Need Power Amp or Not?

[blues2uz]

Well, I pulled the trigger and bought the F228 Be's and the C208. For the Surrounds I have four 763s and in the ceiling I have four 563s. I also have two Revel B120s. I will be driving them with a Denon AVR x6400h which is rated at 140 wpc. Everything is still in boxes except the subs which are carryovers. Room construction is about to begin. The room is approximately 22x22 with a 12 ft. ceiling. The room will have a 120" screen so that means the fronts will be about 9.25 feet apart. My question is do I need a power amp to get the power I need for the F228's or will the Denon power them just fine? I can get a good deal on a new Rotel RB 1590 but I don't want to spend the money unnecessarily. If I do need the power amp will I need one to power the center or will the Denon have enough to power the center? Usage will be 50/50 music and HT. All advice is most appreciated.

 

[lovinthehd]

Does it matter to the construction whether you get an amp now or not? I'd wait and set it up once the room's finished and see if something is lacking myself before amp shopping. OTOH it doesn't hurt to take some load off the avr but you might want to power the center as much as the L/R, too. What sound levels are you trying to achieve? Have you tried using an spl calculator to assist? Also, curious as to why you're going to space the L/R based on screen width?

Another thought....I've seen a couple posts over the years where someone buys something, doesn't check it out right away and opens it up later to find they have issues and are beyond simple exchange terms with the seller. I'd certainly at least test gear out on receipt....

ps Congrats on the new speakers.

 

[blues2uz]

Thanks. My reason for speaker spacing is due to the width of the screen. I don't want to block the picture. I'm not to worried as I have bought a lot of gear from this dealer in Nashville and if I have ever had an issue they have made it right. This will be my first true home theater set up, although have he'd some nice set ups in the past. My thought is to have all the necessary equipment ready when I do get the room complete and while I still have some money left.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks. My reason for speaker spacing is due to the width of the screen. I don't want to block the picture. I'm not to worried as I have bought a lot of gear from this dealer in Nashville and if I have ever had an issue they have made it right. This will be my first true home theater set up, although have he'd some nice set ups in the past. My thought is to have all the necessary equipment ready when I do get the room complete and while I still have some money left.

You can space the L/R wider than the screen was my point (general recommendation is an equilateral triangle with your main listening position), but certainly not narrower than the screen (unless maybe the screen takes up the whole wall and you're using an acoustically transparent screen).

Just how good a deal is that amp, tho?

 

[blues2uz]

$1100.00 off of MSRP.

 

[PENG]

Well, I pulled the trigger and bought the F228 Be's and the C208. For the Surrounds I have four 763s and in the ceiling I have four 563s. I also have two Revel B120s. I will be driving them with a Denon AVR x6400h which is rated at 140 wpc. Everything is still in boxes except the subs which are carryovers. Room construction is about to begin. The room is approximately 22x22 with a 12 ft. ceiling. The room will have a 120" screen so that means the fronts will be about 9.25 feet apart. My question is do I need a power amp to get the power I need for the F228's or will the Denon power them just fine? I can get a good deal on a new Rotel RB 1590 but I don't want to spend the money unnecessarily. If I do need the power amp will I need one to power the center or will the Denon have enough to power the center? Usage will be 50/50 music and HT. All advice is most appreciated.

That's a large room and I assume you will be sitting at least 12 feet from the screen. So if you want to listen to sound pressure level comparable to that in a movie theater, you should get that amp for the left, right and center speakers. Even if you listen to spl a few dB below reference, you should still get a 300/500 W (8/4 ohms) WPC rated amp.

https://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

 

[lovinthehd]

$1100.00 off of MSRP.

Still, $2k for a 2ch amp? I'd just get a Crown 2502.

 

[Phase 2]

Get the amp bro! 3 channel for LCR like PENG said. That Denon will driver your surrounds easily!

 

[Verdinut]

I would recommend the QSC DCA 1622 Digital Cinema Series amplifier, a 2 channel unit rated at 300 watts/channel @ 8 ohms/500W @ 4 ohms. You can get two of them for the cost of the Rotel. They are as neutral and clean as the Rotel and you can't kill them. With the second one, you could drive the center speaker which will have to handle as much power if not more than the L/R channels in some movies.

https://www.qsc.com/cinema/products/power-amplifiers/dca-series/dca-1622/

http://www.brucesentertainment.com/QSC_Cinema_Catalog.pdf

If you're interested, PM me and I will find you a store with good prices.

 

[everettT]

I'll second the QSC Cinema Series. Extremely low distortion, good gain structure, AB output stage and lightweight for easy racking. Easily one of the best high output 2ch amps and at $800 delivered (aprox) almost impossible to beat.

 

[Grandzoltar]

Emotiva, monolith, anthem, ati those brands make great 3 channel amps anthem is a bit pricier monolith and ati make solid products for the money.

 

[Grandzoltar]

I’m thinking about Parasound a23+ 2 channel for the left and right to relieve some wattage on my x3400.

 

[Phase 2]

Adcom, Parrsound, now if your big money grip? Pass Lab, Krell, oh Macintosh!! Cool looking gear..

 

[Grandzoltar]

Parasound a23+ 1495. Adcom 1299. That’s not far from 800

 

[Grandzoltar]

Adcom 555se. The 585se you pay premium for sure

 

[Grandzoltar]

You can get the predecessor Parasound a23 for 800

 

[Phase 2]

I like the 23 Parasound.. it's 125 x 2 @8 Ohms. I'm sure the headroom is good.

 

[PENG]

I’m thinking about Parasound a23+ 2 channel for the left and right to relieve some wattage on my x3400.

I like the Halo amps too, and own one. The A23+ is not much more powerful than the x3400h though, expect 1.5 dB more of clean output at the most. If one needs 3 dB or more headroom, go for the A21/31/51, or the Outlaw, Monolith amps. If on a tighter budget, then the QSC, Crown amps are good options.

 

[Alex2507]

If one needs 3 dB or more headroom,

One needs a fatter wallet.

After having seen only two systems shut down because they were drawing too much power, my thought is that NOBODY needs those last 3db.

Rec'rs easily put out 100w and amps at 200w are still pretty cheap but 3 db above that starts to be kind of expensive and if what I've seen from one and two hundred watts is any indication, that last 3db can only scramble your brains.

I've yet to see a decent system that wasn't 'loud enough' and my personal requirements don't call for amps, yet here they are, laying about, some not even plugged in.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery but I'm just reminded that I want to get my amps pushing something. Surely there is something in here that needs no more power than it has but I want it to have more of what it has no need for. That's it. I'm getting professional help.

 

[Phase 2]

@Alex2507 , Lolo fatter wallets for sure..nice. I had them Big amps, 500 X 2 @ 4Ohms, yeah the only time it was necessary was to the blow the dust off the walls. Other than that it was Overkill. 200 @ 8 Ohms is about most anyone should need.