I Want Better Sound...

[accastil]

Hi, i have an existing Marantz SR5500 receiver but i still want better stereo sound while im listening to music. what should i do? do i have to buy a separate power amp or integrated amp? my speakers are rated 150W at 8ohms. how much wattage of amp should i add-on?

another question. while listening to stereo music? which receiver input is best to use? is it the digital input (coax/optical) or the stereo (L/R) analog inputs?

final question...what is bi-amping? how is the connection configuration for this set up?

[frenchmon]

I too have the Marantz sr 5500 and I think its a great reciever. I don't know what you mean by wanting better stereo sound in music.

If you are listening to music from a DVD or CD player you should use the digital inputs on the receiver seeing that DVD's and CD's are digital.

You should not worry about bi-amping your sr 5500. What I would do if I were you is to bi-wire my speakers.

You have more that enough power to drive 8ohm speaks...How effecient are ytour speakers

[L.J.]

I upgraded my entire system piece by piece throughout the year. My biggest difference in sound came from upgrading my speakers. HUGE difference. You can try repositioning your current speakers to acheive better sound. Experiment.

[markw]

My biggest difference in sound came from upgrading my speakers. HUGE difference. You can try repositioning your current speakers to acheive better sound. Experiment.

Ones choice of speakers and their positioning in ones environment have the most affect on the quality of sound of a system produces. Speaker wise, It doesn't take too much to acheive a satisfying HT experience. Heck, you can add a sub to any system.

But music takes a little more. As I've always said, I hear many people compilaining that they like their HT on movies but don't like the way it does music. I can't ever recall hearing anyone say they like the way their system does music but not HT.

The speakers impedance and power handling have virtually no arffect on the sound. Likewise, which input type you use is moot here. And, you can have the bestest, most powerful amp in the world and quad amp it, but it still funnels through the eweakest link in the chain, the speakers the room. Those last two are ones biggest limitation.

If music has any part in one's plan for a system, I strongly suggest the decision on equipment be made using music as the sample source, not HT.

Then again, maybe he could try a yamaha receiver. (inside joke )

[accastil]

Ones choice of speakers and their positioning in ones environment have the most affect on the quality of sound of a system produces. Speaker wise, It doesn't take too much to acheive a satisfying HT experience. Heck, you can add a sub to any system.

But music takes a little more. As I've always said, I hear many people compilaining that they like their HT on movies but don't like the way it does music. I can't ever recall hearing anyone say they like the way their system does music but not HT.

The speakers impedance and power handling have virtually no arffect on the sound. Likewise, which input type you use is moot here. And, you can have the bestest, most powerful amp in the world and quad amp it, but it still funnels through the eweakest link in the chain, the speakers the room. Those last two are ones biggest limitation.

If music has any part in one's plan for a system, I strongly suggest the decision on equipment be made using music as the sample source, not HT.

Then again, maybe he could try a yamaha receiver. (inside joke )

gosh, i just came from using a yamaha receiver and the reason why i replaced them is because it sounds pathetic in stereo music listening especially tracks requiring punching bass..never again will i buy yamaha products.

[GMichael]

gosh, i just came from using a yamaha receiver and the reason why i replaced them is because it sounds pathetic in stereo music listening especially tracks requiring punching bass..never again will i buy yamaha products.

HAHAHAH,

Accastil,

Your receiver is fine. It should do a good job. I have never heard your speakers so I just can't say if they are weak or not. But I think your best bet is to try moving your speakers around to find their best placement.
Has your system been calibrated?
Do you have a powered sub?

[accastil]

I too have the Marantz sr 5500 and I think its a great reciever. I don't know what you mean by wanting better stereo sound in music.

If you are listening to music from a DVD or CD player you should use the digital inputs on the receiver seeing that DVD's and CD's are digital.

You should not worry about bi-amping your sr 5500. What I would do if I were you is to bi-wire my speakers.

You have more that enough power to drive 8ohm speaks...How effecient are ytour speakers

i know it sounds fantastic already..i just want it better..all my speakers are already bi-wired. they are MS THX declaration series.

