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  1. #1
    golden ear
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    Question I Want Better Sound...

    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?

  2. #2
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    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

  3. #3
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    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.

  4. #4
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    And dat's da Troot!

    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    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 )
    Last edited by markw; 12-06-2005 at 06:15 PM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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?

    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.

  6. #6
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    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?

  7. #7
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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?
    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...

  8. #8
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    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.

  9. #9
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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?
    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).

  10. #10
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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
    i know it sounds fantastic already..i just want it better..all my speakers are already bi-wired. they are MS THX declaration series.

  11. #11
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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
    i know it sounds fantastic already..i just want it better..all my speakers are already bi-wired. they are MS THX declaration series.

  12. #12
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    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

  13. #13
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    its not the quantity but the quality of watts that matter depends on your buget!

  14. #14
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    This thread leaves me with five questions and one observation.

    1) If the receiver is so fantastic for music, hoccum you're looking in all the wrong places for a more musically pleasing experience?

    2) If the speakers are so fantastic for music, hoccum you're looking in all the wrong places for a more musically pleasing experience?

    3) What exactly do you mean by your specious goal of "better sound"? "Different" may be achievable by serendipity but "better" requires a direction in which to proceed.

    4) You DO realize that a THX certification on speakers means they were tweaked for HT use, not music, right? ...big difference. http://www.digitalhomemag.com/review...bsectionid=959

    5) I see from the specs on your receiver that it's rated @ 90 wpc into 8 ohms @ .08% distortion. I also see it's rated @ 110 wpc @ 6 ohms with no distortion figure stated. I have NO idea what it's doing at 4 ohms, either power or distortion wise. Do you? But, if you notice, as the impedance goes down, the power goes up ...and so does the distortion.

    Someday you may come realize that the answers to some questions are what they are, not what you want them to be. But, I think that rather than taking the advice of others you'll have to spend a lot of money to realize that.

    P.S . The Yamaha mention in my previous post was a light-hearted reference to your input in another thread but, even though that was pretty much spelled out with a smiley face, I see you didn't get that either.
    Last edited by markw; 12-07-2005 at 09:01 AM.

  15. #15
    all around good guy Jim Clark's Avatar
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    I know that you're getting some conflicting responses so I'll clear it up for you. Disregard everyone in this thread with less than 300 posts. The ones with fewer than that have no idea what they're talking about.

    jc
    "Ahh, cartoons! America's only native art form. I don't count jazz 'cuz it sucks"- Bartholomew J. Simpson

  16. #16
    Color me gone... Resident Loser's Avatar
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    Define...

    Quote Originally Posted by accastil
    ...better...
    Quote Originally Posted by accastil
    ...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?
    Using the digital connectons will bypass the DAC in your CDP for the one contained in your receiver, the analog does the reverse. Which sounds "better" to you...you are the only one who can answer that question...

    Quote Originally Posted by accastil
    ..what is bi-amping? how is the connection configuration for this set up?
    That depends..."true" biampng requires two stereo amps and electronic crossovers plus the time and patience to set it all up properly...also the Xovers internal to your loudspeakers should be bypassed...the Wal-Mart version simply requires two stereo amps, one for the highs the other for the lows...your speakers must be bi-wireable in either case, generally speaking.

    NOTE: to RICKY009...try using lower case characters...your post may have contained the Great American Novel, but I read not one word of it because you are "shouting"...

    jimHJJ(...now, that definition again?...)
    Hello, I'm a misanthrope...don't ask me why, just take a good look around.

    "Men would rather believe than know" -Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by Edward O. Wilson

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    If you repeat a lie often enough, some will believe it to be the truth...

  17. #17
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by accastil
    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?
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  18. #18
    BooBs are elitist jerks shokhead's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICKY009
    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.
    Look & Listen

  19. #19
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    What is t his? The kinder, gentler Shokhead?

    Quote Originally Posted by shokhead
    Some of that other stuff is questionable.
    You're being extremely charitable here.

  20. #20
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Before you even bother with amplification upgrades, you need to look at the speakers and the room acoustics as markw said. Speakers and rooms have far more variation and real world effect on the sound quality than any of the front end components will.

    If you have a small and echoey room, then the room will produce standing waves (which create huge fluctuations in the low frequencies, making it sound overly boomy with some sounds and anemic with others), and time domain distortions (which make the sound harsh, mess with the imaging, and make the overall sound less coherent).

    At a minimum, you should try different speaker positions (with two channel, you're best off pulling the speakers away from the front wall by at least 3 feet, and using sound absorption at the reflection points along the side walls). Room treatments that deaden the echoes can dramatically improve the imaging coherency and smooth out the sound overall.

    If you use a subwoofer with your system, you should consider installing bass traps and/or a parametric EQ. A parametric equalizer can really improve the bass by targeting and attenuating boomy frequencies, and allowing you to more accurately calibrate the levels. The end result is extended, and fuller sounding bass.

