Suggestion on BiAMP for Yamaha RXV6A and using a external Amp

[dvraghavan]

Audio gurus, i have been reading this forum for many years but posting a query only now.
I bought a Yamaha RXV6A and Samsung 43" QLED last year and also a Wharfedale EVO2-40 as LR early this year; Yamaha NSC-244 Centre Speaker and old Onkyo surround speakers for rear. I repurposed a Yamaha NS333 that had served as LR earlier now as Atmos height speakers. Also moved from Amazon FireTV 4k to Apple TV 4K and am getting Atmos audio where content supports it.
The AVR and Wharfedale support BiAMP and I want to try it. However, if I do BiAmp, AVR wouldn't use the height channels.
I do listen to music from Apple Music and Spotify and have been thinking of buying an IA. If I use it that way and do a BiAMP for the LR, would I be able to still use Height speakers for getting Atmos without rewiring everytime?
Would BiAmping and using an IA improve music performance?
If so, any good IA suggestion around 30k?

 

[manivas]

Bro for how much u got Yamaha RXV6A ?

 

[dvraghavan]

Bro for how much u got Yamaha RXV6A ?

Nearly 65k....this was in Aug 2021

 

[dvraghavan]

Friends, any suggestions?

 

[Dwaipayan]

Even an entry level IA will definitely improve music experience. You can get a Marantz 5005 within your budget.

However, if you want to use it in a chain like AVR -> IA -> speakers, you'll end up with two stages of preamp which will distort the signal somewhat. Ideally you should get an IA which allows disabling the preamp like, say, the audiolab 6000A, but those are quite expensive.

An alternative is to get some kind of an amp selector switch along with a budget IA which will let you use the speakers with either the AVR or the IA (bi-amped) at any given time without the need to rewire.

 

[Amarendra]

Audio gurus, i have been reading this forum for many years but posting a query only now.
I bought a Yamaha RXV6A and Samsung 43" QLED last year and also a Wharfedale EVO2-40 as LR early this year; Yamaha NSC-244 Centre Speaker and old Onkyo surround speakers for rear. I repurposed a Yamaha NS333 that had served as LR earlier now as Atmos height speakers. Also moved from Amazon FireTV 4k to Apple TV 4K and am getting Atmos audio where content supports it.
The AVR and Wharfedale support BiAMP and I want to try it. However, if I do BiAmp, AVR wouldn't use the height channels.
I do listen to music from Apple Music and Spotify and have been thinking of buying an IA. If I use it that way and do a BiAMP for the LR, would I be able to still use Height speakers for getting Atmos without rewiring everytime?
Would BiAmping and using an IA improve music performance?
If so, any good IA suggestion around 30k?

Biamp is a hit or miss. Try running your AVR in stereo and pure direct or direct mode to see if it improves sound. If not satisfied try a cheap IA like Norge to see if it improves things to your liking. To save even more try used IA from this forum or the OLX in your city after proper testing.

 

[dvraghavan]

Thanks Amarendra & Dwaipayan

 

[ssf]

Audio gurus, i have been reading this forum for many years but posting a query only now.
I bought a Yamaha RXV6A and Samsung 43" QLED last year and also a Wharfedale EVO2-40 as LR early this year; Yamaha NSC-244 Centre Speaker and old Onkyo surround speakers for rear. I repurposed a Yamaha NS333 that had served as LR earlier now as Atmos height speakers. Also moved from Amazon FireTV 4k to Apple TV 4K and am getting Atmos audio where content supports it.
The AVR and Wharfedale support BiAMP and I want to try it. However, if I do BiAmp, AVR wouldn't use the height channels.
I do listen to music from Apple Music and Spotify and have been thinking of buying an IA. If I use it that way and do a BiAMP for the LR, would I be able to still use Height speakers for getting Atmos without rewiring everytime?
Would BiAmping and using an IA improve music performance?
If so, any good IA suggestion around 30k?

I have tried Bi-amping and it did not do much in my system. There is a Marantz PM8005 for sale in classifieds which will be perfect for your needs.

You can use the PM8005 as a power amp for your front LRs (provided your AVR has pre-outs at least for front LR) and connect your stereo sources to the Integrated for stereo listening.

https://www.hifivision.com/threads/marantz-pm8005.89516/

 

[Dwaipayan]

The fronts have pre-outs in V6A.

 

[dvraghavan]

Just an update....I went ahead and purchased Marantz PM6007 (budget reasons). It has been good and gives a far better Stereo output than what i have been listening from the Yamaha AVR directly. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Dwaipayan]

Congratulations on your purchase! Marantz has a very warm and sweet sound. Enjoy your setup.

 

[dvraghavan]

All,

I enabled Bi AMP (or not sure if it is Bi Wiring), the system is working well. I listen to lot of hinudstani classical along with Tamil film music (Ilayaraja & Rehman) and all are good.