[accastil]

I too have the Marantz sr 5500 and I think its a great reciever. I don't know what you mean by wanting better stereo sound in music.

If you are listening to music from a DVD or CD player you should use the digital inputs on the receiver seeing that DVD's and CD's are digital.

You should not worry about bi-amping your sr 5500. What I would do if I were you is to bi-wire my speakers.

You have more that enough power to drive 8ohm speaks...How effecient are ytour speakers

i know it sounds fantastic already..i just want it better..all my speakers are already bi-wired. they are MS THX declaration series.

[accastil]

I too have the Marantz sr 5500 and I think its a great reciever. I don't know what you mean by wanting better stereo sound in music.

If you are listening to music from a DVD or CD player you should use the digital inputs on the receiver seeing that DVD's and CD's are digital.

You should not worry about bi-amping your sr 5500. What I would do if I were you is to bi-wire my speakers.

You have more that enough power to drive 8ohm speaks...How effecient are ytour speakers

hi frenchmon..after reading mixed opinions in this thread, i finally did what i wanted to do in the first place. i bought a rotel 70wpc stereo power amp to boos my front speakers and you know what? they did magic...try it..youre gonna love it

[frenchmon]

hi frenchmon..after reading mixed opinions in this thread, i finally did what i wanted to do in the first place. i bought a rotel 70wpc stereo power amp to boos my front speakers and you know what? they did magic...try it..youre gonna love it

Hi Accastil...Glad you did what you wanted to do. You beat me to the punch, I have not gotten me an external amp as of yet. I see you got the Rotel. I hear they are good amps. I did listen to a Marantz paired with a Rotel amp at 125 watts per channel last week. Tell me something. IF the Marantz is 90 watts and the Rotel is 70 watts, what does the Rotel do at 70 watts that the Marantz at 90 watts can not do.

[2bluechris]

Well , you've bought a better power amp with the Rotel RB-03 than the Behringers ..{in your other post / query} and its probably a better amp than those Marantz use in the Receiver - indeed it seems so as you notice the improvement ! Now you have a component that is worth keeping , if you decide something more is lacking in your system . Still hear a better CD player one day , best wishes , Chris . [INDENT] P.S. Frenchmon - thete is very little audible difference between 70 watts and 90 watts , but a lot of audible difference between some types of power amplifier circuits , and / or , how well the designs are implemented .

[accastil]

Well , you've bought a better power amp with the Rotel RB-03 than the Behringers ..{in your other post / query} and its probably a better amp than those Marantz use in the Receiver - indeed it seems so as you notice the improvement ! Now you have a component that is worth keeping , if you decide something more is lacking in your system . Still hear a better CD player one day , best wishes , Chris . [INDENT] P.S. Frenchmon - thete is very little audible difference between 70 watts and 90 watts , but a lot of audible difference between some types of power amplifier circuits , and / or , how well the designs are implemented .

hi bluechris, yes, i believe a better CD player would make things even better than as it is already today. do you have any suggested CD player in mind? would a good CD player be better in music reproduction than good universal players? or do you suggest that i must have separate players for music and movies? right now i am using a pioneer 655 universal DVD player...

[accastil]

Hi Accastil...Glad you did what you wanted to do. You beat me to the punch, I have not gotten me an external amp as of yet. I see you got the Rotel. I hear they are good amps. I did listen to a Marantz paired with a Rotel amp at 125 watts per channel last week. Tell me something. IF the Marantz is 90 watts and the Rotel is 70 watts, what does the Rotel do at 70 watts that the Marantz at 90 watts can not do.

hi frenchmon, the 70wpc rotel sounds a lot like 100Wpc or more. i believe this is due to better amplifier design and component parts quality as those found in receivers. receivers are like everything else put in one box as compared to a dedicated amplifier doing nothing else but its sole purpose of amplification. not only will your system get louder, but the main selling point of improvement that youll be noticing is the big change in sonic reproduction quality. its gonna be more detailed, more balanced, and the bass a lot tighter.

