newbie needs advice! (1 Viewer)

[Naddy]

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a while but this is my first post, so I just want to say that this is a great forum with a wealth of information. I posted similar questions on another forum but did not receive many replies, so I apoligize in advance to anyone reading this twice.

Just some background info. I am not an audio or videophile but I do enjoy both. In fact, this is my first hometheater system that I'm trying to set up. My hometheater room will be 16' X 20' with 11' ceilings. I will be using a 5.1 system with the Infinity Modulus sub/sat speaker system, which has a recommended amplifier power of 15 to 100 watts RMS per channel and have 8 ohm impedance. Also, this room is not really conducive(sp?) to a 6.1 or 7.1 system, so it most likely will remain 5.1.

Anyways, I have a friend that can get me a good deal on a kenwood sovereign vr-5090 receiver which is rated at 80 wpc RMS at 6 ohms. What I want to know is if this receiver will provide enough power for my room? If not, I can also get a good deal on the sovereign mx-5000 amp which is 270 watts for a single channel or 130 watts for 2 channels. Would this amp help out at all? The subwoofer is already powered so my understanding is that it doesn't need to draw power from the amp, so the amp could then only be used to power say the two front left and right speakers or something like that? So, would this help, or is the receiver good enough?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Chu Gai]

kenwood states it'll deliver that power with all channels driven and 0.06% THD. it's really hard to say if it'll meet your needs in terms of sound volume as that depends to a large degree on the speaker efficiencies. a lot of people don't go for the satellite look but at least to my mind, they can be pretty unobtrusive.
you know, everyone has their own preferences for their own reasons. choosing a product is not such an easy task. appearance, warranty, how it's serviced, features, the remote, etc. all have different weighting factors to everyone. perhaps if you discuss what your budget is, maybe what your long term plans are, then maybe other alternatives might suggest themselves. recently there were some interesting posts for example on H/K receivers at some pretty attractive prices but for limited duration. For example the HK
AVR8000 has a 2 yr warranty, and 110w/channel all driven...at a price of under 1200 delivered might be interesting. onecall also has other deals from time to time, as does www.accessories4less.com
not trying to disuade you from the kenwood but pointing out that it might be good to repost this with a budget range in mind and see what people toss back at you. your thoughts?

 

[Naddy]

Thanks for the response!

Here is my situation: basically, I normally could not afford a mid to upper level quality receiver, however, I can get such a good deal on the sovereign equipment, it is now affordable to me. I already have the Infinity Modulus speaker system, so that is a moot point. I really just wanted to make sure that the sovereign vr-5090 is powerful enough for my room and speaker system, and if not, would adding the mx-5000 amp help out?

Thanks again!

 

[Chu Gai]

my general advice when buying something is to make absolutely sure that if it doesn't meet your needs, that you can return it and get your money back promptly. generally speaking it never hurts to have more power. as to whether that receiver, either alone or in concert with the amp is going to be able to fill your room up with sound at the levels you desire i'd say most probably. as to whether that combination is the right one looking a few years into the future, it depends largely on the speakers you may be getting. the resale market for commercial products is poor for the seller and kenwood would be no exception. in fact, being that the kenwood's are not as much 'in vogue' as other brands, i'd say it may be a tad worse. you must be getting one hell of a deal in terms of price because a quick search by myself suggests that the H/K i suggested would come in cheaper. there's been some talk about a center channel hum on that particular model manufactured during January, but seeing as you could take it in to a repair center you'd be inconvenienced but there'd be no out of pocket expense so to speak. If i may ask, what's the amount you can get the kenwood products for?