Will an Amplifier Improve Your Home Theater? Home Theater Basics

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[TheRealMB]

For me, it made a noticeable difference. I was running a 7.3.2 With a Marantz 7015 receiver. I have Klipsch RF7 IIIs and an RC64 III on my front soundstage. Also have RP8000f towers In the rear. I put an Anthem 325 on the LCRs. It did wake them up. But it woke up the mid range in the rear/heights even more. I assume because the LCRs were no longer stealing all of the power LOL. Not just a headroom improvement, but improved detail too. I'd say the hungrier, higher quality speakers will yield the most noticeable difference.

[robzilla]

You nailed it!
Depending on 3 things: speaker sensitivity, desired listening volume and crossover point to subwoofers. 55 watts per channel RMS at low THD can be more than enough power. It is a multi variable equation. Short answer: it depends. Great job explaining.

[JeremyHemp]

I have an Emotiva XPA7 hooked to an Arcam AVR11. I noticed a huge difference right away. Not only were action scenes more dynamic but the clarity was much better.

[slimjim]

And keep in mind 100 watts vs 200 is only 3db. At loud volumes noticeable but dint expect it to be like whoa!!! I went from a 200 to 300 per channel within the same brand as I expected at loud volumes noticeable. Reg volumes not so much. I've had alot of power amps too. Dont let price make you think you are necessarily getting a better amp either. Emotiva ATI outlaw have performed as good as parasound halos, aragon. Levison, and other high end amps I've had.

[Achy_]

If your speakers can handle a lot of power, it's worlds of difference!
Denon 6300 was my only power source for many years, now for 1 year the Arendal 1723 THX are in the house (LCR) and since 2 weeks I have an Emotiva xpa-3 Gen3 connected, it is a huge difference, in music, film....chicken skin and bleeding ears!!! I love it!!

[D.L.W.]

To answer your question, no, I do not use a separate power amp. My living room is 13' x 14'. All the speakers in my 7.2.4 system are rated at 87dB sensitivity, and my AVR is 150 watts x 2 with a 600 watt power supply. So far, so good. I have cranked it up fairly loud and it still plays distortion-free. My sound system consists of 4 SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers (2 for the mains and 2 for the side channels), an SVS Ultra Center speaker, 6 SVS Prime Elevation speakers (4 ceiling mounted for Dolby Atmos and 2 mounted on the back wall for the rear channels) and 2 SVS SB-3000 Subwoofers. The system is powered by a Yamaha Aventage RX-A8A 11 channel AVR connected to a Panamax M5400-PM Power Conditioner.

[SoCalVipers]

I don't remember the receiver I had, but I added a 5x200 watt Outlaw amp about 15 or 20 years ago. The speakers were small Tannoy PBM 6.5 studio monitors. The improvement in sound quality was dramatic. The amp was a good value. I'm still using it, but I'm on my 3 processor and 3rd set of front speakers. In all fairness, the speakers were fine until my 2 year-old thought the aluminum dome mid-range was a button and kept pressing it. :(

I've never had a $6000+ flagship receiver, but compared to the amp in a sub $1000 receiver, an external amp is a must. And now, you can get a decent amp for a pretty good price.

However, If I were starting from scratch, I'd likely use 3 powered studio monitors for LCR. As an audio engineer, I really love the flat and accurate sound that studio monitors give. I designed a home theater for my Dad 20 years ago with all Genelec monitors and it's still as good as a post production sound stage - it was REALLY expensive, not a bad value when you consider how long it's been.

[stikle]

Great simplified explanation! I've had quite a few AVRs over the years, last being a Denon 6200 + Onkyo 2 channel amp. Big fan of Denon for general purpose. I'm running 9.4.4 Atmos and in my room, the power was just about right. It got loud enough and was still clean enough to be acceptable.

After about 5 years with the last configuration, I decided to change things up and replaced everything with Emotiva gear: MC-1 13 channel processor + A6 & A7 amps (13 channels). Never having heard a system with separates before, I wasn't sure what to expect and hoped for a night and day difference. Well, as you pointed out in this video, that's not to be expected and certainly wasn't my experience. However, I think there is more fidelity with this setup, and after room correction, I like the bass response more now at the MLP.