[RICKY009]

Hi, i have an existing Marantz SR5500 receiver but i still want better stereo sound while im listening to music. what should i do? do i have to buy a separate power amp or integrated amp? my speakers are rated 150W at 8ohms. how much wattage of amp should i add-on?

another question. while listening to stereo music? which receiver input is best to use? is it the digital input (coax/optical) or the stereo (L/R) analog inputs?

final question...what is bi-amping? how is the connection configuration for this set up?

THE MORE POWER THE BETTER. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH POWER. IN FACT, YOU CAN RUIN YOUR SPEAKERS USING A 50 WATT PER CHANNEL RECEIVER IF PLAYED TOO LOUD. YOU WILL GO INTO "CLIPPING": AMP ATTEMPTS TO DELIVER MORE POWER THAN ITS DESIGN ALLOWS. WHEN OVERDRIVEN, THE AMP WILL CLIP SIGNAL WAVEFORMS, A CONDITION OF SEVERE DISTORTION WHICH MAY DAMAGE THE HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSDUCERS IN THE SPEAKER (OR ANY OTHER SPEAKER, INCLUDING THE CROSS-OVER NETWORK). I KNOW, B/C I DID IT.
FOR YEARS I PLAYED MY SPEAKERS WITH A GOOD, SOLID YAMAHA RECEIVER, WHICH IS RATED AT 80 WPC AT 8 OHMS. I THOUGHT MY SYSTEM SOUNDED GOOD, UNTIL I BROUGHT HOME A 250 WPC BRYSTON POWER AMPLIFIER. WOW! THE DIFFERENCE WAS UNBELIEVABLE. THE BASS WAS DEEPER, MORE POWERFUL. I COULD PLAY MY ROCK MUSIC LOUDER AND IT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR. THE VOLUME LEVEL WAS EAR-SHATTERING. SO, A GOOD AMP IS VERY IMPORTANT. CHECK OUT ROTEL, NAD, MUSICAL FIDELITY, BRYSTON, PARASOUND, CREEK, ARCAMAUDIO ANALOGUE PRIMO, MUSIC HALL "MAMBO", VINCENT. YOU CAN BUY A GOOD AND I MEAN GOOD, 50-100 WATT AMP OR INTEGRATED AMP TO DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS.
YOU WOULD CONNECT THE AMP, BUT NOT INTEGRATED AMP (HAS AMPLIFIER AND PREAMP IN SAME BOX) TO THE "PRE OUT" RCA JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR RECEIVER. YOU MAY NOT HAVE THIS PRE OUT FEATURE, WHICH ESSENTIALLY DISCONNECTS THE AMPLIFIER FROM THE CONTROL AMPLIFIER, OR PREAMP, INSIDE YOUR RECEIVER. YOUR VOLUME CONTROL AND SELECTOR SWITCH/BUTTONS (VCR, CD, DVD, ETC) WILL WORK AND THE POWER AMP WILL DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS. THAT'S WHAT I DID WITH THE 250 WPC BRYSTON 4B ST AMP, WHICH I IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT AFTER HEARING THE DRAMATIC CHANGE IN MY SYSTEM, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

