should I get a pre amp?

[mjfoster77]

Hey I'm new to the forum and I'm new to the whole home theater thing. I have a few questions that hopefully you gys can clear up for me.

I quess I'll start with the question and then explain what I have.

Could I / should I get a pre amp for the front 3 speakers. I fell the center channel is under powered, I have to crank it to hear voices in movies.

Ok I have a 5.1 klicpsh set up. I have the RF 15's (floor standing), the RC25 (center channel), and the RS 25 (rear surrounds), and the RW 8 (sub). Which is all powered by my Sony reciever. I'm not sure what kind of wattage it's pushing but I'll check and get that up here, as well as the model.

THanks in advance.

By the way I've been on this site non stop for the past week. I feel like a sponge absorbing all this info... great site

 

[Seth=L]

You mean amplifier right?

What are you powering them with now (receiver)

While Klipsch speakers are pretty efficient, they like to dip in impedance. If you notice lacking bass dynamics and harsh highs at higher levels of output you may need to add amplification. The front left and right take most of the power and the center is a close second. With the receiver's front two channels relieved the Receiver should be fine to power the center and surrounds.

 

[mjfoster77]

Thanks for the quick response. Do you have any suggestions as far as brands and models.

 

[cfrizz]

Hi, you mean Amplifier for more power. You also have to make sure that your receiver has preouts to hook up the amplifier to. If you don't, you will have to get a new receiver first.

I started out with a 2 channel amp, then got a monoblock for my center. If I had known from the start that I would love it so much I would have gotten a 5 channel amp from the get go & been done with it. Which is what I have now.

I always recommend 200wpc for amplification. It will drive any speakers you have now or in the future with ease & you can keep it through all other upgrades to your system.

As for brands I like, Rotel, Parasound, Sunfire, Outlaw (good bang for your buck). There is also Adcom, Nad, B & K.

You will get more for your money if you purchase a used one on Audiogon.

 

[Soundman]

Hi, you mean Amplifier for more power. You also have to make sure that your receiver has preouts to hook up the amplifier to. If you don't, you will have to get a new receiver first.

I started out with a 2 channel amp, then got a monoblock for my center. If I had known from the start that I would love it so much I would have gotten a 5 channel amp from the get go & been done with it. Which is what I have now.

I always recommend 200wpc for amplification. It will drive any speakers you have now or in the future with ease & you can keep it through all other upgrades to your system.

As for brands I like, Rotel, Parasound, Sunfire, Outlaw (good bang for your buck). There is also Adcom, Nad, B & K.

You will get more for your money if you purchase a used one on Audiogon.

Let's mot forget Emotiva.

www.emotiva.com

 

[mjfoster77]

I have a Sony Receiver, (STR-DA2000Es). How will I know if it has Preouts. Will it say it on the back?

 

[no. 5]

I have a Sony Receiver, (STR-DA2000Es). How will I know if it has Preouts. Will it say it on the back?

If this is the receiver you have; it doesn't look like it has pre-outs.

 

[mjfoster77]

Damn yeah that's the receiver I have. Maybe I can mess with the settings to get more out of my center channel. I was looking at new receivers, but I really don't want to spend the money on a new one just yet. My center channel is 125 watts continuous (500 w peak). This receiver should be fine to push it. I'll get reading and see if I can find some settings to mess with.

 

[Nomo]

My first HT receiver was a Sony. (I forget the model) The biggest problem I had with it was lack of dialog thru the center channel. That and it's inabilty to drive my 6 ohm speakers properly.
I'm not familiar with the model that you own, but your symptoms sound the same as mine were.
Overall Sony does not make good audio equipment.
For a bit more than the money than you were intending to spend on an amplifier you could get a receiver that blows that Sony away.

 

[jcPanny]

Sub Upgrade

It sonds like you have a nice Klipsch bookshelf setup and a decent receiver. I doubt that power is the problem with your efficient Klipsch speakers.

You might consider a sub as your next upgrade for significantly better HT performance.

I would also recommend one of the new calibration DVDs (AVIA II or DVE Essentials) and an SPL meter to setup and calibration your gear properly. Check your receiver settings and make sure all of the speakers are set to small and you have a reasonable 80 Hz or 100 Hz crossover with the sub.

 

[mjfoster77]

It sonds like you have a nice Klipsch bookshelf setup and a decent receiver. I doubt that power is the problem with your efficient Klipsch speakers.

You might consider a sub as your next upgrade for significantly better HT performance.

