7.1.4 receiver/amp help

[Atomic4877]

I am currently in the process of moving from a 5.1.4 setup to a 7.1.4 system. I had a question on which channels I off my av receiver (Denon X6500H) and which channels I should run off my external amplifier (Emotiva A-5175). Currently in my 5.1.4 system I have my front left, right and center channels running out of the Emotiva and the remainder (left/right surround and 4 height atmos channels) running out of my X6500H. I currently have following speakers Klipsch RP-8000F for L/R, Rp-504C for Center channel, RP-5000M for rear surrounds and the RP-500SA’s for my front and rear height channels. I am adding the RP-502S for my side surrounds. I am torn between whether it would be better to run the new RP-502S off the external amp and thus using all 5 channels on it, or to run them off the X6500H which would be running 8 total speakers at that point. I was not sure if it would be best to leave most power running to the L/C/R channels by only running 3 channels, or to run them off the Emotiva and freeing up some headroom for the Denon.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Atomic4877

I am currently in the process of moving from a 5.1.4 setup to a 7.1.4 system. I had a question on which channels I off my av receiver (Denon X6500H) and which channels I should run off my external amplifier (Emotiva A-5175). Currently in my 5.1.4 system I have my front left, right and center channels running out of the Emotiva and the remainder (left/right surround and 4 height atmos channels) running out of my X6500H. I currently have following speakers Klipsch RP-8000F for L/R, Rp-504C for Center channel, RP-5000M for rear surrounds and the RP-500SA’s for my front and rear height channels. I am adding the RP-502S for my side surrounds. I am torn between whether it would be better to run the new RP-502S off the external amp and thus using all 5 channels on it, or to run them off the X6500H which would be running 8 total speakers at that point. I was not sure if it would be best to leave most power running to the L/C/R channels by only running 3 channels, or to run them off the Emotiva and freeing up some headroom for the Denon.

Good question as there are potential benefits with both options. My first question is how big is the room, and secondly, how close will the side surrounds be to the rear surrounds?

[Atomic4877]

Originally Posted by gotmule

Good question as there are potential benefits with both options. My first question is how big is the room, and secondly, how close will the side surrounds be to the rear surrounds?

Room is a relatively small living room at 14’ x 16’. The side surrounds and rear surrounds will be about 5’ apart between each side.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Atomic4877

Room is a relatively small living room at 14’ x 16’. The side surrounds and rear surrounds will be about 5’ apart between each side.

With 4 surround speakers in play, my suggestion would be to have the same amplification sent to them in order to have consistent pans through the back of the room. Your 4 surrounds have similar drivers in them, so I would take advantage of that fact and run those off of the receiver. The side surrounds are a bit more efficient than your back surrounds, and running the sides off of the Emotiva would change things up a bit in the back of the room in my mind. Some people say that the rear surrounds don’t do a lot, which I disagree with wholeheartedly. Even on some 5.1 tracks, there are still pans throughout the 4 surround channels if everything is positioned correctly and calibrated. There are also plenty of moments when all 4 are sent similar signals, which is another cool effect. Having the same power to them would help with that as well.

Just my two cents.

You can always try it both ways and see which you prefer though as that wouldn’t take too much effort.

[HomerJay]

I have a Denon AVRX7200WA. When I moved from 7.1 to 7.1.4 I got my old Arcam AVR600 7.1 out of storage. It has a a better amp stage but the HDMI was totally screwed plus it didn’t have Atmos/DTS:X decoding.

My setup is now:
Three Fronts and Sides are driven by my Arcam (all B&W 800 series) with L R bi-amped
Denon does 4 ceilings and two rears
All processing is done by the Denon. Analog preamp outs to Arcam.
Arcam is set to 70 volume. All volume changes controlled by Denon remote.
Denon’s room room correction/EQ etc is used. Disabled EQ on the Arcam.

I have two B&W 800 series subs, both connected to Denon.

It sounds way better than the previous 7.1 system with Denon only.

