Need help with suggestions on choosing an amp for my new 7.2.4 Hi-Fi System

[ban25]

what about all channels driven? i just want my system to sound like music/movie nirvana lol

Your ceiling speakers are actually quite efficient at 90 dB. So, if you consider that you are seated perhaps 8' away from them (ceiling mounted) and you are driving 4 of them with the Cinema 40 (and for sake of argument, only them), that's 112 dB SPL at the measured peak output. That's sufficient to cause permanent hearing loss in under 2 minutes.

You have an impeccable setup, seriously fantastic speakers all the way around, not to mention an excellent AVR in the Cinema 40. In order to drive 11 channels from the C40, you need to add a 2-channel amp. The R11s need the power the most, so that's the most effective place to add an outboard amp.

 

[PENG]

I thought hell why not power those ATMOS speakers with another outlaw or is there zero benefit to giving them more power as well.

It depends what you meant by "giving them more power....". The fact is, you can't give them more power if they don't demand more power than your amp is capable of giving. If they do demand more than your amp can provide, then yes there is benefit to give it to them. The saying "You Can Lead a Horse To Water, But You Can’t Make It Drink" also applies here.

Also is 200 watts worth it per channel over the marantz cinema 40s probably 80 watts per channel at 4ohm with 1 speakers if that?

The Cinema 40 should be able to do more than 200 W into 4 ohms at 1% THD, with two channel driven simultaneously, not continuously but for movies and music there is no need for it to output that much for more than seconds, or a minute at the most. Take a look of the output of the SR7015, and you can expect the Cinema 40 to do about the same.

Marantz SR7015 8K AVR Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

The all channel driven output power rating will of course be much lower, but for real world movie contents, it would be extremely rare that it would have all channels to peak at the same time. Even if there are contents that may drive 5 to 7 channels to the highest peak at the same time, the duration of such rare coincidental peaks will not last long enough to be a problem for the Cinema 40, let alone external power amps.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd just use the Cinema 40 to start. Maybe play around with this http://www.hometheaterengineering.com/splcalculator.html to help estimate your needs. Might help if you detail your distances from speakers and spl goals. If I did get external amps, I'd get more substantial amps/power than the Monolith 7000 or the OSD 7180....those are more similar to what you already have in the avr. Some of the Hypex module amps mentioned are very good value.

 

[Altyros]

Your ceiling speakers are actually quite efficient at 90 dB. So, if you consider that you are seated perhaps 8' away from them (ceiling mounted) and you are driving 4 of them with the Cinema 40 (and for sake of argument, only them), that's 112 dB SPL at the measured peak output. That's sufficient to cause permanent hearing loss in under 2 minutes.

You have an impeccable setup, seriously fantastic speakers all the way around, not to mention an excellent AVR in the Cinema 40. In order to drive 11 channels from the C40, you need to add a 2-channel amp. The R11s need the power the most, so that's the most effective place to add an outboard amp.

How much of a diff would it make if i swapped my R8 metas to R3 metas? or is it even worth it given the whole setup?

 

[ban25]

How much of a diff would it make if i swapped my R8 metas to R3 metas? or is it even worth it given the whole setup?

I'd probably just swap one pair -- depending upon whichever was most convenient -- probably Surround Rear.

 

[Altyros]

Which gets more action: surround or surround rear in general?

 

[ban25]

Which gets more action: surround or surround rear in general?

Surround is specified as part of 5.1 mixes, whereas Surround Rear/Back are only in 7.1 mixes, so I would say Surround gets the most use across 5.1+ mixes.

 

[Altyros]

Surround is specified as part of 5.1 mixes, whereas Surround Rear/Back are only in 7.1 mixes, so I would say Surround gets the most use across 5.1+ mixes.

Ok then ill swap the surrounds for R3 metas and keep the surround backs R8 metas

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Not a matter of going cheap lol, just a $21k system was costly. I'm sure there are ones that are amazing like ATI and parasound etc, i wanted something that wasnt going to break the bank on top of what i spent on the new KEF META series.

Well don’t go too cheap on the amp quality because you’re hooking up your $21K speakers to these amps.

 

[ban25]

Well don’t go too cheap on the amp quality because you’re hooking up your $21K speakers to these amps.

Maybe an ATI 1822? Solid manufacturer, won't break the bank.

 

[Cos]

I wouldn't throw Class D amps out of bed. The Buckeye amps Peng suggest are legit well reviewed. The price per $ spent is really hard to beat. They only challege is that you would need balanced to unbalanced interconnects.

I would also just focus on the LRC speakers, it does not make sense for surround as others have stated. I am very happy with the ATI Amp I am using and even more happy with the 7 year warranty I get with it. That being said I am also happy with the Parasounds. My Personas are pretty sensitive speakers, and while the Parsounds to me sounded just as good, I was experiencing slight tweeter buzz from them. (Could not hear more than 2 feet away). It was enough to make me switch.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Raise your hands if you’ve bought/owned and then sold/upgraded many brands of speakers, subs, AVR, AVP, amps, etc. through many years to end up where you are now?

Why? Why did you upgrade?

If you could go back in time, would you skip all those other brands and go straight to the brands you own now?

 

[Cos]

Raise your hands if you’ve bought/owned and then sold/upgraded many brands of speakers, subs, AVR, AVP, amps, etc. through many years to end up where you are now?

Why? Why did you upgrade?

If you could go back in time, would you skip all those other brands and go straight to the brands you own now?

