Upgrade to 5 channel amp? (1 Viewer)

[Westly T]

Hello, I was thinking of moving to a 5 channel amp with my A/V setup and was looking for thoughts and suggestions.

I’m currently running a $1k recent Denon receiver, Polk LSi15’s powered off a NAD 2400 stereo amp, and my LSiC and LSiFX are powered off the Denon receiver.

I’m thinking of replacing the 2 channel NAD with a budget 5 channel amp, and continuing to use the Denon as a preamp for now. Is there merit in this plan and would something like the Outlaw 5000 be an improvement or downgrade from the Older NAD 2400? Are there other amps I should be looking at new or used in the $700 range, or do I need to push the budget up? I don’t want my stereo listening experience to be degraded due to this “upgrade” of the other channels. One last restriction, I’m pretty much out of space, so the new amp can’t be much over 6” tall and I can’t just add an amp, it’ll have to replace the NAD.

Thanks for your openions!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Unless the unnamed Denon receiver lacks sufficient power to drive your surround and center-channels to your desired levels, or you think the NAD is on the throes of death, I fail to see where this venture will net you any audible improvement.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Westly T]

The Denon is an AVR-X3200W, it is stated to be 4 ohm stable, but doesn’t list specifications at 4 ohms, 105 Watts at 8 ohm. I suspect THD is not great at 4 ohms if they don’t even list it. All the Polk LSi speakers are 4 ohm, and when I listened to the LSi15’s powered of the receiver, I was not impressed. I then took the LSi15’s to my 2 channel setup and was surprised by the improvement and blown away by just how great they sound (Old Adcom setup with a 200 watt per channel GDA-555 II). That movitated me to add the NAD 2400 to my AV setup, and I’ve been very happy since then with the LSi15’s. I really have no idea what, if anything, I’m missing in the center and surrounds. I suspect it might be very audible if they are anything like my mains, but then again it’s mostly dialog in the center and much less content going to surrounds. Still the way the mains came alive with a high current amp, I wonder if it’s not worth the upgrade.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

It escaped my notice that the Polks are 4-ohm – sorry ’bout that. That changes everything. And it appears that you’re using them full-range with no subwoofer, which also makes a big difference. So I can see why you liked things better with the NAD amp.

In addition, I can’t see a 4-ohm spec rating for the Denon, just a note that it can drive 4-ohm speakers. How well? Like you noted, who knows?

Bottom line, I think your idea has some merit. However, since you like the NAD so much, you might look for a 3-channel amp to round out the rest of the channels, or something like the Outlaw 2200 monoblock for the center channel.

If you prefer a single-box approach, the Outlaw 5000 does get stellar reviews, as I’m sure you already know. Gene DellaSala at Audioholics tortured one with a pair of Stratus Acoustics speakers that he claims are a difficult load, and was duly impressed. So, it looks like a solid choice for you.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Westly T]

It escaped my notice that the Polks are 4-ohm – sorry ’bout that. That changes everything. And it appears that you’re using them full-range with no subwoofer, which also makes a big difference. So I can see why you liked things better with the NAD amp.

In addition, I can’t see a 4-ohm spec rating for the Denon, just a note that it can drive 4-ohm speakers. How well? Like you noted, who knows?

Bottom line, I think your idea has some merit. However, since you like the NAD so much, you might look for a 3-channel amp to round out the rest of the channels, or something like the Outlaw 2200 monoblock for the center channel.

If you prefer a single-box approach, the Outlaw 5000 does get stellar reviews, as I’m sure you already know. Gene DellaSala at Audioholics tortured one with a pair of Stratus Acoustics speakers that he claims are a difficult load, and was duly impressed. So, it looks like a solid choice for you.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks for your thoughts, I actually do have a SVS sub, it’s one of the huge tube models with a built in 800 Watt amp, from quite a few years ago, but I forget the exact model. As I mentioned, I’ve run out of space, so I really can’t just add another amp. The way my room is setup My entire wall is taken up and with an 85” 4K TV and the speakers/sub and walkway, the only space I have is in the cabinet below the TV. It has three drawers taking half the space, and the center speaker takes a third of the remaining space. That leaves two spaces, one with the receiver and multi format 4K disc player, the other with my NAD and Satellite 4K DVR. I also have a 4K Apple TV and 4K Chromecast as source devices in addition to the smart TV. There is good venting space above the receiver and NAD amp and the amp side has a silent fan built in the cabinet, but that space above the heat producing devices is really needed and not sufficient to hold another amp even it it was stacked top to bottom. The Outlaw 5000 is rated at 180 Watts at 4 ohms with decent specks, so it sounds like a decent option, it’s also 6” tall.

 

[JohnRice]

I missed this thread. I was surprised to see the Polks are all 4 Ohm. I didn't know Polk ever made any 4 Ohm speakers. I tend to advocate better amps, when it's called for, and your speakers fit that situation. In your budget and size limitations, the only ones I can think of are the Outlaw 5000 and the Emotiva A-5175. The Emotiva actually doesn't give a 4 Ohm spec with all channels driven, which leads me to suspect the Outlaw might be the better choice.