Now 2 queries:
since the volume for the LR is set on both the IA and AVR, how do I ensure the volume level is maintained when I switch to watching a 5.1 content i.e. I dont want the LR to be much higher/lower than the other speakers
Should I run YPAO calibration again after the setup to get a better adjustment of audio levels? If so, what volume should I set the IA to?

 

[amrutmhatre90]

All,

I enabled Bi AMP (or not sure if it is Bi Wiring), the system is working well. I listen to lot of hinudstani classical along with Tamil film music (Ilayaraja & Rehman) and all are good.

Now 2 queries:
since the volume for the LR is set on both the IA and AVR, how do I ensure the volume level is maintained when I switch to watching a 5.1 content i.e. I dont want the LR to be much higher/lower than the other speakers
Should I run YPAO calibration again after the setup to get a better adjustment of audio levels? If so, what volume should I set the IA to?

Which IA you are using?
From above posts seems you are using Marantz 6007, keep the volume level which you can remember easily. Something like 12oclock would work.

But a big one!
Whenever you turn on IA to use as a 2ch system make sure you turn down the volume and play something. Or speakers might play too loud.

You can try keeping the IA at normal levels which you listen to like 10oclock or 9 but that can be tricky.

 

[Dwaipayan]

All,

I enabled Bi AMP (or not sure if it is Bi Wiring), the system is working well. I listen to lot of hinudstani classical along with Tamil film music (Ilayaraja & Rehman) and all are good.

Now 2 queries:
since the volume for the LR is set on both the IA and AVR, how do I ensure the volume level is maintained when I switch to watching a 5.1 content i.e. I dont want the LR to be much higher/lower than the other speakers
Should I run YPAO calibration again after the setup to get a better adjustment of audio levels? If so, what volume should I set the IA to?

Keep the IA volume at around 25% - 30%. Rerun YPAO after this to ensure other channels are somewhat equalized. You'll probably see the LR levels reduced (-ve gain) and the other channels increased (+ve gain) in the AVR after YPAO completes. You can then manually tweak the levels further if you wish.

When you say bi-amp, I am assuming that you mean your speakers have 2 pairs of binding posts each and you are running 2 pairs of wires from your IA (1 pair from each A & B outputs) to each of the L & R speakers after removing the jumpers from the speaker terminal? That would be bi-amp, although I'm not very sure that it makes much of a difference.

Bi-wiring would be when you do the same thing but connect both pair of wires on the amp side to the same set of output terminals.

 

[dvraghavan]

Keep the IA volume at around 25% - 30%. Rerun YPAO after this to ensure other channels are somewhat equalized. You'll probably see the LR levels reduced (-ve gain) and the other channels increased (+ve gain) in the AVR after YPAO completes. You can then manually tweak the levels further if you wish.

When you say bi-amp, I am assuming that you mean your speakers have 2 pairs of binding posts each and you are running 2 pairs of wires from your IA (1 pair from each A & B outputs) to each of the L & R speakers after removing the jumpers from the speaker terminal? That would be bi-amp, although I'm not very sure that it makes much of a difference.

Bi-wiring would be when you do the same thing but connect both pair of wires on the amp side to the same set of output terminals.

The Marantz has 2 sets of outputs and I have connected both to the same set of LR speakers - ofcourse removing the plates that connected the 2 sets of binding posts on the speakers. When I turn off A channel alone on IA, I can hear only LF output and when I turn off B alone, it outputs the vocals alone. So I guess it is indeed BiAmp setting.

Thanks for your suggestions on the volume levels. I guess I have to try a few iterations to figure what works best. I generally keep the AVR volume between -25 and -30 DB levels before I connected the IA. So now to get the same volume, I am having to keep the Marantz volume level at 3 O Clock position. The Bass,Treble and balance dials are in 12 position. I will try running YPAO again during weekend and let know what I find.

 

[dvraghavan]

Which IA you are using?
From above posts seems you are using Marantz 6007, keep the volume level which you can remember easily. Something like 12oclock would work.

But a big one!
Whenever you turn on IA to use as a 2ch system make sure you turn down the volume and play something. Or speakers might play too loud.

You can try keeping the IA at normal levels which you listen to like 10oclock or 9 but that can be tricky.

I find that when I set IA below 12 O CLock, the speaker outputs are feeble to hear. I set the AVR to -25 to - 30 DB levels before the IA and corresponding IA loudness level seems to be around 2 pm or 3 pm position. I kind of do not adjust the volume on IA and manage on AVR alone to avoid complicating. If there is any views, do let me know. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[Immu]

Which IA you are using?
From above posts seems you are using Marantz 6007, keep the volume level which you can remember easily. Something like 12oclock would work.

But a big one!
Whenever you turn on IA to use as a 2ch system make sure you turn down the volume and play something. Or speakers might play too loud.

You can try keeping the IA at normal levels which you listen to like 10oclock or 9 but that can be tricky.

Hi You have sold your Denon X3700? any reason ?

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Hi You have sold your Denon X3700? any reason ?

Moving out