I would also recommend one of the new calibration DVDs (AVIA II or DVE Essentials) and an SPL meter to setup and calibration your gear properly. Check your receiver settings and make sure all of the speakers are set to small and you have a reasonable 80 Hz or 100 Hz crossover with the sub.

Thanks for the reply. I have a sub, but you're saying I need something a little bigger? I think the sub sounds pretty good. The room my setup is in isn't that big, maybe 13 x 13. As far as the crossover, I should set it between 80 hz to 1oo hz. ( that's on the back of the sub right.) I'm sorry for all the questions, I just want to get the most out of the system I have and all this stuff is new to me. I've had this setup for like 3 years and I have to say I loove it. But the home theater bug has bitten me lately. SO I should set allthe speakers tosmall, so the bass only comes from the sub right. OK I'll stopwith all the questions nowyou're probably rolling your eyes by now. Thanks again

 

[no. 5]

As far as the crossover, I should set it between 80 hz to 1oo hz. ( that's on the back of the sub right.)

It is best to set the crossover that is controlled by the knob on the back of the sub as high as it will go (or to "bypass" if available), thereby having only the receiver handle the crossover.

SO I should set allthe speakers tosmall, so the bass only comes from the sub right.

Yep.

And no need to apologies, or stop asking questions.

 

[mjfoster77]

I'll have to look in my owners manual to see if I can set it to bypass. Thanks again.

 

[mjfoster77]

UPDATE:

Ok so I did some reading in the manual and I found that I can turn up (+/_ 10 db) all the speakers seperatly. Does this sound right. I think I read somewhere when you use the test tone all the speakers should sound at the same level (loudness). Should I go by my ear or set them all tot he same db.


I popped a movie in and the speech seems louder to me.

 

[no. 5]

I think I read somewhere when you use the test tone all the speakers should sound at the same level (loudness).

yes.

Should I go by my ear or set them all tot he same db.

Going by ear would be the better choice, however, the intent is to have all the channels the same loudness at the listing position, and the ear isn't that good at measuring an absolute loudness; a SPL meter will guarantee that the settings are correct.

 

[Seth=L]

It sonds like you have a nice Klipsch bookshelf setup and a decent receiver. I doubt that power is the problem with your efficient Klipsch speakers.

You might consider a sub as your next upgrade for significantly better HT performance.

I would also recommend one of the new calibration DVDs (AVIA II or DVE Essentials) and an SPL meter to setup and calibration your gear properly. Check your receiver settings and make sure all of the speakers are set to small and you have a reasonable 80 Hz or 100 Hz crossover with the sub.

Don't forget the impedance dipping factor of Reference series Klipsch, they are touchy.

I am confused by the design of that receiver, it makes no sense. It has TWO multichannel inputs and NO preouts, something is seriously wrong with that especially for an ES receiver. What two sources would have anyone connected to that receiver at the time that receiver was made that would be multichannel sources? SACD is one, what's the other? LMAO

 

[PENG]

Don't forget the impedance dipping factor of Reference series Klipsch, they are touchy.

I am confused by the design of that receiver, it makes no sense. It has TWO multichannel inputs and NO preouts, something is seriously wrong with that especially for an ES receiver. What two sources would have anyone connected to that receiver at the time that receiver was made that would be multichannel sources? SACD is one, what's the other? LMAO

DVD-A could be the other one. By the way the ES models don't get too serious until you get pass the first 2 lower price models. I used to own a STR-DA1ES, along with the 2ES they weighed only 27.5 lbs (12.5 kg). From the 3ES up, they weigh 46 lbs (21 kg).

 

[Seth=L]

DVD-A could be the other one. By the way the ES models don't get too serious until you get pass the first 2 lower price models. I used to own a STR-DA1ES, along with the 2ES they weighed only 27.5 lbs (12.5 kg). From the 3ES up, they weigh 46 lbs (21 kg).

I know about DVD-A, but consider this. Sony likes their proprietary stuff, and have never been much to support other stuff besides what they need or what is their own. Plus, one of the multichannel inputs is for 6.1, what's up with that? It should have been preouts, IMO, it's a waste.

 

[no. 5]

It has TWO multichannel inputs and NO preouts, something is seriously wrong with that especially for an ES receiver.

Sony foresaw an HD media format war: one is for a Blu-ray player, the other for HD DVD.

 

[mjfoster77]

It is best to set the crossover that is controlled by the knob on the back of the sub as high as it will go (or to "bypass" if available), thereby having only the receiver handle the crossover.


Yep.

And no need to apologies, or stop asking questions.

What about Phase? What should that be set at, or does that depend on your eoom and size etc