I'm the most home theater snobby out of anybody I know and the upgrade was worth it to me. Can other people tell the difference when they come over? No. EVERYTHING sounds better than TV speakers or a sound bar. At least my immediate family all have AVRs, so they are all a step above the general public anyway.

Keep on with the great content!

[foxvader]

Great video - Only thing I'm uncertain about is due to my speakers; RF7 II L&R (101db sensitivity) and RC64 II C and their remarkable high efficiency and is an amplifier warranted. I have a Denon 6400 receiver and i'm considering getting an Emotiva XPA-5 (200 watt per channel) to get more head room and clarity but having such efficient speakers it might not be necessary. I'm running a 11 (7.2.4) speaker setup with 2 subwoofers so I'm sure the amp is diluted pushing all those speakers. I know there are alot of experts out there, maybe even someone with similar setup who can offer advice.

[CSEducator]

Thi s was a Fantastic explanation! Great video!

[gregbartley]

Like almost everyone I started with a simple 5.1 receiver several years ago. If you have the budget, a separate pre/pro and amplifier(s) is the way to go. The power supplies in AVR’s aren’t mage to do everything they are asked to do

[quitmanlott]

You mostly got it right. The available wattage to each added channel is not linier, unless all speakers are equal. When using efficient (sensitive) speakers, the available wattage per speaker will not drop much. Each speaker you add to your Amp, depending on its needs, takes its share of the available wattage from the power supply. If you have power hungry vintage front speaks as I do, at louder volumes, they will suck your main amp's power supply dry. They will do this to the extent of stealing power from all of the other speakers, leaving themselves to also sound under driven, and weak. To take that load off of your main amp, run RCA cables from this theater amp’s front channel pre-outs to a power amp. This power amp will do a much better job driving these large front speakers. This greatly improves the dynamic range of the entire sound system. I have 4 amplifiers in my main sound system, including two active subwoofers.

[SavageAirCinema]

I went from an AVR to three separate amps to power my 11 speakers. MUCH better sound in the detail and dynamic range.

[ronnbot]

My old Harman/Kardon receiver is "only" rated at 75W per ch, but that's driving all 7 channel at 20-20kHz 0.07% THD and its power supply is rated at 890W, so it never struggles to power all 7.

In contrast, the receiver I'm interested in, the Denon AVR-X3800H 9.4 ch, is 105W/ch but its power supply is smaller at 660W. It also weighs 4lbs less. However, I'm looking at this one because it has preouts.

It's ironic you'd have to spend much more on higher models with more power and features just to get preouts.

[techcode_man]

Nice explanation!! I strongly believe in separate amps make huge difference. You need to experience it, to believe it 🙂

[Channel-iodi]

Great video. Always something I wondered about. I have a yamaha rx-a880 and 5.1. Sounds great to me. I am almost done installing ceiling speakers for 5.1.2. We shall see if it struggles with 2 more speakers, but I don't watch movies super loud, usually with the volume at -15.0 db volume setting in my living room/"theater". Sometimes even quieter at -25 db. I think I'll probably be fine. My main speakers are JBL 4311b's.

[navinadv]

Adding just a stereo power amp for the front speakers is usually the most VFM upgrade as about 50% of the sound in a 5/7 channel set up is delivered by the front left and right channels. Stereo power amps are a dime a dozen, compared to 3, 4, 5 channel amps. Most of us have an older stereo power amp in our collection.

[rodstawaa]

Over time I’ve managed to acquire basx a3+4, freeing up my aventage to power only the 4 bed layer. Now my LCR whacks and gained considerable headroom all around!
I never noticed how compressed everything sounded. Now it really is a home ‘cinema’ I’m glad I invested, rewatching a lot of films in awe

[youngworld]

Just got my first amp(emotiva xpa5 gen 3) with full klipsch 7.2.2 and honestly I haven't really noticed that much of a difference yet. I think only time you really notice a difference is when it's turned up loud.

[scottyo]

It's not day and night, but it is noticeable. When I had my theater in a 10'x12' room, the SR7012 performed well. When I went to a larger room, external amps helped. With a larger room, you tend to turn it up louder. Also, with larger amps, I seemed to have better dynamics at lower volumes. Some think I am crazy though.