Receiver with Martin Logan Preface and Encore

[20Glove]

Hello all,

I have just purchased an all around great set of Martin Logan Speakers. For a great price. I have the 2 Preface's up front with the remaining 5 speakers being the Encore Tf's. The Encores are rated at 100W in 4ohm. The Prefaces are rated at 200W in 4ohm.

I have a Onkyo TX-NR3007 receiver that appears to run these speakers but does heat up this receiver more than my previous Infinty Interlude speakers.

It is certified to run 4ohms... and it the literature it says it runs it at 200W in 4ohm x 7 speakers.

I am wondering if I should or would it be beneficial to get the Emotiva UP-A7 to run my speakers and put less stress on the Onkyo which I use for a lot of other things like switching and all my inputs go into this... turntable, ps3, xbox, nakamichi cassetter player, onkyo cd player, denon blu ray player, wii, sony sacd player. I also use a lot of the networking features as well.

So I do not want to get rid of the Onkyo by any means... it sounds fantastic. I went from Denon 4308 to this and the sound to me is better as it was with my infinity's. I then listened to the 4310 versus the 3007 versus the Yamaha 3900 versus the Pioneer Elite SC-27 at my local shop and in blind tests 3 visits and 3 different salesman and having them switch back and forth 5 times blindly with the Martin Logan set up... the 3007 blew the 4310 and 3900 out of the water... the closeness of the SC27 and 3007 were minimal but I did always rank the 3007 better. Plus the Onkyo was rated at 4ohm. BTW what happened to Denon with the 10 models?

Anyway... I love my 3007... I was thinking of upgrading to the 5007 actually but then I came across the emotiva and the reviews are awesome.

1) I was wondering if I get the Emotiva will that put less pressure on the Onkyo? Or can I not even hook that up to the Onkyo.

2) Will I hear a difference if the Emotiva were running the speakers?

3) Is the Emotiva in 4ohm too strong for the encore's which at rated at 100w in 4ohm? Emotiva is 185 x 7 in 4 ohm

4) Or should I go with the 5007 which has the Toridial Transformer and 5 extra watts of power per channel and not go with the Emotiva?

With that said... if I go with the Emotiva or upgrade to the 5007 they will basically be about $50 difference in price so that does not bother me.

Let me know your thoughts and I apologize if this post is out there already.

Review coming on the 3007 soon.

Thank you!

 

[jostenmeat]

If you have the upgrade itch, don't do the 5007 if its improved feature set does nothing for you. Definitely go for the outboard amp.

Something you can consider is an amp just for the mains, or the front three. The surround speakers are very rarely pushed, and even when they are, they typically are placed much closer to the listener (SPL decreases exponentially with distance). Lastly, since the front three stress the amp the most, that load being lifted from your 3007 may allow it to more freely power your surrounds, depending (has to do with power supply vs limitation of each amp channel, as taught to me by PENG).

 

[20Glove]

If you have the upgrade itch, don't do the 5007 if its improved feature set does nothing for you. Definitely go for the outboard amp.

Something you can consider is an amp just for the mains, or the front three. The surround speakers are very rarely pushed, and even when they are, they typically are placed much closer to the listener (SPL decreases exponentially with distance). Lastly, since the front three stress the amp the most, that load being lifted from your 3007 may allow it to more freely power your surrounds, depending (has to do with power supply vs limitation of each amp channel, as taught to me by PENG).

Thank you so much for your information. I do not really have the upgrade bug as I just received the Onkyo for Xmas. So only 2 months old.

I just plan on having this system for a long time and I do not want to stress it where it will shut down after 2-3 years.

1) So are you saying, that I could get the lower Emotiva the one that runs the front 3 channels... and then let the Onkyo run the rears?

2) Also the Onkyo has 9 channels... available for 2 front speakers.... The towers and then either wide or high... I plan on running the high fronts as soon as I get the basement done... which is end of March.

If that is the case should I get the 5 channel Emotiva and again put the 4 fronts and one center on the Emotiva and then run the 4 rears through the Onkyo? This will not over work the Onkyo?

Let me know.

Thank you again!

 

[jostenmeat]

How far are your ears to the surround speakers? What is the level you listen at, assuming you've calibrated? In most setups, I wouldn't worry about using your receiver to power the surrounds. In fact, your center is probably just fine off the receiver. But, I'd worry about powering that before any of your surrounds.

Hm. If it was me, and I had to buy from Emotiva (which I'll probably never do), I'd try the XPA3. I bet that will be quite more than enough for your situation.

In fact, it still might sound pretty darn good without buying another amp at all. It sort of depends on how hard you will drive the system. Enthusiasts, even here, will listen at drastically different levels. I have a full blown dedicated HT, and my source/inputs are defaulted at -10, and that's usually just plenty for me.

So, why don't you find out your levels. Try using the receiver, see how it sounds. Then try adding a 3ch amp, or even 2ch amp for the Prefaces only, and see how that sounds. If no difference, you can return it.

