more power..new reciever or a amp

[cheapskete OCer]

I currently have a onkyo 705, and i just got my new onix rocket setup ,but i want more power so my question is.
Do I buy a onkyo 805 for 600 bucks and sell the 705 for $400, or keep the 705 and spend $400 plus shipping on a used emotiva lpa-1?

Its obviously way cheaper to buy the 805 and sell the 705 but will the emotiva have that much more power?

Im kinda broke after buying the rockets so id like to save some money if theres not much of a difference

Thanks

 

[Chopin_Guy]

If you have a five channel setup...wait until this week. The rumor I saw on here was that Emotiva will be running the beginning of their holiday sale and you can get the XPA-5 for $699 shipped....

But the answer your question more clearly....even though the amplifier section is very stout in the 805 the realistic audible advantage over the 705 will be minimal if any. You wil be much better off using your pre-outs and going with an external amp...

 

[mnatiq]

If you have a five channel setup...wait until this week. The rumor I saw on here was that Emotiva will be running the beginning of their holiday sale and you can get the XPA-5 for $699 shipped....

But the answer your question more clearly....even though the amplifier section is very stout in the 805 the realistic audible advantage over the 705 will be minimal if any. You wil be much better off using your pre-outs and going with an external amp...

hey you seem to know wat ur talking about, i also need some help with this. for example the XPA-5 says that it will drive 200 watts/channel, now my question is will this add on to the current specs of my onkyo 806. the onkyo says it does 130 watts per channel so with the XPA-5 will that be total 330 watts per channel, or will it just overpower the onkyo and be ONLY 200 watts per channel (just adding on an extra 70 watts). also i have a 7.1 system so i guess i will need a 7.1 amp? How do these things work, how do you connect them wwith the speaker and onkyo receiver. thanks

and sorry cheapskete OCer i cant help you.

 

[Warpdrv]

When using an external amp, you use the Pre Amp Outputs on the back of your receiver sending all the signals via RCA to the external amp, therefore you are no longer using the internal amplifier. So it would just be a 200x5 amp, which will be a far better and more consistant source of amplification then the onboard amp in the Onkyo....


If you are on the fence, I would suggest you take advantage of the deal that Emotiva is currently offering....

 

[mnatiq]

When using an external amp, you use the Pre Amp Outputs on the back of your receiver sending all the signals via RCA to the external amp, therefore you are no longer using the internal amplifier. So it would just be a 200x5 amp, which will be a far better and more consistant source of amplification then the onboard amp in the Onkyo....


If you are on the fence, I would suggest you take advantage of the deal that Emotiva is currently offering....

wait lets see, can you plz explain the set up, like speaker wire to onkyo, rca from onkyo to amp and everything else is normal. am i wrong somewhere. also what i have done is hdmi from ps3 to onkyo, another hdmi from onkyo to tv for hd audio, that wont have to change RIGHT.

 

[mnatiq]

plus other then emotiva which other brands should i look at. dont want anything to expensive and honestly will try to get something off of ebay used/ a bit cheaper

 

[Chopin_Guy]

Mnatiq,

On the back of your 806 are RCA (standard audio jacks) outputs that are labeled L, R, C, SW, SR, SR, SBL, SBR....this translates into the 7.1 channels of audio: Front Left, Right, and Center; Surround Left and Right; and Surround Back Left and Right--with the .1 being the subwoofer channels (SW)....

All you do is get high-quality standard RCA cables and run them from the pre-amp outs on the back of the 806 to the amp you purchase...This does NOT add to the power of your current receiver as the only amplified signal comes from the speaker outputs and with this you utilize the pre-amp outs....You then connect your speakers to the speaker outputs on the rear of the dedicated amp....

This might sound complex but it's really quite simple and I am sure if you check your manual there are some diagrams of such a set-up on how to use your pre-amp outs...

