Stepping Up from Integrated Amp to Seperate.

[Tranquil-Hegemony]

If I ever wanted to upgrade my speakers to something a little more heavy-duty, I'd probably get a dedicated 5 channel amplifier - which would mean I'd no longer use my RX-V2300 for anything other than a preamp.

In this case, would there be any specific types of amplifiers that would be best to use with my Yammy? Or does that not matter so much as the amp/speaker combo?

Thanks a lot!

[markw]

The amp is less of an issue than the speaker/room combo, assuming you have more than enough clean power to drive the speakers.

FWIW, I wouldn't bother looking at separate amps that deliver less than twice the true RMS power of the one you're currently employing. The more the merrier.

[Tranquil-Hegemony]

Hey Mark thanks for your reply. If I were to upgrade my speakers I would be shooting for the stars - something along the lines of a full B&W set - maybe 802s for the front - and the rest would follow suit. So I imagine I'd need about 250+ watts for a clean powerful drive of those alone.

[bobsticks]

Hey TH,

I have a bit of first-hand experience with the problem you may encounter. When I upgraded from fairly easy-to-drive speakers to Martin Logans I needed an immediate infusion of current. I grabbed the Rotel RMB-1066



Its a six-channel amp that I run in bridged mono across my front three speakers. Makes for a very coherent front soundstage that just sings. I have heard this unit with B&Ws and the results are pretty nice. Originally meant as a short-term stopgap, I suspect I will be dealing with source and room issues long before I will feel the need to upgrade to one of the big Ms ( McIntosh, Musical Fidelity, Monarchy Audio, etc.)

Cheers

[Tranquil-Hegemony]

"Its a six-channel amp that I run in bridged mono across my front three speakers."

Sorry if this seems like an elementary-level question, but what exactly do you mean by you "run bringed mono" ?

I was looking online at some 5 channel amps and I alwasy see Rotel to be spoken of in very high regard. Also what are your feelings on Bryston amplifiers? I was reading up on those as well.

Thanks for the help!

[bobsticks]

Bryston is very good and generally considered to be "built like a tank". I have never heard a Bryston/B&W combo so I cannot speak to the synergy or lack thereof of such a pairing. Perhaps others will chime in.

"Bridging" indicates that I am using the current from two amp sections on a single audio signal path. For example, amps #5 and6 power a single signal to my left speaker. This is really only necessary on low sensitivity or "hard to drive" speakers ( the reverse situation is when you hear about characters using low wattage SET amps to drive highly sensitive speaks). The Logans aren't a horribly tough drive like some of the bigger Maggies or Flo's Appogees, but they do like some current to sing their best--at least more than a receiver was going to provide.

I have never owned B&Ws but have heard many and have also heard a majority of those that own them concur that they need a bit of juice to really come alive. I made the suggestion because if you're already grabbing 802s ( and pretty soon you'll want a matching center and, then, why not surrounds?!!) then you're already spending a fair amount of cheese all at once. The Rotel is a nice budget unit that performs exceedingly well for not a lot of dollars.

[Tranquil-Hegemony]

So in terms of bridging - if I had a 5 CH. amp and 5 speakers to drive - I couldn't use 2 channels of that amp for the left (or right) speakers, correct? The 802s I was considering were going to be a start - the rest of the speakers would also be from the 800 line as well.

I had the chance to listen to the 800s here a few years back and my lord did they ever pound! The only speakers I've ever heard that gave me more goosebumps than the B&W 800s were a pair of Tannoy's - in a dedicated audio set up. (Not sure of which they were, but I remember each one having it's own dedicated external crossover)

Anyways the 800s sounded great - hopefully the 802s won't lose TOO much of that brilliance - I only wish I had taken note of the amps being used. I recall KRELL for some reason but can't be entirely sure.

[Rock789]

B&K and Anthem make some nice amps... in the power range you are looking for...

[basite]

just FYI, b&w and rotel are married, but so is classe (okay, it's really expensive, but if you got the cash - looking at your next choice of speakers, i assume you have-) bryston is supposed to be good, never heard them though, if you have the classe kindof money, you could also go for mcintosh, which means that you'll have enough power for every speaker, do take note that if you ever buy b&w 802's, you'll do better with 500 watts, preferbly with an amp that can do that into 2 ohms, as well as in 8 ohms, and you'll probably want a new preamp too then, seeing that b&w and yamaha don't go well together, they sound well, but something warmer or neutral sounding will sound way better on them...

good luck,
Bert.

[bobsticks]

[QUOTE=Tranquil-Hegemony]So in terms of bridging - if I had a 5 CH. amp and 5 speakers to drive - I couldn't use 2 channels of that amp for the left (or right) speakers, correct? QUOTE]

Well, yes and no. There is no specific order to which signals can be assigned to amp sections; I just haphazardly mentioned those particular ones. Now, obviously an amp should run only one signal at a time. Hence, if you wanted to do all your speakers you would need more than one unit. My own experience is that the front three do the majority of the work so it was more important to send optimal current to those. The surrounds do fine with my receiver's amp section

[Tranquil-Hegemony]

Oh so basically I could still use my Yamaha's internal amp to drive my surrounds and just use the seperate amp for the front 3? Ahh this I didn't know! Interesting!

[basite]

yes you can, but there will be a difference, so you'll have to recalibrate your settings

[SAEA501]

You cannot use a separate stereo power amplifier to drive the front mains and a center channel as well. You could use a separate stereo power amp to drive the front mains and a separate mono power amp to drive your center.

A stereo power amp, when bridged, uses one of its output stages to drive the positive swing of the sine wave and the other channel to drive the negative swing. The signal from one channel of the pre amp is routed through this now mono power amp. Bridging provides a great deal more power output, usually at least twice the amount, however it does increase the noise floor somewhat. Depending on your speakers and the amplifier being bridged is designed will determine the degree to which the noise level is increased.

[bobsticks]

You cannot use a separate stereo power amplifier to drive the front mains and a center channel as well. You could use a separate stereo power amp to drive the front mains and a separate mono power amp to drive your center..

It is a six channel amp.

[dd24skater]

Bryston 3b was very bright on my B&W 604's