Adding a pre-amp to Denon-1804 -worth it?

[Zdawg]

Hello-
My system consists of the Denon 1804 along with Boston Acoustic VR965 fronts (which have their own powered sub) Bravo surrounds and a CRC Center Channel. Should/Could I add a pre-amp? What will I gain as opposed to cost? I actually can bring the volume all the way to - 0 and it still sounds pretty clean...If so, what kind of amp do I add

Thanks
Z

[woodman]

Hello-
My system consists of the Denon 1804 along with Boston Acoustic VR965 fronts (which have their own powered sub) Bravo surrounds and a CRC Center Channel. Should/Could I add a pre-amp? What will I gain as opposed to cost? I actually can bring the volume all the way to - 0 and it still sounds pretty clean...If so, what kind of amp do I add

Thanks
Z

For openers, I don't think that your receiver is setup for adding a power amp (that would require it having pre-amp outputs). Further, there's little likelihood of anything to be gained by "adding" a pre-amp. If you're less than totally satisfied with the sound you have now (which it doesn't sound like you are), an "upgrade" of either the speakers or the receiver would be the only ways to improve anything - and the amount of "improvement" that either one of those might provide is likely to be far less than the expenditure would lead you to expect.

Hope this helps you

[mtrycraft]

Hello-
My system consists of the Denon 1804 along with Boston Acoustic VR965 fronts (which have their own powered sub) Bravo surrounds and a CRC Center Channel. Should/Could I add a pre-amp? What will I gain as opposed to cost? I actually can bring the volume all the way to - 0 and it still sounds pretty clean...If so, what kind of amp do I add

Thanks
Z


What are you trying to accomplish?

[Zdawg]

know enough about it. I am not unhappy with my system at all. I am just the type of person that wonders if what I have could be improved. I went to my buddy's house and he has the Denon 2804 (some 2xxx model) and has 2 Adcom Amps, so they must gain him something-heck , maybe I am just "wondering" for nothing. Those VR965's sound preety darn good!!!

[Woochifer]

Hello-
My system consists of the Denon 1804 along with Boston Acoustic VR965 fronts (which have their own powered sub) Bravo surrounds and a CRC Center Channel. Should/Could I add a pre-amp? What will I gain as opposed to cost? I actually can bring the volume all the way to - 0 and it still sounds pretty clean...If so, what kind of amp do I add

Thanks
Z

IMO, that's a lot of investment for what would typically be a subtle improvement in sound quality. Outboard amps give you a slightly cleaner sound, but there are many other changes you should address before you reach that option.

The only instance where an outboard amp might be necessary is if you have difficult speakers all the way around, like inefficient panel speakers or low impedance speakers. A multichannel set of 4 ohm speakers can overload a receiver at relatively moderate levels, especially an entry level model like the 1804. So, a situation like that would probably necessitate connecting an outboard amp to relieve the receiver from having to handle that difficult a load. But, the Boston VR models are not especially demanding speakers, so I don't know how much you'd gain by going with an outboard amp with your speaker setup.

And just so you know, comparisons between different receivers with different speaker sets in different rooms are a terrible indicator for which receiver is better. This is because typically the speakers and the rooms are much more variable in their tonal characteristics than the amp/receivers are. The differences that you noted with your friend's system are much more likely due to the speakers or the room acoustics. If you really want to do a valid comparison, you need to have both receivers in the same room at the same time, powering identical speaker sets at the same levels, and you need to use the same DSP settings.

If you really want to maximize the potential for your system, first you gotta make sure that your system is setup properly to begin with. Speaker placement, setting the correct surround and center channel levels, correcting the delay timing, setting up the bass management correctly, etc. are things you have to get right before you go venturing onto any new purchases. If you decide on any equipment upgrades, the first things you should do are to match the center and surround speakers, and address any issues you might have with your room acoustics. Either of those changes would make a far greater improvement on your system than adding an amp ever can, and those steps can cost a lot less as well.

[mtrycraft]

know enough about it. I am not unhappy with my system at all. I am just the type of person that wonders if what I have could be improved. I went to my buddy's house and he has the Denon 2804 (some 2xxx model) and has 2 Adcom Amps, so they must gain him something-heck , maybe I am just "wondering" for nothing. Those VR965's sound preety darn good!!!


What are you not happy about? Stereo sound? Surround sound? Something else?
Pre amps as that was your original post will do nothing. Your friend has additional external amps, a nice touch but not necessary unless, as stated by woochief, your speakers are a difficult load which they don't appera to be.
It appears you may be wondering for nothing or an appetite to equal your friends setup?