 

[mnatiq]

Mnatiq,

On the back of your 806 are RCA (standard audio jacks) outputs that are labeled L, R, C, SW, SR, SR, SBL, SBR....this translates into the 7.1 channels of audio: Front Left, Right, and Center; Surround Left and Right; and Surround Back Left and Right--with the .1 being the subwoofer channels (SW)....

All you do is get high-quality standard RCA cables and run them from the pre-amp outs on the back of the 806 to the amp you purchase...This does NOT add to the power of your current receiver as the only amplified signal comes from the speaker outputs and with this you utilize the pre-amp outs....You then connect your speakers to the speaker outputs on the rear of the dedicated amp....

This might sound complex but it's really quite simple and I am sure if you check your manual there are some diagrams of such a set-up on how to use your pre-amp outs...

thanks man, just 1 last question you said

"All you do is get high-quality standard RCA cables and run them from the pre-amp outs on the back of the 806 to the amp you purchase"

wont it be pre-amp IN rather then out. is that the way it is or have you just writen it that way.
anywhooo thanks alot man.

 

[Chopin_Guy]

Now as for what amps to look at, in the 7 channel field you are starting to talk about some serious $$$ to get an amp even from some Emotiva or Outlaw which are both excellent internet direct manufacturers with fairly low prices....

As far as the Emotivas go you would want something more powerful than their UPA-7 as that is rated at the same power as your receiver and the Onkyo is no slouch of an amplifier (even though the 805 had a much better amp in it). For Emotiva you would have to check out their MPS-2 which is $1,699 and is 7 channels 200 watts each. Now this is not with any holiday price they might put on it, but at the same time if you have the space and with whatever holiday pricing comes out you could probably buy a XPA-5 and the 2-channel XPA-2 (250 watts x 2) for less than the MPS-2...

For Outlaw Audio check out their model 7200 which is a 200 watt x 7 and is $1,849 and the model 7700 is a higher end 200 watt x 7 and that is $2,149....

Going on from there you are starting to talk serious $$$ as in the $3,000 + to get a good 7 channel amp....Although you can get a Sunfire TGA-7200 on Audiogon right now for $1,999 which is an excellent deal as I think that is a $3,250 amp....

 

[Chopin_Guy]

No....the way I wrote it was correct. You run the RCA interconnects from the pre-amp outs on the back of your receiver (as in 'pre-amplification output') to the RCA (unbalanced) inputs on the back of your amp...cut and dry. Make sure you use a good interconnect. Check out www.bluejeanscable.com for the interconnects they are the way to go...

 

[mnatiq]

sweet thanks man.

 

[cheapskete OCer]

When using an external amp, you use the Pre Amp Outputs on the back of your receiver sending all the signals via RCA to the external amp, therefore you are no longer using the internal amplifier. So it would just be a 200x5 amp, which will be a far better and more consistant source of amplification then the onboard amp in the Onkyo....


If you are on the fence, I would suggest you take advantage of the deal that Emotiva is currently offering....

what are they offering the xpa 5 for 699 thats way more than im going to spend i just bought the rocket 850s.450s,bigfoot and a mfw15 and i just remolded the room they went into, i will spend $400 plus shipping on a used lpa 1 but thats the most

 

[cheapskete OCer]

so you guys dont think it would be worth spending 100-150 bucks to upgrade to the 805 from the 705, and you dont think the lpa 1 is worth it

 

[bandphan]

what are they offering the xpa 5 for 699 thats way more than im going to spend i just bought the rocket 850s.450s,bigfoot and a mfw15 and i just remolded the room they went into, i will spend $400 plus shipping on a used lpa 1 but thats the most

Bridge 2 of these for the mains 1 for the center
http://www.audiolines.com/product.php?productid=12906

so you guys dont think it would be worth spending 100-150 bucks to upgrade to the 805 from the 705, and you dont think the lpa 1 is worth it

No

 

[cfrizz]

You have summarized correctly, and you are also appropriately named!