BI-AMPING IS WHERE YOU USE TWO IDENTICAL AMPLIFIERS TO DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS. TYPICALLY, ONE WOULD USE ONE AMP TO DRIVE ONE SPEAKER AND THE OTHER AMP TO DRIVE THE OTHER SPEAKER. THIS IS WHAT "MONOBLOCK" AMPS DO. EACH MONOBLOCK DRIVES ONE CHANNEL. TWO FOR STEREO, FIVE FOR 5.1 SURROUND SOUND. THIS IS KNOWN AS "VERTICAL BI-AMPING". ANOTHER WAY IS TO USE ONE AMP TO DRIVE THE WOOFERS OF BOTH SPEAKERS, OR THE BOTTOM END OF SPEAKERS WITH BI-WIRE CAPABILITY (TWO SETS OF SPEAKER JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR SPEAKERS). THE OTHER AMP IS USED TO DRIVE THE UPPER END (TWEETER. OR TWEETER/MIDRANGE DRIVERS). THIS AMP WOULD BE CONNECTED TO THE TOP PAIR OF SPEAKER JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR SPEAKERS. IF YOU BI-AMP, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SPEAKERS THAT HAVE TWO SETS OF JACKS ON THEM. EITHER WAY, YOU USE "Y-CABLES" TO CONNECT ONE AMP TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR PRE-OUT JACK AND THE OTHER AMP TO THE OTHER SIDE. OR PUT IN OTHER WORDS, THE POWER AMP HAS TWO INPUTS JACKS, ONE FOR THE RIGHT AND ONE FOR THE LEFT. YOU USE 2 CABLES FROM THE AMP AND CONNECT THEM TO YOUR SHORT "Y-CABLE", WHICH HAS TWO JACKS AT ONE END AND ONE AT THE OTHER. THEN YOU CONNECT THAT ONE END INTO THE ONE SIDE OF THE PREAMP/PREOUT JACK. THEN, WITH THE OTHER AMP, YOU DO THE SAME: TWO WIRES OUT FROM THE POWER AMP INTO THE Y-CABLE, WHICH LEAVES YOU WITH 1 WIRE NOW (2 INTO 1), AND THEN THE ONE JACK INTO THE OTHER PREAMP/PREOUT JACK. YOU PROBABLY HAVE "RCA" JACKS, WHICH IS THE STANDARD TYPE OF JACK ON THE REAR OF MOST RECEIVERS. THIS WAY I DESCRIBED IS KNOWN AS "VERTICAL BI-AMPING", WHERE 1 AMP DRIVES ONE SPEAKER AND THE OTHER AMP DRIVES THE OTHER SPEAKER. THE OTHER WAY, WHERE 1 AMP DRIVES WOOFERS AND THE OTHER AMP DRIVES THE TWEETERS, IS CALLED "HORIZONTAL BI-AMPING."
YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO BI-AMP, THOUGH WITH A RECEIVER, UNLESS YOU FIND A POWER AMP OF THE SAME BRAND, POWER, SPECS, AS THE POWER AMP INSIDE YOUR RECEIVER. FORGET IT. TOO FRICKED-UP. I TRIED IT.

FINALLY, YOU WILL GET "BETTER" SOUND USING THE STEREO JACKS (2 JACKS, OPPOSED TO ONE DIGITAL JACK). THE FEELING IS AMONG AUDIOPHILES IS THAT ANALOG IS BETTER FOR MUSIC. DIGITAL IS BETTER FOR WATCHING MOVIES. HOWEVER, USE WHAT SOUNDS BEST TO YOU. BUT, GENERALLY, HANDS DOWN, ANALOG IS BETTER FOR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS, WHICH I AM NOT. I AM NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT ANALOG IS SMOOTHER, MORE RICH FOR MUSIC LISTENING. IT IS QUITER TOO. DIGITAL IS CONSIDERED MORE NOISY, MORE DISTORTION. CD PLAYERS PLAY DIGITAL MUSIC READ FROM THE DISCS. THEY HAVE DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER's (DAC's), WHICH CONVERTS THE DIGITAL SIGNAL FROM THE CD INTO AN ANOLOG SIGNAL. GOOFY. FINALLY, IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE DIGITAL JACK, IT IS SAID THAT A COAXIAL CORD IS BETTER THAN THE OPTICAL. SO COMPLICATED... I GUESS THE OPTICAL (TOSLINK) IS NOISIER. I THINK IT MAY BE BETTER FOR VIDEO, BUT NOT FOR MUSIC ONLY. I USE BOTH. I HAVE A OPTICAL FROM THE DVD TO MY PROCESSOR (5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL).

WHAT I DID WAS LOOKED AROUND FOR A STEREO MAGAZINE. I FOUND THAT "THE ABSOLUTE SOUND" AND "STEREOPHILE" WERE VERY GOOD. ALSO I GET "SOUND AND VISION" WHICH HAS BOTH AUDIO AND VIDEO INFO. IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS E-MAIL ME.

