AVR or AVR+Power Amp or Processor+Power Amp for Movies

[buxx]

It was -6dB.. That's why I'm wondering if getting too high powered PowerAmp will pose problem while calibration..

 

[sandeepmohan]

I would go option 1, that is, AVR with one small requirement on the specification. Ensure it has 5.1, 7.1 or whatever number of channels as pre outputs you would want. The more pre outputs you are after, is essentially the number of channels the receiver has to process and that will drive the cost up too.

The reason a pre out is important is if you end up with a receiver and an exotic speaker one day or something difficult to drive. Even the very best receivers choke with a difficult speaker loads. In fact, it does not need to be an exotic speaker too. For some reason, speaker power output figures are rarely published with all channels driven and this makes it hard to know what the receiver is capable off. A top of the line Marantz receiver I evaluated some years ago was rubbish inspite of the claimed 160 watt/channel.

 

[DS123]

Puritan view will always go with separates. But that’s one end of the extreme, while other end being of all-purpose AVR. Between the two is hybrid combos.. There’s no silver bullet, and purely depends on what one is trying to achieve. If sole criteria is more power to drive, adding a power amp to fronts is worthwhile solution!

But if one is Puritan, separate power amp will largely remain integral & static, while pre-pro will get intermittent upgrade as & when electronics change in AV world.

For your purpose, AVR + Power Amp should be able to achieve intended results. Thanks