Do i need a POWER AMP ?

[Dinesh29888]

I have Polk RtiA5 as FS a POLK DSW 600 Sub and 4 sourround speakers its a Atmos setup. While watching movies it sounds good and crisp. Recently i have started to enjoy High Quality music wav and flac files in 2.1 setup and i really enjoy them. My AVR is RXV-581 and while listening to HD Audio music i can feel that the FS needs some more power and it would sound good if it gets that extra power. I am looking for a Power amp which will drive the FS.

POLK RtiA5 FS Specifications from it's website.

• Total Frequency Response30 Hz - 27,000 Hz
• Nominal Impedance - 8 ohms
• Sensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter) - 90 dB
• Lower and Upper 3dB Limits40 Hz - 26,000 Hz

EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER

• Recommended Amplifier Power Per Channel 20 watts - 250 watts

Yamaha RX-V 581 Specifications from it's website.

• --- 80 W per channel (6 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09 % THD, 2 ch driven)
• --- 115 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9 % THD, 1 ch driven)
• --- 145 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD, 1ch driven)

Will a Power Amplifier enhance the music and give me a better music experience or it won't or make just less difference ?
If yes then Please suggest me the specific model.

 

[Love4sound]

I have Polk RtiA5 as FS a POLK DSW 600 Sub and 4 sourround speakers its a Atmos setup. While watching movies it sounds good and crisp. Recently i have started to enjoy High Quality music wav and flac files in 2.1 setup and i really enjoy them. My AVR is RXV-581 and while listening to HD Audio music i can feel that the FS needs some more power and it would sound good if it gets that extra power. I am looking for a Power amp which will drive the FS.

POLK RtiA5 FS Specifications from it's website.

• Total Frequency Response30 Hz - 27,000 Hz
• Nominal Impedance - 8 ohms
• Sensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter) - 90 dB
• Lower and Upper 3dB Limits40 Hz - 26,000 Hz

EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER

• Recommended Amplifier Power Per Channel 20 watts - 250 watts

Yamaha RX-V 581 Specifications from it's website.

• --- 80 W per channel (6 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09 % THD, 2 ch driven)
• --- 115 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9 % THD, 1 ch driven)
• --- 145 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD, 1ch driven)

Will a Power Amplifier enhance the music and give me a better music experience or it won't or make just less difference ?
If yes then Please suggest me the specific model.

Does the avr has pre-out? If no then you cannot connect a power amp. As far as I know the 581 won’t be having pre-outs. Adding a power amp is always better then using the avr to drive the speakers

 

[Amarendra]

I have Polk RtiA5 as FS a POLK DSW 600 Sub and 4 sourround speakers its a Atmos setup. While watching movies it sounds good and crisp. Recently i have started to enjoy High Quality music wav and flac files in 2.1 setup and i really enjoy them. My AVR is RXV-581 and while listening to HD Audio music i can feel that the FS needs some more power and it would sound good if it gets that extra power. I am looking for a Power amp which will drive the FS.

POLK RtiA5 FS Specifications from it's website.

• Total Frequency Response30 Hz - 27,000 Hz
• Nominal Impedance - 8 ohms
• Sensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter) - 90 dB
• Lower and Upper 3dB Limits40 Hz - 26,000 Hz

EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER

• Recommended Amplifier Power Per Channel 20 watts - 250 watts

Yamaha RX-V 581 Specifications from it's website.

• --- 80 W per channel (6 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09 % THD, 2 ch driven)
• --- 115 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9 % THD, 1 ch driven)
• --- 145 W per channel (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD, 1ch driven)

Will a Power Amplifier enhance the music and give me a better music experience or it won't or make just less difference ?
If yes then Please suggest me the specific model.

If you want to enhance the power, just add a line out converter from your front speakers to any stereo amplifier. The AVR needn't have a pre out.
I use two converters from Rockford (INR 1,990 each) and they work like a charm. Also most power amps are expensive. If you have a stereo amp lying around you can easily connect it to the fronts.

 

[vinothkumar]

Simple answer, You can not enjoy music in your HT (Forget about the features). If you are a music lover, set up a stereo system of your desire budget. Or listen to a stereo setup before you add/upgrade anything to your existing setup.

 

[Dinesh29888]

Simple answer, You can not enjoy music in your HT (Forget about the features). If you are a music lover, set up a stereo system of your desire budget. Or listen to a stereo setup before you add/upgrade anything to your existing setup.

So should i go ahead and purchase a stereo amp ?

 

[edjamesx]

If you want to enhance the power, just add a line out converter from your front speakers to any stereo amplifier. The AVR needn't have a pre out.
I use two converters from Rockford (INR 1,990 each) and they work like a charm. Also most power amps are expensive. If you have a stereo amp lying around you can easily connect it to the fronts.

This is great solution .. Thanks for pointing out. My AV receiver also dont have pre outs...I was thinking , no way to hook up to external power amp.

One QQ : how is the volume control works when connected to line converter out ?. Is this completely controlled by A/v receiver .. or we need to control the volume with power amp.

And is the Frequency response settings and other settings from av receiver have impacts on the outputs?

 

[vinothkumar]

So should i go ahead and purchase a stereo amp ?

