Amp question plus HT opinions (1 Viewer)

[MattAnder]

First my amp question. When somebody says they have a 300 watt amp does that mean the same as when the specs say 150 watts X 2? I'm thinking of getting a Rotel RMB 1075 amp and the specs say that it has 120 watts X 5 into 8 ohms. Does that mean that particular amp has 120 watts or 600 watts (12 x 5)?

Now onto my other question. I want to upgrade my home theater setup. Here's what I'm thinking of getting.

Fronts: Paradigm Reference Studio 100
Center: Paradigm Reference Studio CC 570
Surround: Paradigm Reference Studio ADP 470
sub: either Paradigm Seismic 10 or Seismic 12

I was also planning on getting some kind of power conditioner from Panamax and an amp. Like I mentioned above I was looking at the Rotel RMB 1075.

Right now I have a Marantz SR8200 receiver, but I was thinking of upgrading that as well.

What do you think of these choices and what do you think I need to change and what sort of recommendations could you give me? Thanks.

 

[Cees Alons]

Matt,

A 150Wx2 amp could indeed be called a 300W amp, but as you noted yourself, it's a bit unprecise to do so.
People might say "a 300W amp" when in fact they mean a 300Wx2 amp. Just ask them what they mean.

Indeed your 120Wx5 amp could very well be called a 600W amp. Of course it will very seldom use all that power at any given moment. This apart from the fact that manufacturers generally are a bit, uhm, optimistic about the specs.


I moved your question to the Receivers/Separates/Amplifiers Forum, where people will undoubtly give you their expert opinions about the suggested gear.


Cees

 

[MattAnder]

Thanks. Yeah I guess I really didn't know where to put it because I had 2 different questions in my post.

 

[MattAnder]

Ok. I did a little more research and also enlisted a friend of mine to help me come up with some ideas for upgrading my home theater. I'm still pretty set on the Paradigm Reference speakers--fronts, center and surrounds. I'm not quite sure about a subwoofer though. Anyway, here are a couple options for amps/pre-amps. Let me know what you think.

Anthem AVM30 pre-amp
Anthem MCA50 amp

OR

Either Rotel RSP1098 or Rotel RSP1068 pre-amp
Rotel RMB 1095 amp

Any opinions?

 

[SethH]

Both sets of those are well reviewed and respected. You should also consider Outlaw which would probably be a little less expensive.



Have you searched around in the speaker/subwoofer forum? If you do, you'll notice that SVS and Hsu are the two big brands around here . . . and they are for good reason. If I were you I'd look at those two brands and possibly the Paradigm Servo15 if you wanted to stay with the same brand or dealer.