why do we need an amplifier? (1 Viewer)

[felix_suwarno]

i thought a receiver is enough for any speakers, especially the bigger receiver like denon avr5800.

light me up please!

 

[Bernard L]

you mean like for a 500watt sub?

 

[Chu Gai]

all depends on what your objectives are. some systems are very inefficient and require prodigious amounts of power to get an adequate sound pressure...what're you running?

 

[John Garcia]

A receiver's amp has to spread the power out to all the channels, which means at very demanding passages, the chance of clipping is much greater (obviously depends on speakers and setup). When using component amps, each channel is typically separately amplified, thus no matter how hard the right channel is working, the left has plenty of power on hand when it needs it. This is the same reason why a powered sub is very beneficial, as bass requires more power to reproduce.

To your question though, the amps in higher end gear DOES tend to be enough for most people. As stated, it all depends on what you expect from your system - how loud, how clear, etc... It also depends on the type of speakers and how much strain they put on the receiver. Smaller speakers (especially when set to "small") will stress the amp less and have more power available. Large, unpowered, floorstanding speakers will require the integrated amp to work harder.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i dont need amp since i only have the paradigm cinemas. but i read a review of boston acoustics vrm series the other day, and the reviewer said those speakers need lots of power to shine.

is there any receiver that powerful enough to power those speakers without amplifier?

 

[John Garcia]

I am not familiar with VRM series speakers, but I would expect that receivers of the likes of a Marantz SR9200, Denon 4802, or Onkyo TX-DS989 would have enough oomph to power just about anything.

some systems are very inefficient and require prodigious amounts of power to get an adequate sound pressure...

Just because a speaker requires a lot of power to be driven properly does not mean it is inefficient. Nor is SPL a good measuring tool for how a speaker SOUNDS.

 

[PomingF]

Felix, you will probably find answers to your question if you do a search under the topic like 'separates vs receiver' for this has been discussed thoroughly many times over. Yes, it all depends on your listening habit (sound quality, SPL, etc) and equipment. Some speakers are known to be 'difficult to drive' (low sensitivity/impedance) hence require higher power/current amps to bring out their best and the amps you find in receiver are generally not up to that level not to mention other components (tuner, preamp, video/digital switching) within receivers will potentially degrade sound quality.
To take your question one step further, some of us wouldn't even settle for anything other than monobloc (one power source/transformer per amp) amps for more critical listening.
Happy listening.
PF