Two amps or 1 (1 Viewer)

[Bedazzled]

New to the forum, hello everyone!

I’ve always been an audiophile but pretty new to the home theatre scene. I’ve had a Marantz SR4023 driving a pair of Focal 726 for years and totally loved the setup. The receiver is 2 channel 80 watts/channel. Our new house doesn’t support 2 separate listening areas so my old home theatre in a box has been thrown out. I replaced the AVR with a Marantz 6013, moved the Focals next to the TV and bought a REL T7 and a Focal CC700 centre. I’ve got a pair of Flatline Acoustic 8.5” in ceilings that used to be my zone 2 speakers that I’ll likely use & maybe a pair of Krix for the rears. I’m thinking I’ll set up a 9.1 later (maybe).

I don’t understand how power distribution works in a multichannel receiver.

My question is, should I use the old 2 channel (SR4023) amp to drive the 2 fronts? Should I use it for another set of speakers or should I use the 6013 all by itself?

 

[JohnRice]

The 4023 is a rare receiver that has a pre-out/main in loop, so you actually could use it simply as a power amp, but what you might gain isn't anything you'd ever hear. So, I'd just run the whole system off the 6013. BTW, it can cause confusion to use the terms receiver and amp interchangeably. Receivers have amps in them, but they're not the same thing.

 

[JohnRice]

...and I'm Mr. "external amp, more and better power is better" guy, so if I thought there was any real benefit to using both receivers, believe me, I'd say so.

 

[Bedazzled]

...and I'm Mr. "external amp, more and better power is better" guy, so if I thought there was any real benefit to using both receivers, believe me, I'd say so.

Thanks JR for the honest answer. I didn’t include this in the original post but I hooked both up & had a listen then listened with just the 6013 and couldn’t tell a difference. I thought maybe my ears were broken.

 

[Bedazzled]

BTW, it can cause confusion to use the terms receiver and amp interchangeably. Receivers have amps in them, but they're not the same thing.

Thanks for the correction, I’ll keep this in mind for future posts.