Considering buying an Amp. Please help. (1 Viewer)

[Raul A]

I have a Yamaha 5560 6.1 Receiver. I dont know all that much about the upper eschelon of HT. If I hook up an Amp to my system what kind of difference will it make. If its a drastic one, what kind of Amp should I consider in the sub $400 price range (less expensive the better.)? Is there something I can hook up to my Receiver to give me 7.1 audio? A lot of questions, I know, but I thank you for your help.

 

[Kevin. W]

Raul,

What you should hear is a more spacious, open, clear sound coming from your speakers if you add an external amp. Personally I think your better off getting a decent 3 channel amp to power the front soundstage and leave the Yamaha to power the rears. Amps are designed to do one thing and do it well. Power speakers. You may want to look into used to keep the price down. Check the forsale section of this forum as well as Audiogon, etc.

Kevin

 

[Pablo Abularach]

This is only my opinion, you shouldnt make your descition base on what I'm stating, but here it goes.

Going with separates is the best thing, but I think there are price ranges where is better to stay with a receiver.

If you have $1000 (and you already have a receiver), $2000 if not, is great to go for a separate amp.

But if I had $400 and wanted to upgrade, I think selling your actual receiver is the best option, and upgrade into a $500-700 receiver in which you could get a pretty good one. Check Harman Kardon AVR525 or AVR325, Marantz SR6300 or SR7300, Yamaha 1300, Denon 2803, etc.

Or going with a used amp.

Hope this helps,

 

[Chu Gai]

maybe something, maybe nothing. in part it depends on whether you're pushing the limits of your system at this time. 2 channel amps, to get you into 7.1 if that's really your thing, are going to be a tad difficult to find new. the used approach as was mentioned above is something to explore. other sources are ebay and of course USENET in rec.audio.marketplace.
Another thought is to cruise the stereo shops and see what they've got lying around that's demo, trade-in, etc. Looking in your local paper also for various for sale items is a thought. While some might think it peculiar, pawn shops have rather interesting stuff. Also pro type amps are also a viable alternative however their fans can be noisy. Often they can be replaced with quieter alternatives (24 volts usually). Various members from Crown and QSC come to mind.

 

[Ken Custodio]

Adding an amp to a receiver won't be a night and day difference. Especially if you listen at moderate listening levels and your room is of average size. Atleast that was my experience adding a Parasound 5 channel amp to my Denon 4802

 

[Arup]

Raul at $400 see if you can find a used Yamaha MX-630/830 or if you are luckier the 340 wpc MX-1000U amp. This way you will get very good power and give your HT reciever a break. The Yamaha amps have MOSFET design and feature very warm sound.