What good are amps?

[blushiz]

I never understood why people get bi amps for their setup. I heard brands like emotiva/etc. before, but I was never told what they do.

I have a small mini amp for my mp3 player, but the only thing I've heard it do is give more power to turn it up louder. Is that all? $600 for that?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by blushiz

I never understood why people get bi amps for their setup. I heard brands like emotiva/etc. before, but I was never told what they do.

I have a small mini amp for my mp3 player, but the only thing I've heard it do is give more power to turn it up louder. Is that all? $600 for that?

What's a small mini amp?
Please provide more details so we can help you answer your inquiry!

[coolmilo]

Why do you care about amps? You have a receiver.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

Why do you care about amps? You have a receiver.

He's obviously interested in finding out why some people choose to use different equipment and why they do it. You know, like the benefits seperate componants are able to provide.

[JimShaw]

I also have wondered why amps are needed.

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

I also have wondered why amps are needed.

Well some speakers require enormous amounts of power. My dad has a pair of Paradigm S8's. The can handle up to 500 watts No Reciever is going to drive those things efficiently, so you would definitely need an external Amp that has that sort of power to drive them.

Luckly he has the Anthem P2 and P5 to drive his Paradigm setup, but seperate amps definitely come with a cost. Just those two alone cost $7500 respectively. So to some people speakers that dont need external amps is a life saver haha.

[Big Daddy]

Advantages of Receivers

• A receiver consists of three components: preamp (all the switching is done there), Tuner (AM/FM), and an Amplifier.
• Receivers are convenient.
• Receivers are affordable.
• Receivers take less space.

Disadvantages of Receivers

• In a receiver, the three components mentioned above share the same power supply, circuits, etc.
• Many compromises in the design of receivers.
• Receivers have less power than amplifiers (less than 170 watts).
• Receivers may not be able to drive high quality, large, and inefficient speakers.
• Most receivers may have difficulty driving 4 ohm speakers.
• Audio quality is not as good as separates.
• They have less headroom and may clip faster.
• May generate too much heat.

Advantages of Amplifiers

• Amplifiers have their own higher-quality power supply.
• Amps do not share their parts with any other components.
• Generally speaking, amplifiers have more wattage. Some can handle 500 watts or more.
• They have a lot more headroom.
• They can easily drive 4 ohm speakers.
• Audio quality is much better.
• Can mix and match with speakers and other components.
• You can brag more.

Disadvantage of Amplifiers

• They are less convenient.
• You normally need to buy three components to do the job of one receiver.
• The combination of three components take more space.
• They are more expensive.
• Your electric bill may run higher.
• Setup can be more complex.

My Denon receiver is a high-end receiver with a price list of $2,400. However, I only use the preamp portion and the built-in audio codecs of the receiver. I use separate amplifiers to drive all my speakers. Even my subwoofers are passive and are driven by separate amplifiers. I have done some testing with the receiver versus amplifier. The audio quality of the amplifiers is significantly better. They have never clipped, but I have blown a few speakers. Last month, my electric bill was close to $500.

[petenad]

http://www.digitalamp.com/Cherry_amp2.htm

Anyone know anything about these guys??

[ArkGuy]

If someone already has bought one of the newer HDMI equipped receivers, like the Onkyo x05's, x06's, etc. with pre-outs, but is now wanting to stick their toe into the water regarding seperates, you can always look for a good quality used amp and connect it to your receiver via the pre-outs. If you like what you hear, you can later sell the receiver to help pay for seperate tuner and pre/pro.

That's one reason I opted for the 705 instead of the 605 (well, the pre-outs plus an extra HDMI input and a phono input). I knew I could get a good condition B&K 2 channel 200 watt amp for $200. I listen to a lot of stuff two-channel. The B&K powers my M.A. left and right channels via the pre-out connections. My matching center is plugged directly to the receiver, which does a fine job with all the new codecs, the switching, etc. for home theater.

Anyway, just another option to think about. If you are willing to roll the dice little, you can find some good quality used equipment.

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by petenad

http://www.digitalamp.com/Cherry_amp2.htm

Anyone know anything about these guys??

I have never heard of them. And $6000 is a lot!! For $1500 more I could get the top of the line Anthem Statement P2 and P5 together.

Now these are amps :

[petenad]

Originally Posted by DBlackGT

I have never heard of them. And $6000 is a lot!! For $1500 more I could get the top of the line Anthem Statement P2 and P5 together.

Now these are amps :

Believe me DBlackGt I would jump at Anthem in a heartbeat. I've read what your dad has ..........I think the Onkyo905 and using that as a pre amp? Not sure though I also own the 905 and have been through the Anthem home site looking to see what I could run off my 905 ............however being married and feeding kids seems to get in the way

[rkolinski]

Well, I use my Onkyo TX-SR705 as a preamp/processor and only use the back L&R channels of the amplifier section of the receiver. The remainder of my 5 channels are driven by an Emotiva 5-channel amplifier. Lastly, I have 2 powered subwoofers to add to the mix! Hope this helps because there are many ways to do a nice sounding setup and I think my system sounds really awesome for both movies and music!

__________________________________________________ _____

My modest system:

Belkin AP30800fc10 Battery Backup to protect lamp in Projection TV; Definitive Technology: C-1, Powerfield 1500 Subwoofer x 2 ea., BP-10 x 2 ea., BP-2 x 2 ea & BP-2x x 2 ea.; Dish VIP 622 DVR; Anchor Bay/DVDO iScan VP50PRO Video Processor; Emotiva XPA-5 5-Channel Amplifier; Ethereal EM-HDMI2 cable throughout; JVC HRS-S5901U S-VHS Recorders x 2 ea.; Monster Power HTS3500; MSB: ADD-1; Digital Director & DAC; Onkyo TX-SR705 Receiver; Oppo DV-980H Upscaling DVD Player; Panamax Max1000+; Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-Ray Player; Pioneer CLD-D707 & CLD-D606 Laser Disc Players; Radient Select-4ce HDMI Switcher; Rega P5 Turntable w/PSU Power; Sony: KDS60A3000 60" Projection HDTV , DTC-A6DAT Deck, SL-HF2000 Super Beta Recorders x 2 ea. & PS3; and, Zektor MAS-3 x 2 ea. (All with latest DSP and firmware updates).