Help getting back into HT (1 Viewer)

[Sean Humphreys]

Good day fellas. My name is Sean. I am new to the forums but not new to HT. Anyway. Here is my question. I am just starting a home theater again. I have had many nice systems over the years. So far i have a Pioneer Elite VSX-21txh klipsch RF-62 II mains. Klipsch R-12SW subwoofer. My center and rears are just cheap samsungs out of an old home theater in a box. These will get upgraded in time. But i use my system for 2 channel music more than anything. Which leads to the question. I am thinking my next purchess will be a stereo power amp and run it off my pre outs on my receiver to power the mains. Or am i just better off upgrading my receiver. I dont plan on atmos anytime soon. And regardless. The end goal is to run my mains off a seperate amp. New receiver or not. Its just what order to buy this stuff in. Again i have and use full 7.1. But i rarely watch movies and i dont listen to music in anything but stereo. As far as the amp goes. I know amps can get stupid expensive. That said. My vsx-21txh+ say a 5-800amp for the mains or just spend it on a better newer receiver.

 

[DaveF]

You can buy a stereo amplifier like an Emotiva for a relatively cheap and easy upgrade. You've got good full range speakers and a sub, and a good receiver with pre-outs.
https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/a-300

But it depends on your budget. You could upgrade your tower speakers to better speakers. You could upgrade your receiver to some even higher quality, maybe even get pre-pro, and add the amplifier.

As for power, I don't think you'll really benefit from 400W/ch for stereo listening. With quality speakers at a normal listening distance and normal listening levels, ~100W/ch I think will do you very well.

 

[Sean Humphreys]

Yeah i agree. I wouldnt get an amp with any more than 100-150wpc at 8 ohm. I dont have the biggest room for anymore than that. It would be more for the sound quality improvement. Not that my pioneer sounds bad. But an external amp should sound better? I know Emotiva makes a good amp. And they have the price tag to prove it. So is getting a $500-$800 stereo amp to run my mains worth it? Or just stick with my receiver. And spend that $$ elsewhere.

 

[Sean Humphreys]

DaveF i replied before i looked at the link to that Emotiva amp. Thats a very reasonible price tag as well. I thought Emotiva amps started at like $3k. I will be researching said amp. Thank you for your post. If you can suggest any other brands i should check out at that price point and comparable quality. I would say looks of the amp is kind of important too. My equipment is very visible in my room.

 

[Dave Moritz]

While I do not currently own an Emotiva amplifier I have to agree that they are a great bang for the buck amplifier and very good sound and performance. And I love that they build them here in the USA! Yes you can run a stereo amp off your receiver to favor stereo music. Another idea you might consider is running a 3 channel amplifier that would work great if your also going to watch movies in surround and it will give your surrounds more headroom. But when listening to stereo sources you will get more punch to your stereo speakers with the third channel not being used. The only concern I would have is what receiver do you have and what is the output of the rca left and right? Not all receivers are built equal and not all receivers are build with enough output voltage to properly drive a amplifier to full power. I to had a Pioneer Elite SC-05 which now powers bookshelf speakers and has my pc hooked up to it. If everything goes well on my side while I do have a Marantz SR-8012 I am looking to run a three channel power amp for my set up as I do listen to two channel vinyl and surround sound. So my last upgrade I am looking at a Emotiva power amp!

 

[Dave Moritz]

What did you end up doing?