[kexodusc]

The choice to use analog or digital has nothing to do with CD's being digitally recorded, or the number of channels. It's all about the digital-to-analog conversion. Sooner or later the info becomes analog in the chain, the better the DAC, the better the sound. If your CD player's DAC is better than your receiver/processor/pre-amp's DAC, use the analog, if the receiver's DAC is better, use digital...

Be careful with speaker power ratings. Most speakers wil reach their maximum output at much less than the rated wattage because they run out of excursion (and in some cases can suffer a melt-down)...I'm not aware of any rules of thumb, but I have a pair of speakers I built that would claim 120 watts, but reach their mechanical limits at 9 watts below 50 Hz!!!

Your marantz receiver is a good start. As others have mentioned, room acoustics and speakers will introduce the most improvement in the majority of systems...what kind of speakers do you have?

[accastil]

The choice to use analog or digital has nothing to do with CD's being digitally recorded, or the number of channels. It's all about the digital-to-analog conversion. Sooner or later the info becomes analog in the chain, the better the DAC, the better the sound. If your CD player's DAC is better than your receiver/processor/pre-amp's DAC, use the analog, if the receiver's DAC is better, use digital...

Be careful with speaker power ratings. Most speakers wil reach their maximum output at much less than the rated wattage because they run out of excursion (and in some cases can suffer a melt-down)...I'm not aware of any rules of thumb, but I have a pair of speakers I built that would claim 120 watts, but reach their mechanical limits at 9 watts below 50 Hz!!!

Your marantz receiver is a good start. As others have mentioned, room acoustics and speakers will introduce the most improvement in the majority of systems...what kind of speakers do you have?

kexodusc, i have the Mordaunt Short 502 THX declaration speakers...is there anything wrong with these pair of speakers?
im gettin more confused here..i am getting too many different answers from you guys...

[accastil]

The choice to use analog or digital has nothing to do with CD's being digitally recorded, or the number of channels. It's all about the digital-to-analog conversion. Sooner or later the info becomes analog in the chain, the better the DAC, the better the sound. If your CD player's DAC is better than your receiver/processor/pre-amp's DAC, use the analog, if the receiver's DAC is better, use digital...

Be careful with speaker power ratings. Most speakers wil reach their maximum output at much less than the rated wattage because they run out of excursion (and in some cases can suffer a melt-down)...I'm not aware of any rules of thumb, but I have a pair of speakers I built that would claim 120 watts, but reach their mechanical limits at 9 watts below 50 Hz!!!

Your marantz receiver is a good start. As others have mentioned, room acoustics and speakers will introduce the most improvement in the majority of systems...what kind of speakers do you have?

is this the same reason why DVDA/SACD players would require analog connection to amps instead of a single digital line? is it because these players have better DACs than the amps they are connected to? (whatever amp it may be).

[Woochifer]

is this the same reason why DVDA/SACD players would require analog connection to amps instead of a single digital line? is it because these players have better DACs than the amps they are connected to? (whatever amp it may be).

DVD-A and SACD require analog connections because of piracy concerns, no other reason. Fortunately, upcoming implementations of HDMI will be secure enough to allow for digital DVD-A and SACD connections. The latest midlevel Yamaha receivers can already decode DVD-A signals when paired with a HDMI 1.1 compliant DVD-A player.

[shokhead]