My system is used primarily for multichannel music, some movies. Full range is a requirement for MCH music as speakers a treated equally in a quality surround mix.

Edit: Recent photo - everything except vinyl played from an Intel NUC via Kodi:

[Atomic4877]

Originally Posted by gotmule

With 4 surround speakers in play, my suggestion would be to have the same amplification sent to them in order to have consistent pans through the back of the room. Your 4 surrounds have similar drivers in them, so I would take advantage of that fact and run those off of the receiver. The side surrounds are a bit more efficient than your back surrounds, and running the sides off of the Emotiva would change things up a bit in the back of the room in my mind. Some people say that the rear surrounds don’t do a lot, which I disagree with wholeheartedly. Even on some 5.1 tracks, there are still pans throughout the 4 surround channels if everything is positioned correctly and calibrated. There are also plenty of moments when all 4 are sent similar signals, which is another cool effect. Having the same power to them would help with that as well.

Just my two cents.

You can always try it both ways and see which you prefer though as that wouldn’t take too much effort.

Thanks for all the help. I am really torn whether the extra power running to the front l/c/r will have more of a benefit/impact or the continuity of having the side and rear surrounds/the heights on the same receiver.

[samlop10]

The great, great majority of sound in films (including 3D audio formats like Atmos) comes from the front speakers (center, left, and right), with the bulk of it coming from the center speaker.

Based on that, my recommendation would be to leave the receiver to handle all the surrounds and heights, and have the amplifier handle the front three (C, R, L).

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Atomic4877

Thanks for all the help. I am really torn whether the extra power running to the front l/c/r will have more of a benefit/impact or the continuity of having the side and rear surrounds/the heights on the same receiver.

No worries, and love the fact that you are thinking about all the details and the best way to setup your system. Your surrounds are pretty close to each other and my mind goes to a potential impact there since it appears as your room is going to used more for movies. If you are like a lot of us and “Sheltering in place”, you have a fun project to kill a day with and try it both ways. Let us know where you land.

[Atomic4877]

Originally Posted by gotmule

No worries, and love the fact that you are thinking about all the details and the best way to setup your system. Your surrounds are pretty close to each other and my mind goes to a potential impact there since it appears as your room is going to used more for movies. If you are like a lot of us and “Sheltering in place”, you have a fun project to kill a day with and try it both ways. Let us know where you land.

I am a perfectionist at heart and like to get things right the first time and my wife hates me tinkering with stuff. I am sheltering as much as possible but am considered an essential employee of a telecommunications company so I have to be at work for my normal schedule. My setup gets used exclusively for movies and tv. All my music playing is handled in another room.

[Scarriere]

Originally Posted by HomerJay

I have a Denon AVRX7200WA. When I moved from 7.1 to 7.1.4 I got my old Arcam AVR600 7.1 out of storage. It has a a better amp stage but the HDMI was totally screwed plus it didn’t have Atmos/DTS:X decoding.

My setup is now:
Three Fronts and Sides are driven by my Arcam (all B&W 800 series) with L R bi-amped
Denon does 4 ceilings and two rears
All processing is done by the Denon. Analog preamp outs to Arcam.
Arcam is set to 70 volume. All volume changes controlled by Denon remote.
Denon’s room room correction/EQ etc is used. Disabled EQ on the Arcam.

I have two B&W 800 series subs, both connected to Denon.

It sounds way better than the previous 7.1 system with Denon only.

My system is used primarily for multichannel music, some movies. Full range is a requirement for MCH music as speakers a treated equally in a quality surround mix.

Edit: Recent photo - everything except vinyl played from an Intel NUC via Kodi:

[Show spoiler]

Jeezus H, that's a sweet set-up!

I agree with the above on amp'ing the front three.
If you feel that you're still lacking, amp the side surrounds.

[RTHef]

Yes.

You can go with an amp that high level inputs and tap right in off your speaker lines into the amp input side and then back out to the speakers. This also depends on how handy you are or if you need a shop to do the work from a budget point of view and knowing where to tap into the BMW factory system.