Should be a separate post IMO

• Hand raised
• Upgraded in the beginning more for demo'ing and trying to upgrade sound quality, was never really unhappy with any of my purchases.
• I started out with Paradigm, went back to Paradigm, for me sonically I am completely satisfied. Would not change a thing, its fun to try new gear and figure out what works best for you.
• I only own Paradigm, Goldenear (Just the ATMOS now) and a pair of Revel Peforma M106s that I am also very happy with.
• I will however be selling my JL Audio Subs, they do not have the best reliability and I there are much better options at that price point or less.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Should be a separate post IMO

• Hand raised
• Upgraded in the beginning more for demo'ing and trying to upgrade sound quality, was never really unhappy with any of my purchases.
• I started out with Paradigm, went back to Paradigm, for me sonically I am completely satisfied. Would not change a thing, its fun to try new gear and figure out what works best for you.
• I only own Paradigm, Goldenear (Just the ATMOS now) and a pair of Revel Peforma M106s that I am also very happy with.
• I will however be selling my JL Audio Subs, they do not have the best reliability and I there are much better options at that price point or less.

At least ONE thing I noticed is that it seems all your components are popular big brands. Nothing like Emotiva or OSD or other cheaper stuffs. So pride of ownership must be very important among other things.

 

[Cos]

At least ONE thing I noticed is that it seems all your components are popular big brands. Nothing like Emotiva or OSD or other cheaper stuffs. So pride of ownership must be very important among other things.

Totally forgot my first set of speakers were Klipsch, lower end I am sure, but at 800/pair towers it was alot for me at the time. I had 3 Yamaha the first Dobly digtial 5.1 model, back in the day when they made those flip door remotes.

I still have those Emotiva Airmotiv 4 powered speakers i bought at my first Axpona show and still have the $250 gift card I won in the raffle, which I never used.

As for my speaker choices, outside of Klipsch, addiction started when I went to my first true audio dealer. Very sad that he went out of business about 2 months ago due to nasty divorce, bought from him for over 20 years.

 

[Altyros]

I wouldn't throw Class D amps out of bed. The Buckeye amps Peng suggest are legit well reviewed. The price per $ spent is really hard to beat. They only challege is that you would need balanced to unbalanced interconnects.

I would also just focus on the LRC speakers, it does not make sense for surround as others have stated. I am very happy with the ATI Amp I am using and even more happy with the 7 year warranty I get with it. That being said I am also happy with the Parasounds. My Personas are pretty sensitive speakers, and while the Parsounds to me sounded just as good, I was experiencing slight tweeter buzz from them. (Could not hear more than 2 feet away). It was enough to make me switch.

Why exactly would i need balanced to unbalanced connects? It amazes me the different opinions in here regarding what to amp and what amp to buy, hard to narrow down when one person says its not good and another say its good, i was looking at the emotiva XPA-7 Gen 3 but that Buckeye seems to be better or am i wrong? I'm assuming I should be going for a class A/B or class A amp?

 

[Cos]

If you have a Cinema 40, it has unbalanced pre outs only. The Buckeye amp has only balanced XLR. The interconnects would need to be unbalanced to balanced.

Welcome to Audioholics! If everyone had the same opinion this would be a very boring site. We all have different gear and different opinions.

• Any of the amps suggested made by ATI (ATI, Monoprice, some Outlaw) would be good choices because ATI has been doing amps forever and know what they are doing
• Buckeye is a newer company to the mix, he is on www.audiosciencereview.com quite often, his amps measure well
• Emotiva, there is a lot of people who have issues here with the gear, but others that swear by it.

In general, I am of the belief that most well built amps will sound the same, or close enough that you will not be able to hear a difference. I suggested Class D more because it produces less heat, is lighter than your typical Class AB amps, and as in the case of my ATI, DEAD silent. Warranty and support are equally important.

Buckeye has a solid reputation on the ASR site in supporting its customers and has a very low entry point with a very solid spec'd amp, which given you desire to purchase a lower cost amp, should be part of your list for consideration IMO

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It amazes me the different opinions in here regarding what to amp and what amp to buy, hard to narrow down when one person says its not good and another say its good…

Welcome to your life. There’s no turning back…

Every time I see a difference of opinion or anything that causes any degree of stress to us, I always think about the beginning lyrics of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Some people won’t touch one brand with a 10-foot pole. Others would love that same brand.

You ask one question, you get 10 different answers about one thing. That means you might do a lot more research. Welcome to your life.

 

[Altyros]

I wouldn't throw Class D amps out of bed. The Buckeye amps Peng suggest are legit well reviewed. The price per $ spent is really hard to beat. They only challege is that you would need balanced to unbalanced interconnects.

I would also just focus on the LRC speakers, it does not make sense for surround as others have stated. I am very happy with the ATI Amp I am using and even more happy with the 7 year warranty I get with it. That being said I am also happy with the Parasounds. My Personas are pretty sensitive speakers, and while the Parsounds to me sounded just as good, I was experiencing slight tweeter buzz from them. (Could not hear more than 2 feet away). It was enough to make me switch.

Any suggestions for balanced to unbalanced interconnects?

 

[Altyros]

Couldn't I just use 8 of the following cables going from the marantz preouts to the buckeye?

RCA to XLR-Male Cable | Made from Mogami 2549 & Amphenol Gold & Neutrik Gold Connectors | Pro Audio LA