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Adding Preamp to a 7.1 setup

post #1 of 4
12/31/11 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys

I have a question that might be dumb but its just somthing that confused me with adding a preamp to my setup.
I have Polk RTi 10s and a Polk CSi A6 center channel for my front speakers, smaller Athena di-pole speakers for my rears
I am looking to get a preamp for my front speakers because the RTi10s are very power hungry as i've read and really open up when driven with more power.

My question is... If i add a 2 channel preamp to my setup, will that throw off my sound completly when running it in 5.1 or 7.1 for movies as the front Left/Right speakers are being given more power.
Or would i be better off with either a 3 channel amp or a 5 channel amp?

I mainly use this setup for Home theater but when I have people over I like to pump up the music .

Thanks for any help and if anyone has any suggestions on a decent cheaper preamp suggestions please lemme know

Happy New Year!
~mike
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post #2 of 4
12/31/11 at 8:27am
It doesn't matter how big an amp you use on the Front speakers. When you re-calibrate the individual speaker volumes you will be, in effect, equilizing the volume to each speaker. The purpose of adding an external amp to the Fronts isn't to give them more power on a regular basis, just during peak loads when the receivers internal amp may be stressed out trying to supply power to all 5/7 speakers at the same time. During scenes like explosions it may not be able to supply the Fronts with enough umph! to allow those RTi10's to do what they're capable of. I think this is what they call "headroom" where am amp can actually supply more power than is required at those peak times.

Many people add a two channel amp to the fronts. As I recall, the RTi10's drop down to 4 ohms on a pretty regular basis even though they are rated @ 8 ohms. I don't recall hearing that about any other RTi series speaker including the CSi6. Even the RTi12's didn't pose that much of a problem, only the 10's. But I've noticed my memory is rapidly fading! eek.gif

If you lmostly watch movies but also like to thump! the music then you also need a good subwoofer. Depending on what receiver and subwoofer you have your money might be better spent on a really good sub instead of, or in addition to, a seperate amp. Along with a proper crossover setting.
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post #3 of 4
12/31/11 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply.
I thought by adding the amp it would do that. I was told by a new guy at this audio store that it will just overpower my whole setup and throw it out by always making the front speakers louder than the rest. So basically adding the amp will not add volume but just added power for when the power is needed.

I also assume when i'd switch my receiver to Stereo for playing back just music then the speakers would really shine with a preamp.

As for subwoofer. I have a 15" Dayton Quatro with a Bash 300 amp in a 5.5cu ft box I built. Down low it thumps pretty good.

Still open for suggestions for a preamp.
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post #4 of 4
12/31/11 at 9:36am
Depending on how big of an amp you buy you certainly could over-power the rest of the system but I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that. And in Stereo Mode you can easily increase the volume of the two front speakers individually with the remote controls Channel Level button (but don't forget to change it back for Surround Sound).

You can always find a better subwoofer, if you've got the money. I'm no subwoofer expert but that Dayton seems pretty good to me.

Emotiva seems to be the most recommended amps these days but there are others http://emotiva.com/xpa2.shtm

The two channel 300 watt goes for $699 but the three channel 200 watt amp goes for $599. And this is a true power output, not optomistic like most receivers.

You can also get much cheaper vesions from Onkyo, AudioSource, etc but I doubt they could perform anywhere near the level of the Emotiva or some other quality amp like Outlaw Audio, Arcam, Parasound, etc. And don't get anything like Pyle at any price. Flea Market fodder.

And they are called power amplifiers not preamps smile.gif . A pre-amp is like a receiver without the amp section.
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