Moving to Seperates

[BabelFish]

right now I am considering getting a 5.1 (or maybe the 7.1) system. At the beginning I will only be using the Denon 3808 to power the entire thing. Being that I might be planning on getting the Paradigm Studio 100s for the mains, I eventually would like to get a rotel amp to power stuff and make the denon a Pre-pro..

My question is how exactly does that work? Would I need a 7.1 rotel amp? Would I just need something to power the fronts?? If the Denon 3808 is a 130watt x 7 should I get a rotel amp that is at the very least a 130watt or better? Thanks in advance for all of your help...

 

[indcrimdefense]

my dad demoed the paradigm 100 v3 w/ his 2805 & was happy with the result once we bi-amped the 2805 (instructions for doing so are somewhere else on the forum under perhaps the 3805 review??), so you might want to try this first before buying a seperate amp. i'm a big fan of the 100 v4, but have not heard the v4 run with a receiver, only with seperates. it offers alot (but not all) of the sound of the signature line at a greatly reduced price.

my other suggestion would be to skip the receiver alltogether & buy a seperate pre-pro & multi channel amp. i started w/ a 2805, later added an amp after alot of demos w/ good results, but as big a difference in overall sound quality was replacing the 2805 w/ an anthem avm 30 pre-pro. if your considering seperates, i would recommend going that direction from the beginning to save some money overall.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

It does absolutely nothing if you bi-amp a speaker using just the AVR.

Babel,

Get your Denon, try it out for awhile with the 100's and if you feel you need more power just add a 2 channel amp hooked to the Denon. The amp will supply power to the 100's and the Denon will supply all of it's power to the rest of your speakers.

 

[cfrizz]

Since you are already thinking separates, you should just take your time & save more money & get separates from the get go.

While you are saving the money, see if you can demo some separates or start doing research into what companies you want for the components.

 

[mike c]

a 3808 is (would be) a very powerful receiver ...

you don't need to power all the channels with an external amp, powering the front three will be sufficient, and then use the 3808 for the surrounds. but since the 3808 already has a killer amp section, you'd need something along the lines of 200w and above.

 

[PENG]

a 3808 is (would be) a very powerful receiver ...

you don't need to power all the channels with an external amp, powering the front three will be sufficient, and then use the 3808 for the surrounds. but since the 3808 already has a killer amp section, you'd need something along the lines of 200w and above.

I have to agree, because I had done enough test/measurements in comparing the 3805 (I assume the 3808 has the same or more powerful amps) to know that you need at least a 200WPC amp to really make a noticeable difference. I would recommend 300WPC and just do the front 2 or 3 channels.

 

[Nick250]

Interesting thoughts on which amplifier/receiver. The Studio 100's are easy to drive. I would try them with the 3808 for a while before adding amps.

Nick