If you never listened to a stereo setup, i strongly suggest you to have a demo at either your friends place or a showroom. Then take the decision. Eventually you will end up getting a stereo setup for sure.

 

[Amarendra]

This is great solution .. Thanks for pointing out. My AV receiver also dont have pre outs...I was thinking , no way to hook up to external power amp.

One QQ : how is the volume control works when connected to line converter out ?. Is this completely controlled by A/v receiver .. or we need to control the volume with power amp.

And is the Frequency response settings and other settings from av receiver have impacts on the outputs?

The process is simple. If you are connecting a stereo amp it will have its own volume knob. In that case when setting up keep the volume knob on the stereo amp at a fixed level. In my case, I kept it at 9 o clock. Once you keep it at 9 o clock run your room correction from the main AVR such as Audyssey/ MCACC/ YPAO etc. Now once the room correction is done, don't change the volume knob on the stereo amp. The AVR will provide the volume control as if there is no stereo amp. The frequency response etc will all be managed by the AVR. Hope this helps.

 

[Dinesh29888]

Does the avr has pre-out? If no then you cannot connect a power amp. As far as I know the 581 won’t be having pre-outs. Adding a power amp is always better then using the avr to drive the speakers

By pre-out you meant "Bi-amp Capability" if yes then it has the Bi-amp facility. Whats on mind currently is to buy the AudioLab6000A and pair it for the front speakers !!

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Simple answer, You can not enjoy music in your HT (Forget about the features).

Why?

 

[Love4sound]

By pre-out you meant "Bi-amp Capability" if yes then it has the Bi-amp facility. Whats on mind currently is to buy the AudioLab6000A and pair it for the front speakers !!

No Bia-amp is different. For each channels the avr will have pre-outs where you can connect the power amp with. In your case you wont be able to as 581 does not have pre-outs. But i see that there is another method suggested by Amarendra which you can try. The usual method to pair avr with a power amp is through pre-outs

 

[Dinesh29888]

Just figured it out something which i was never aware of. My AVR and speakers are setup keeping in mind to watch movies. Recently as i have started to hear HD songs i was missing the punch and the raw power. I played songs with 2ch or straight and i always is to mute the Sub and my FS were set to small and it sounded very much flat. Now changed the settings, FS are set to Large and while playing music i just press the "Direct" option on my Yamaha remote and OMG the sound is so clear and loud. Very much happy !! This seem to be a basic setup which i never knew

 

[vinothkumar]

Why?

So far with my experience, HT gives very lean and flat sound for songs. It will be good for pub-like songs but not for all genres. If you want better vocals, full-bodied, good separation and better sound staging, you definitely need a stereo setup. Anyways if I am not a critical listener, I don't need a separate stereo.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

So far with my experience, HT gives very lean and flat sound for songs. It will be good for pub-like songs but not for all genres. If you want better vocals, full-bodied, good separation and better sound staging, you definitely need a stereo setup.

Your experiences are your own, of course.

I disagree with the notion that you can't have a good sounding setup for both HT and music, especially for the factors you describe. Of course, I've no way of demonstrating that to you until my room is complete

 

[raghupb]

Just figured it out something which i was never aware of. My AVR and speakers are setup keeping in mind to watch movies. Recently as i have started to hear HD songs i was missing the punch and the raw power. I played songs with 2ch or straight and i always is to mute the Sub and my FS were set to small and it sounded very much flat. Now changed the settings, FS are set to Large and while playing music i just press the "Direct" option on my Yamaha remote and OMG the sound is so clear and loud. Very much happy !! This seem to be a basic setup which i never knew

Good that you found an in-house solution to your conundrum.
AVRs do their stuff for HT setting, so sometimes plain old 2-channel music listening may sound "meh".
The polks you have like a bit of muscle behind them.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[vinothkumar]

Your experiences are your own, of course.

I disagree with the notion that you can't have a good sounding setup for both HT and music, especially for the factors you describe. Of course, I've no way of demonstrating that to you until my room is complete

Don't consider your system in this Raghu, that's an exception.

 

[raghupb]

Don't consider your system in this Raghu, that's an exception.

Did not understand. Can you please elaborate?
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[sandeepmohan]

Simple answer, You can not enjoy music in your HT

I used to be in this camp of HT can't do good stereo but you know what, a good HT setup can do good stereo. It won't come cheap but I don't mind putting in all the dough for a dual purpose system that can truly shine. I for one do not have the space to accommodate dedicated HT and Stereo. I need my HT more these days as with so much video content to stream, you'll be missing out huge if you don't have one.

In the last 2 years or so, I have heard quite a few HT setups that blew me away in their stereo performance. These were mostly in home environments so nothing fancy. All it takes is a really good main speaker and an amplifier to drive it. I found very minimal difference when it comes to processing ability when switching between receiver brands.

 

[vinothkumar]

Did not understand. Can you please elaborate?
Cheers,
Raghu

Oh man, that comment was for liverpool_for_life.

 

[ssf]

Using a receiver for music. Not complaining. Owns stereo amps. Listened to stereo amps on my system. Did not find any big improvement. But then again, am an average joe, who can't differentiate between lossless and mp3. But I guess the receiver of OP is a bit under powered. Nonetheless, glad that he is enjoying pure direct.