THE MORE POWER THE BETTER. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH POWER. IN FACT, YOU CAN RUIN YOUR SPEAKERS USING A 50 WATT PER CHANNEL RECEIVER IF PLAYED TOO LOUD. YOU WILL GO INTO "CLIPPING": AMP ATTEMPTS TO DELIVER MORE POWER THAN ITS DESIGN ALLOWS. WHEN OVERDRIVEN, THE AMP WILL CLIP SIGNAL WAVEFORMS, A CONDITION OF SEVERE DISTORTION WHICH MAY DAMAGE THE HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSDUCERS IN THE SPEAKER (OR ANY OTHER SPEAKER, INCLUDING THE CROSS-OVER NETWORK). I KNOW, B/C I DID IT.
FOR YEARS I PLAYED MY SPEAKERS WITH A GOOD, SOLID YAMAHA RECEIVER, WHICH IS RATED AT 80 WPC AT 8 OHMS. I THOUGHT MY SYSTEM SOUNDED GOOD, UNTIL I BROUGHT HOME A 250 WPC BRYSTON POWER AMPLIFIER. WOW! THE DIFFERENCE WAS UNBELIEVABLE. THE BASS WAS DEEPER, MORE POWERFUL. I COULD PLAY MY ROCK MUSIC LOUDER AND IT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR. THE VOLUME LEVEL WAS EAR-SHATTERING. SO, A GOOD AMP IS VERY IMPORTANT. CHECK OUT ROTEL, NAD, MUSICAL FIDELITY, BRYSTON, PARASOUND, CREEK, ARCAMAUDIO ANALOGUE PRIMO, MUSIC HALL "MAMBO", VINCENT. YOU CAN BUY A GOOD AND I MEAN GOOD, 50-100 WATT AMP OR INTEGRATED AMP TO DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS.
YOU WOULD CONNECT THE AMP, BUT NOT INTEGRATED AMP (HAS AMPLIFIER AND PREAMP IN SAME BOX) TO THE "PRE OUT" RCA JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR RECEIVER. YOU MAY NOT HAVE THIS PRE OUT FEATURE, WHICH ESSENTIALLY DISCONNECTS THE AMPLIFIER FROM THE CONTROL AMPLIFIER, OR PREAMP, INSIDE YOUR RECEIVER. YOUR VOLUME CONTROL AND SELECTOR SWITCH/BUTTONS (VCR, CD, DVD, ETC) WILL WORK AND THE POWER AMP WILL DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS. THAT'S WHAT I DID WITH THE 250 WPC BRYSTON 4B ST AMP, WHICH I IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT AFTER HEARING THE DRAMATIC CHANGE IN MY SYSTEM, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

BI-AMPING IS WHERE YOU USE TWO IDENTICAL AMPLIFIERS TO DRIVE YOUR SPEAKERS. TYPICALLY, ONE WOULD USE ONE AMP TO DRIVE ONE SPEAKER AND THE OTHER AMP TO DRIVE THE OTHER SPEAKER. THIS IS WHAT "MONOBLOCK" AMPS DO. EACH MONOBLOCK DRIVES ONE CHANNEL. TWO FOR STEREO, FIVE FOR 5.1 SURROUND SOUND. THIS IS KNOWN AS "VERTICAL BI-AMPING". ANOTHER WAY IS TO USE ONE AMP TO DRIVE THE WOOFERS OF BOTH SPEAKERS, OR THE BOTTOM END OF SPEAKERS WITH BI-WIRE CAPABILITY (TWO SETS OF SPEAKER JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR SPEAKERS). THE OTHER AMP IS USED TO DRIVE THE UPPER END (TWEETER. OR TWEETER/MIDRANGE DRIVERS). THIS AMP WOULD BE CONNECTED TO THE TOP PAIR OF SPEAKER JACKS ON THE BACK OF YOUR SPEAKERS. IF YOU BI-AMP, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SPEAKERS THAT HAVE TWO SETS OF JACKS ON THEM. EITHER WAY, YOU USE "Y-CABLES" TO CONNECT ONE AMP TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR PRE-OUT JACK AND THE OTHER AMP TO THE OTHER SIDE. OR PUT IN OTHER WORDS, THE POWER AMP HAS TWO INPUTS JACKS, ONE FOR THE RIGHT AND ONE FOR THE LEFT. YOU USE 2 CABLES FROM THE AMP AND CONNECT THEM TO YOUR SHORT "Y-CABLE", WHICH HAS TWO JACKS AT ONE END AND ONE AT THE OTHER. THEN YOU CONNECT THAT ONE END INTO THE ONE SIDE OF THE PREAMP/PREOUT JACK. THEN, WITH THE OTHER AMP, YOU DO THE SAME: TWO WIRES OUT FROM THE POWER AMP INTO THE Y-CABLE, WHICH LEAVES YOU WITH 1 WIRE NOW (2 INTO 1), AND THEN THE ONE JACK INTO THE OTHER PREAMP/PREOUT JACK. YOU PROBABLY HAVE "RCA" JACKS, WHICH IS THE STANDARD TYPE OF JACK ON THE REAR OF MOST RECEIVERS. THIS WAY I DESCRIBED IS KNOWN AS "VERTICAL BI-AMPING", WHERE 1 AMP DRIVES ONE SPEAKER AND THE OTHER AMP DRIVES THE OTHER SPEAKER. THE OTHER WAY, WHERE 1 AMP DRIVES WOOFERS AND THE OTHER AMP DRIVES THE TWEETERS, IS CALLED "HORIZONTAL BI-AMPING."
YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO BI-AMP, THOUGH WITH A RECEIVER, UNLESS YOU FIND A POWER AMP OF THE SAME BRAND, POWER, SPECS, AS THE POWER AMP INSIDE YOUR RECEIVER. FORGET IT. TOO FRICKED-UP. I TRIED IT.

