New to amps..

[MikeMyers]

I have always relied on my receiver to push my speakers, but I am now thinking of going with some amps, especially since the Emotiva a-100 is so affordable, and it will take the strain off my receiver,correct?...Do I hook them up the same way as a car amp??..(receiver to amp,then amp to speakers)..and if so, why do the inputs look like rca connections??
Yes, I am a total noob to amps

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by MikeMyers

I have always relied on my receiver to push my speakers, but I am now thinking of going with some amps, especially since the Emotiva a-100 is so affordable, and it will take the strain off my receiver,correct?...Do I hook them up the same way as a car amp??..(receiver to amp,then amp to speakers)..and if so, why do the inputs look like rca connections??
Yes, I am a total noob to amps

your receiver has to have pre-outs for the speakers you want to offload to an external amp, check your receiver and it should say "pre-outs" and it should equal the number of speakers/channels in your main setup. don't get it confused with "zone" speakers, they are different.

it's a little tricky with the a-100 because it's kind of an IA because it has a volume control on it so, calibrating it will be tricky. if you were using a pair of standalone speakers, then that amp would be great. you can use the volume control on the a-100 kinda like a "trim/gain" control after the receivers trim/main volume controls.

it would help if you mentioned what brand/model receiver you have and your speaker brand/model too. good luck.

[solarrdadd]

i have a miniX amp from emotiva, i use it in my office 2 channel stereo rig and use it as it was designed, as a IA (of sorts) and it's perfect. i feed the output of my iFi iDSD DAC to it and from the miniX out to my Monitor 10 speakers; works perfectly. i have a A/B selector switch to go between the DAC and my work PC out to the miniX amp. volume is controlled at the amp, that's why i say it's a IA. here's a shot.

office audio gear 2.jpg

[MikeMyers]

Got it!!..Thanks a lot for your help/input...I just bought a Yamaha RX-V577 for my new set up and it doesn't look like it has the pre-outs, so I will just stick with the receiver for now...I was mainly just looking for something, for a little extra power,when I listen to music on the main speakers (polk monitor 70)

[bigshot]

What makes you think that you don't have enough power? Are you not able to turn the volume up loud enough?

[MikeMyers]

Originally Posted by bigshot

What makes you think that you don't have enough power? Are you not able to turn the volume up loud enough?

I'm sure it will be plenty "loud" enough, I was just wondering if I could get a richer, cleaner sound, with an external amp powering them, versus the receiver, while taking some of the load off of the receiver

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by MikeMyers

I'm sure it will be plenty "loud" enough, I was just wondering if I could get a richer, cleaner sound, with an external amp powering them, versus the receiver, while taking some of the load off of the receiver

In many cases you will definitely experience that, however you need to buy something with significant horsepower and quality. I doubt you'd accomplish that with the Emotiva Mini-X-A-100.

[MikeMyers]

Another couple questions...I'm getting ready to buy a newer style turntable (Audio Technica AT-LP60USB) and it has a USB output..can I plug this into the usb port on the receiver, or is that mainly for downloading to the computer?
Also, can I get something like this below, to run a set of bookshelves directly from the turntable?
http://www.amazon.com/Lepai-LP-2020A...GQT9EHSX7K6V65

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by MikeMyers

Another couple questions...I'm getting ready to buy a newer style turntable (Audio Technica AT-LP60USB) and it has a USB output..can I plug this into the usb port on the receiver, or is that mainly for downloading to the computer?
Also, can I get something like this below, to run a set of bookshelves directly from the turntable?
http://www.amazon.com/Lepai-LP-2020A...GQT9EHSX7K6V65

Those turntables are usually connected to your PC, so one can digitize the vinyl on the fly. It comes with software to do so.

What turntable do you have now?

[MikeMyers]

NONE ...I sold the ones I had a long time ago, but now I'm really digging the new vinyl that's out and want to get back into it..my receiver has no phono input, so I was trying to go a cheaper route, than having to buy a separate receiver, just for the turntable

[Mr.Poindexter]

Another option is to buy a phono stage preamp, which will allow you to hook a phonograph up to any receiver input.

[superpacman]

Have you looked into the Pro-Amps?

Such as the one here at sweetwater for $149.99, and with free shipping.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NU1000


There is a thread here on forum that talks about pro-amps.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=210902