Mnatiq's system will benefit greatly from a XPA-5. He can continue to use that amplifier through all other upgrades over the years to his system.

It is better to spend more money up front the right way the first time around, rather than taking the cheap way out & end up spending even more money to correct the cheap mistake the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time around!

so you guys dont think it would be worth spending 100-150 bucks to upgrade to the 805 from the 705, and you dont think the lpa 1 is worth it

 

[zumbo]

Recommendations are correct.

If the 705 has all the features/connections needed, an upgrade to the 805 will be a total waste of money.

Adding separate amplification is the best option, but you will still not notice much(if any) of an audible difference.

You would use the pre-outs on the receiver, connect to the inputs on the added amp.

Speakers would be connected to the amp. Re-calibrate system after set-up is complete.

The receiver power would not be added to the amps power.

 

[WmAx]

I also recommend adding seperate amplifiction. I also recommend not going with Emotiva. I must first, really question their quality control based on the unusual fact that almost everyone I know that has bought one has them them flat out break or give other problems. Only anecdotal - but very strange.

Also, they do not offer any special value over high quality professional amps. I would (and did) go with professional amplifiers. The Yamaha P2500S and P3500S should be considered. They have fans, but the fans will not work in home use; only when driven at near maximum power for continuous periods like in performance use. They have superb SNR(no noise) and superb engineering and build quality. They are excellent transparent high powered amplifiers. Now, you do need an adapter for connecting receiver to pro amps to get noise free interface from your consumer pre-outs(the Yamaha expects a higher voltage input than consumer outputs provide), but a good level adapter like the ART Cleanbox is not cost prohibitive. Some receivers may even have high enough voltage output to work fine without any level adapter - but don't count on it.

-Chris

 

[cfrizz]

Well there are certainly lots of other amp companies out there. Outlaw Audio is another good bang for the buck company.

Don't hesitate to look on Audiogon for other amps as well. Sunfire, Parasound, Rotel, Adcom, B & K, etc.

Pro amps might get the job done, but are ugly as hell, and I wouldn't want to have to be bothered with finding the right connectors to hook it up to HT gear or the possibility of fan noise just to save a few bucks.

 

[fmw]

I'll give you some reasons. If you consider a pro amp ugly, then hide it. Put it on the floor behind the system. Fan noise is not an issue with the amp I recommended because it will never come on in a home environment. No home theater is going to need even a small fraction of what the amp can deliver so it won't get warm enough to engage the fan. This particular amp has not only the normal 1/4" and Neutrik connectors one would expect on a pro amp but it also has the same binding posts one would find on any standard consumer amp. Inputs are 1/4" That would mean using a pair of rca to 1/4" adapters. Hardly a big deal. Or you can use the balanced XLR input connectors and be cool like the high end audio guys.

Pro amps, unlike consumer amps are designed to run at full tilt and to do so continuously. They have to put up with venues and abuse no consumer amp ever faces nor ever could deal with.

Pro amps are designed to deal with lower impedance loads. Not only are many pro audio speaker systems 4 ohm nominal but is common for audio engineers to parallel them causing them to represent 1/2 the nominal impedance of a single speaker.

Pro amps are more powerful because they need to fill large venues with sound. You yourself are of the belief that your speaker performance depends on it.

They are also less expensive, not because they perform to a lesser degree than consumer amplifiers but rather because they are purchased primarily by businesses rather than consumers. Businesses are more careful and less emotional at shopping than consumers are.

Seems like some good reasons to me. I have one of these amps. I don't use it in my home theater because my home theater doesn't need one. I use it to power a PA system that has to fill auditoriums with sound. So I'm speaking from personal experience, not from internet reading.

 

[mtrycrafts]

so you guys dont think it would be worth spending 100-150 bucks to upgrade to the 805 from the 705, and you dont think the lpa 1 is worth it

How do you know or why do you think you need more power?