I have a large NAD 7ch amp, but if I did it all over again, I might have bunches of 2ch amps, most likely pro amps. Since I use a receiver as pre/pro atm, I'd probably just get a 3ch amp like I am perhaps advising here.

 

[20Glove]

How far are your ears to the surround speakers? What is the level you listen at, assuming you've calibrated? In most setups, I wouldn't worry about using your receiver to power the surrounds. In fact, your center is probably just fine off the receiver. But, I'd worry about powering that before any of your surrounds.

Hm. If it was me, and I had to buy from Emotiva (which I'll probably never do), I'd try the XPA3. I bet that will be quite more than enough for your situation.

In fact, it still might sound pretty darn good without buying another amp at all. It sort of depends on how hard you will drive the system. Enthusiasts, even here, will listen at drastically different levels. I have a full blown dedicated HT, and my source/inputs are defaulted at -10, and that's usually just plenty for me.

So, why don't you find out your levels. Try using the receiver, see how it sounds. Then try adding a 3ch amp, or even 2ch amp for the Prefaces only, and see how that sounds. If no difference, you can return it.

I have a large NAD 7ch amp, but if I did it all over again, I might have bunches of 2ch amps, most likely pro amps. Since I use a receiver as pre/pro atm, I'd probably just get a 3ch amp like I am perhaps advising here.

Thank you for all the information. I have it hooked up to the 3007 and it sounds fantastic. The speakers are just starting to break in... I have had these hooked up for last two weeks and the receiver and speakers together have been working about 72-73 hours. So they sound FANTASTIC!! I am hearing sounds in music that I have never heard before. Truly impressed.

But when I work the speakers and receiver together the receiver runs a lot hotter than when the receiver was working my infinity interludes. A lot hotter. I usually play about 2-3 hours at a time. Sometimes on the weekends between music, games, and movies... about 5-6 hours in one sitting (b/c I am trying to break the speakers in: they take 90-120 hours according to Martin Logan).

So my only 2 concerns are:

1) Over working the Onkyo 3007. I mean I know it says it is going to get hot and b/c of the heat sinks in there it should be alright... but still, ya know.

2) If I do go with separate amp will I lose any sound? And will it take some of the workload from the Onkyo perserving the life of the 3007.

Let me know. Again thank you for all your assistance. I could also get the 2 channel amp from Onkyo if you think that running the center is not an issue.

Ok checked through my settings... I calibrated it with 6 different listening points and it set my front speakers at 8ft and center at 7ft. The fronts are set at -3.5 for right.. and -4.0 for left... center is set at -2.

The surrounds are 2ft on the left and 3ft on right. they are set at -6 and -7 respectively.

We are finishing our basement and it should be done end of this month. When I move everything down the basement, front and centers will be about 10-12 ft from the listening area. Surrounds will be on the walls.

So when I move to the bigger area... I will be pushing the speakers a bit more. Right now when I listen I listen at between -25 and -20 for music... -30 and -25 for games... -15 and -8 for movies and tv.

With those numbers the receiver is running a lot hotter. What happens when I turn those number up in the bigger area? That is really what I am worried about.

Let me know. Again, thank you for all your insight.

 

[AVRat]

You definitely want to off-load the load of the front three speakers to a separate amp like the Emo XPA-3. As JM mentioned, the 3007 should then be just fine powering the others as their needs are not as demanding.

 

[nacz3]

Sorry for the lack of links: first post.

Here's a good Martin Logan forum also:
www martinloganowners com/forum

With the Encore as your center, I think the XPA-3 is a little overkill, you''ll probably be okay with a UPA-2 for your fronts or going with a UPA-7 all around instead. (Unless you get the bug to upgrade to ESL fronts and centers, but I think even then, the UPA-7 is your best option vs the XPA line for your setup). From reading your sign, you have a 7 speaker setup, how do you like it with the Encores? Do you notice any difference between 5.1 and 7.1 really?

How is the 3007 handling the Encores? I would think it would be okay.

Many Martin Logan owners like Sunfire but now that Emotiva has come along, it is also gaining a following. I bought my setup back in 2003 and did a side by side with a B&K 507 and the Sunfire Receiver. I really liked the B&K but man did it run hot and I just couldn't get it to sound as good as the Sunfire did, even with all it's adjustments. I have a Martin Logan system with Ascent fronts, Cinema Center, Scenario side surrounds and Descent subwoofer. I looked at the encores for my back surrounds to go 7.1. I've been using a Sunfire Ultimate Receiver (200Wx7) and should be getting a UMC-1 today (hopefully) and using the Sunfire as an amplifier only with the 8 channel inputs.

There are several UPA-2s for sale on Emotiva's forums below and you might be able to pick up a used UPA-5 to pair with it or a UPA-7 there too. Look often as used Emotiva amps seem to go quick. I've been looking for a XPA-5 or XPA-2 there.

emotivalounge proboards com/index.cgi?board=emporium