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Does size matter? (1 Viewer)

aceinc

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I currently have a 7.1 system configured as follows; (electronics wise)

1 - Marantz AV7704 Sound processor.
2 - Emotiva XPA-1 Gen 1 (Front L/R speakers)
1 - Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 1 (Surrounds)
1 - Emotiva XPA-3 Gen 1 (Center & rears)

I am about to add in ceiling mounted height speakers. One option to drive these speakers is a Sherbourn 5/1500 of which I would use 4 channels for the 4 height speakers. I own this amplifier, and it is sitting in my garage.

As you might imagine that would be a fairly large and heavy assemblage of equipment. It would mean something, probably my Blu-Ray player, DVR & other assorted electronics would need to come out of the "credenza" and sit on top of my center channel speaker so the Sherbourn would fit inside.

An alternative would be to sell my Sherbourn and my Emotiva XPA-3 replacing them with a Monoprice Monolith 7.

The question alluded to by the title is, what, if anything would be lost (or gained) sound wise by downsizing from ~150 lbs of amplifiers to ~93 lbs of amplifier?

I realize this is an over simplification and the pros and cons could take up a page or two, but I was hoping for some feedback from some folks who may have experience with this sort of dilemma.

I suspect I could sell the two amps I have for $600-$900 and buy the Monoprice for $1,599. Out of pocket would be ~$800-$900 which, being the penurious person I would prefer to avoid.
 
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JohnRice

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It depends heavily on what speakers you are using.

But, a Monolith 7 is probably overkill for surround/Atmos. I'd think along the lines of Emotiva A-5175 or Outlaw 5000.

Do NOT put a disc player on top of any speaker. Definitely not the way to go.
 
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aceinc

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Rather than the A-5175, I may as well use my existing Sherbourn, which is a 5 channel by 200 watt amp. The purpose of the Monolith is to get 7 channels in one package so everything will fit in the cabinet.

Regarding putting equipment on the center channel, I could build legs for the center channel and raise it closer to the bottom of the wall mounted TV, I suppose. The center channel has ports in the back so I can't get too close to the wall.

The height speakers are 89 DB efficient, I believe.
 

JohnRice

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I'm sometimes ridiculed by some around here for recommending better external amps, and more & better power, so I think I've let it influence what I say. The fact is, you have this stuff already. I'd absolutely find a way to use it. It seems like you'll have a spare amp channel, so what I'd do is power the L&R with the XPA-1s and bridge the XPA-2 to drive the center. Then use the XPA-3 and Sherbourne to drive everything else.
 

aceinc

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Interesting thought... My center channel is DIY I designed and built it myself as are my L&R and Rears, and it is fairly efficient. It has 12 drivers. I tend to over design things, so bridging the XPA-2 would be fun.

The OCD in me says, "but wait, I would need to drive one of my pairs with a channel from one amp and a channel from another." My logical side says, "but they are just individual amplifier channels and it shouldn't matter." If I do it, I will probably make one of the height pairs from different amplifiers since my sense is they will have the least impact if there is a slight difference.

BTW, My L&R are open baffle with dual 12" servo controlled woofers in each one (375 watts per side). I also have a 15" servo controlled sub. The other night I was watching the Matrix and had the remote in my hand with my finger over the volume control I got engrossed in the movie and gripped the remote tight and scared the crap out of myself when I & the volume went through the roof. Sounded real clear but quite loud.
 

JohnRice

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Yeah, you will have one pair driven from different amps, BUT, you will gain more synergy across the front three, and that is more important. Between the two options, I'd go with synergy across the front. Because... what you're not considering now is that the front three, which are like a "pair" are currently "mismatched". I'd argue that if you are going to be OCD, having the front three powered by (2) XPa-1s and a bridged XPA-2 is a LOT more synergistic than having the L&R powered by XPA-1s and the center by one channel of an XPA-3. The fact is, the XPA-3 and the Sherbourne are more alike than the XPA-1s are to the XPA-3.
 

JohnRice

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Another note, there is probably a gain difference between the Emotiva and the Sherbourne, so the levels you set for the pair that's split between might seem to have a greater level difference than it should. that's just the difference between the two amps' gain.
 

Dave Moritz

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1 - Marantz AV7704 Sound processor.
2 - Emotiva XPA-1 Gen 1 (Front L/R speakers)
1 - Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 1 (Surrounds)
1 - Emotiva XPA-3 Gen 1 (Center & rears)

So correct me if I am wrong in figuring this out. Your using two amps for your left and right. Are they bridged mono or are they just mono amps? Then your using one amp for surrounds. Are you powering all surrounds with the one amp? Because you show rears on another amplifier? And where does the Sherbourn fit in?

Personally I would not run a single 7 channel in your case. Sure it shrinks your footprint down for equipment but you would be using a single power supply to power all your amplifiers to push your speakers! I would have run a three channel amplifier for your L, C, R channels then a four channel amp for your surrounds. According to your first post you have 4 Emotiva power amps so not sure where the Sherbourn fits in. I would also use the same power for your front channels and you honestly do not need the same power and can get away with less power for your surrounds.
 

JohnRice

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So correct me if I am wrong in figuring this out. Your using two amps for your left and right. Are they bridged mono or are they just mono amps? Then your using one amp for surrounds. Are you powering all surrounds with the one amp? Because you show rears on another amplifier? And where does the Sherbourn fit in?

Personally I would not run a single 7 channel in your case. Sure it shrinks your footprint down for equipment but you would be using a single power supply to power all your amplifiers to push your speakers! I would have run a three channel amplifier for your L, C, R channels then a four channel amp for your surrounds. According to your first post you have 4 Emotiva power amps so not sure where the Sherbourn fits in. I would also use the same power for your front channels and you honestly do not need the same power and can get away with less power for your surrounds.
Dave, I can answer some of your questions. The Emotiva XPA amps indicate how many channels they are in the name. XPA-1 is one channel, XPA-2 is two and so on. I looked up that Sherbourne Amp, and it's a beast. It's essentially five monoblocks in a single housing. Each channel is a module with it's own power supply, so no shared power supplies. And that Monoprice amp has dual power supplies. It looks to me like one powers 4 channels and the other powers 3, and it is designed for a 20 amp circuit.
 

aceinc

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Well I bit the bullet and cut holes in the ceiling. Running the wire was fun, but my handy wife helped and we "got 'er done."

At present I am using the 4 channels of the Sherbourne for the ceiling speakers with one channel not powering anything.

John R is correct in the way everything is laid out;

2-XPA-1 Single channel mono blocks driving my fronts.
1-XPA-2 Stereo amp each channel driving a surround.
1-XPA-3 Three channel amp driving center and rear channels.
1-5/1500 Five channel amp four channels in use driving the 4 ceiling speakers.

Good thing I installed a 10KW solar array a year or so ago.

Now all I am waiting on is the Sony UBP-X800M2 to get everything running the way I want.
 

JohnRice

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So you decided to just keep the amps you have? That's what I would have done.
 

aceinc

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So you decided to just keep the amps you have? That's what I would have done.
Yeah, I built a cradle for my center channel raising it up ~9 inches and moved the AV7704 to the top under the center channel, and put the Sherbourne down in the cabinet.
 

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