Question about adding an Amp / bi-amping speakers

[Hoser59]

I'm fairly new to the HT hobby and I recently bought a set of Polk Monitor 70's that can be bi-amped or bi-wired. I am running a 7.0 system (no sub) using a Sony STR DG-720. The receiver is rated at 105w per channel but from what I understand these speakers would benefit from more power (max is 275w per channel). I have read up on bi-amp and it sounds like it might be a good option, but I am unsure of how to work it into my system. I had planned to pick up a 2 ch amp to use in addition to the sony (maybe the Sony STR-DH100 as looks wise it would match nicely) but I want to make sure I understand things properly. This is how I see things working:

PS3
|
| HDMI
|
STR DG-720 ---> One set of binding post on the monitor 70's
|
| use RCA audio outs to connect
|
2 Ch Amp ---> second set of binding posts on 70's

Is this the correct way to do this and can I expect a noticable difference going this route? I can pick up the Sony DH100 fairly cheaply and I think it would look great to have them both stacked in my system. I had read that using two different types or amp could cause problems. Will this work or do I need a pre-amp, or is it even worth it?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

I'm fairly new to the HT hobby and I recently bought a set of Polk Monitor 70's that can be bi-amped or bi-wired. I am running a 7.0 system (no sub) using a Sony STR DG-720. The receiver is rated at 105w per channel but from what I understand these speakers would benefit from more power (max is 275w per channel). I have read up on bi-amp and it sounds like it might be a good option, but I am unsure of how to work it into my system. I had planned to pick up a 2 ch amp to use in addition to the sony (maybe the Sony STR-DH100 as looks wise it would match nicely) but I want to make sure I understand things properly. This is how I see things working:

PS3
|
| HDMI
|
STR DG-720 ---> One set of binding post on the monitor 70's
|
| use RCA audio outs to connect
|
2 Ch Amp ---> second set of binding posts on 70's

Is this the correct way to do this and can I expect a noticable difference going this route? I can pick up the Sony DH100 fairly cheaply and I think it would look great to have them both stacked in my system. I had read that using two different types or amp could cause problems. Will this work or do I need a pre-amp, or is it even worth it?

IMO, it might be worth it, as the receiver you have now is putting out 105 watts per channel (which is probably more around 70-80 watts when powering all 7 channels) and the new amp would push the 70's with 100 watts each. There should be some added clarity and depth, but it might be marginally better at best. However, this is just my opinion and I'm sure others who actually have external amps can give better advice.

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

IMO, it might be worth it, as the receiver you have now is putting out 105 watts per channel (which is probably more around 70-80 watts when powering all 7 channels) and the new amp would push the 70's with 100 watts each. There should be some added clarity and depth, but it might be marginally better at best. However, this is just my opinion and I'm sure others who actually have external amps can give better advice.

That was pretty much my line of thinking. I just need to know if I'm going about it the right way. The last thing I want to do is damage any of my stuff

[arrt vandelay]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

I'm fairly new to the HT hobby and I recently bought a set of Polk Monitor 70's that can be bi-amped or bi-wired. I am running a 7.0 system (no sub) using a Sony STR DG-720. The receiver is rated at 105w per channel but from what I understand these speakers would benefit from more power (max is 275w per channel). I have read up on bi-amp and it sounds like it might be a good option, but I am unsure of how to work it into my system. I had planned to pick up a 2 ch amp to use in addition to the sony (maybe the Sony STR-DH100 as looks wise it would match nicely) but I want to make sure I understand things properly. This is how I see things working:

PS3
|
| HDMI
|
STR DG-720 ---> One set of binding post on the monitor 70's
|
| use RCA audio outs to connect
|
2 Ch Amp ---> second set of binding posts on 70's

Is this the correct way to do this and can I expect a noticable difference going this route? I can pick up the Sony DH100 fairly cheaply and I think it would look great to have them both stacked in my system. I had read that using two different types or amp could cause problems. Will this work or do I need a pre-amp, or is it even worth it?

only problem is, how is the amp going to get the signal from your str-dg720? that model does not have any pre-outs for an external amplifier. the only way it is going to send a signal to your fronts is through its binding posts...

if you're really serious about adding an external amp, you need to update the receiver to a model that has pre-outs...

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by arrt vandelay

only problem is, how is the amp going to get the signal from your str-dg720? that model does not have any pre-outs for an external amplifier. the only way it is going to send a signal to your fronts is through its binding posts...

if you're really serious about adding an external amp, you need to update the receiver to a model that has pre-outs...

This is the part I was most confused about. I had read some about pre-outs but I wasn't entirely sure what thier function was. My receiver does have one set out audio outputs (2 line RCA), what is the purpose of these? I had assumed (incorrectly I suppose) that I could just plug these into the amp to pass the audio through

[arrt vandelay]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

This is the part I was most confused about. I had read some about pre-outs but I wasn't entirely sure what thier function was. My receiver does have one set out audio outputs (2 line RCA), what is the purpose of these? I had assumed (incorrectly I suppose) that I could just plug these into the amp to pass the audio through

without looking at the back of the 720, i'm not sure i can tell you what those RCA's would be for, but i used to have an 820 and unfortunately...no pre-outs...

a pre-out will take the signal of a designated channel(let's use l/r for this example) and instead of sending it to the receiver's internal amplifier for ouput to the speakers, it will send it to an external amplifier. in this case, the l/r binding posts on your receiver will not be receiving any signal, so there is nothing to ouput, their amps have been bypassed. you would connect your speakers to the external amp's binding posts since it is actually receiving the signal...