    Whether or not a source sounds better using an analog or digital connection depends on the quality of the DACs inside of your receiver versus those inside the CD player. Keep in mind though that a lot of home theater receivers convert all analog signals to digital anyway for DSP processing (including the bass management, which is almost always done in the digital domain with home theater receivers), so the quality of the DACs or the analog circuitry inside the CD player won't matter much. Most receivers do allow for direct analog connections (with no digital conversions) using the multichannel analog inputs, however keeping the signal in the analog domain means that the signal also bypasses the subwoofer.

    Even though there can be audible differences between amplifiers, they are often more subtle than the improvement that a simple speaker repositioning can make. Speaker upgrades and room treatments typically make far more obvious and noticeable improvements.
    Last edited by Woochifer; 12-07-2005 at 06:05 PM. Reason: omitted "traps" earlier

  21. #21
    Forum Regular hermanv's Avatar
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    It may not be that easy.

    Many audiophiles maintain two seperate systems, one for HT and one for music. There are a number of reasons that this is common.

    1. Many already had a two channel system when HT became a big hit.
    2. There so many movie sound encoding schemes that adding Dolby, PCM, DTS etc. to the existing stereo was improbable, buying a receiver for HT was much easier and cheaper.
    3. I have never heard a receiver that can do the job of a first class two channel stereo (doesn't mean they don't exist but I guarantee they are rare indeed).

    I don't mean to dis anyone's equipment (like I said I've never heard yours) but most purists buy seperates, not so much because we love buying absurdly overpriced interconnect cables but because it just plain sounds better.

    Before you invest a large amount of money in your pursuit, perhaps you could find a local audiophile club or someone you work with who is an audiophile. You need to hear a good system for a reasonable amount of time to discover what is possible. Only then can you decide what level of investment makes sense to you. Many good systems easily cost the price of a car.

    Most larger cities have high end shops, you know you found one when the salesmen pretend you don't exist and act like demonstrating a system is a special favor never before done for anyone but you. You will not find what you need at the local mass market electronics shop. You might find better than you have now, but it is very important to discover what is possible before spending any money on what may turn out to be an in between step.

    Get some magazines, old copies are fine, learn some of the lingo, get familiar with the brand names that are highly regarded, learn about the used market. A decent piece of equipment will probably cost half as much used (most of it doesn't wear out, nothing wrong with used). Often you can find used close enough to home that you can go see and hear it.

    Once you have a good overview you wont have to depend on others for advice, none of us can hear your system in your room. All of us end up guessing, you are far better off deciding these things for yourself especially if large amounts of money are involved.

  22. #22
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Well i consider myself as one of those purists on our site

    Its funny how so many people write about the difference of equipment and how money doesnt always get you more and acoustics and dvd-a and sacd etc... blablabla
    Its quite amusing, and i definetly enjoy reading it. For starters i would make a list of what you want. Do you maybe want more defined bass? Maybe a larger soundstage? How about more max spl or a more emotionally involving sound? I did see some of our highly regarded members systems and have read their opinion on some highly regarded equipment and it makes me smile internally, very much. Listen to your ears and musical heart. Its funny how some mention biamping but dont list the real advantage of it all, and that is that the amp has to play a much smaller frequency range which reliefs it of much stress and introduces less distortion at the back of the amp. Some mention new super audio formats etc.. while not understanding nor grasping the heart of the music. I will gladly put any CD player or new hi rez format player against a Forsell or Goldmund TT and open some of your eyes. Anyways before i go on a rant, just ask yourself what you want. And then i can help you reach that goal, its not hard. But buying into one bigger sale then the other or buying the same drivers in a cabinet for the past 20 years under new super names wont get you there.

    Cheers

    Flo
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  23. #23
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Resident Loser
    That depends..."true" biampng requires two stereo amps and electronic crossovers plus the time and patience to set it all up properly..
    Just a hint, this is called "Drive the speakers active". If you use two poweamps but still use the internal x-over and match the power amps gains then you are biamped. A very good option is ofcourse the use of a digital active cross-over (a good one!) and the use of several power amps. One for each stage. I might do this next year to my Aps, well the start it will take propebly 3 to buy the amps
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  24. #24
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by accastil
    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.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Clark
    I know that you're getting some conflicting responses so I'll clear it up for you. Disregard everyone in this thread with less than 300 posts. The ones with fewer than that have no idea what they're talking about.

    jc
    I have fewer posts than that, but I might have around 300 in all the audio forums (fora ??) that I visit from time to time.

    I'm not going to give you any advice. Maybe I wouldn't know what I was talking about. But that's because I spend most of my time listening to music and keeping my system in good tune rather than posting inane remarks on audio websites in order to reach the magic figure of 300.

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