FINALLY, YOU WILL GET "BETTER" SOUND USING THE STEREO JACKS (2 JACKS, OPPOSED TO ONE DIGITAL JACK). THE FEELING IS AMONG AUDIOPHILES IS THAT ANALOG IS BETTER FOR MUSIC. DIGITAL IS BETTER FOR WATCHING MOVIES. HOWEVER, USE WHAT SOUNDS BEST TO YOU. BUT, GENERALLY, HANDS DOWN, ANALOG IS BETTER FOR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS, WHICH I AM NOT. I AM NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT ANALOG IS SMOOTHER, MORE RICH FOR MUSIC LISTENING. IT IS QUITER TOO. DIGITAL IS CONSIDERED MORE NOISY, MORE DISTORTION. CD PLAYERS PLAY DIGITAL MUSIC READ FROM THE DISCS. THEY HAVE DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER's (DAC's), WHICH CONVERTS THE DIGITAL SIGNAL FROM THE CD INTO AN ANOLOG SIGNAL. GOOFY. FINALLY, IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE DIGITAL JACK, IT IS SAID THAT A COAXIAL CORD IS BETTER THAN THE OPTICAL. SO COMPLICATED... I GUESS THE OPTICAL (TOSLINK) IS NOISIER. I THINK IT MAY BE BETTER FOR VIDEO, BUT NOT FOR MUSIC ONLY. I USE BOTH. I HAVE A OPTICAL FROM THE DVD TO MY PROCESSOR (5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL).

WHAT I DID WAS LOOKED AROUND FOR A STEREO MAGAZINE. I FOUND THAT "THE ABSOLUTE SOUND" AND "STEREOPHILE" WERE VERY GOOD. ALSO I GET "SOUND AND VISION" WHICH HAS BOTH AUDIO AND VIDEO INFO. IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS E-MAIL ME.

Stop yelling! Yes,you can have to much power and why pay for more if you dont need it or its not the problem. You have to add quite abit of watts to be noticed. Some of that other stuff is questionable.

[markw]

Some of that other stuff is questionable.

You're being extremely charitable here.

[RICKY009]

Another .... Get Over The "cap" Rule. Do You Have A Receiver Or Separate Amp, Preamp, Etc? The More Power The Better. But, Not From A Receiver.

[shokhead]

Get off the more power the better crap. They must love to see you walk into a B&M to buy something,Ricky.

[GMichael]

Get off the more power the better crap. They must love to see you walk into a B&M to buy something,Ricky.

But isn't louder better?

TURN IT UP
TURN IT UP!
TURN IT UP MORE!

[RICKY009]

first, i do not know what the "B&M" IS THAT you are referring to. obviously you haven't heard high-end audio equipment. And, i will stick by my more power the better. but, i do not refer to receivers, as the tuners create quite a bit distortion. i have heard, systems costing in excess of $100,000. i listened to HALCRO AND BAT if you know what that means. i don't want to brag, but i put together a world-class 2-channel analog system after much experimentation and auditioning.

[kajak]

its not the quantity of watts but the quality of watts depends on your buget no point having lots of watts if you dont use them