckeyefan 1 said.

The THD ratting is the main reason, I would like to see a THD spec of a receiver when it is driven to its rated maximum. I would not doubt if it was 1-10% THD were my amp comes in at Total Harmonic Distortion 0.005% maximum.

 

[Spiffyfast]

That amp is cool...I bet it goes to "11"!

to "11" gotta love that, its such a classic, maybe I should get a painting made of the number 11 in some mural form and hang it above my tv or something, I think thatd be perfect

 

[mtrycrafts]

For the most part, receiver ratings are highly exaggerated. Larger power supplies, better transformers, and larger heat sinks all aid in lowering distortion levels which color sound. If there were no differences in amplifiers, we'd all be recommending these.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/letsgodigital/pa1000x.html

Ah, now we are getting somewhere, lower distortion you said, right?
How low do we need to go? .1%? .01%? .001%?

Which amps that we discuss here has audible distortion? Don't be shy.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Because good amps sound better than crappy amps.


I think a 20w/ch class a tube amp will do wonders for your setup.

What kind of wonders? How much $$$?

 

[mtrycrafts]

What Buckeyefan 1 said.

The THD ratting is the main reason, I would like to see a THD spec of a receiver when it is driven to its rated maximum. I would not doubt if it was 1-10% THD were my amp comes in at Total Harmonic Distortion 0.005% maximum.

Which amps are rated at 1%-10% that we are discussing on this board? I guess that would exclude any SET as I haven't seen them discussed at all.
What else?

How much distortion is too much for you? Be careful how you respond though. which Yam has such poor rating, or Denon, or Pioneer, or a whol slew we talk about???

 

[jaxvon]

Some crappy digtally amped HTiB receivers have distortion >1%, as do some other cheap digital amps.

 

[Nick250]

If there were no differences in amplifiers, we'd all be recommending these.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/letsgodigital/pa1000x.html

That is exactly the same logic that expensive speaker wire proponents give. "If it didn't improve the sound, no one would buy these lovely $500 interconnects". My view is that seperate amps are nice toys to buy when upgradeities hits, but 99% if the time any improvement in sound quality is purely placebo. That being said, there is nothing wrong with toys (I have a number of them), just go in with your eyes wide open.

 

[MacManNM]

What kind of wonders? How much $$$?

You are easier to catch than a hungry Bass in a pond.

 

[jaxvon]

Not quite. Many times an upgraded amplifier will have a beefier power supply, allowing it to plow through big transients without getting near clipping. They're also built better, so they last longer. I agree that the distortion thing (.01 vs .001) is stupid, but saying that it's like BS cable claims is false. If you have highly inefficient speakers (like Magnepans), getting a beefier amp of the same power rating will do you some good. Heck, look at the reviews of the LPNA 150 from RE Designs. A reviewer was listening at levels far above his normal reference when he installed the 150s. This isn't because of some magic placebo effect. It's because the amps have more "balls" than cheaper units and don't start to clip when they need to deliver a short burst of power.

 

[MacManNM]

Which amps are rated at 1%-10% that we are discussing on this board? I guess that would exclude any SET as I haven't seen them discussed at all.
What else?

How much distortion is too much for you? Be careful how you respond though. which Yam has such poor rating, or Denon, or Pioneer, or a whol slew we talk about???

Lets take my D-1200 proton amp and use it as an example. It's .05%@ 100w RMS into 8 Ohms. How many of those can state that?