UPA-200 & UPA-500 Speaker Connection

[dominica]

EQUIPMENT ONKYO 818, UPA-200, 2 UPA-500’S

I received a UPA-200 from my dad today, I now have an extra 2 channel amp, when he upgraded his this week. I would like to know which way I can get the best performance out of my amp and speakers (EMR-6.3 and Polk Vm30) or it does not make a difference?

What amp should I put my Center Channel, Front Left & Right speakers( both the new upa-200 and upa-500 do not have any speakers connected) but my other speakers are on a different amp: First UPA-500 (2 SURROUND SPEAKERS EMOTIVA ERD-1 AND 2 FRONT WIDE EMOTIVA UAW-8.2) , ONKYO 818 HAS (SUR BACK LEFT & RIGHT POLK - VM20 8 Ohms connected) ?




SPEAKER CONNECTION ADVICE FOR:

Polk Audio VM30 ( FRONT LEFT & FRONT RIGHT)


Total Frequency Response 50Hz-26kHz
Upper -3dB Limit 25 kHz
Lower -3dB Limit 60 Hz
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
Efficiency 90 dB
Recommended Amplifier Power 20-225 watts per channel


1 X Emotiva ERM-6.3 Center Monitor

Technical Specifications
•
4 Ohms
•
Two 6.5" Woofers, Two 4" woofers, One 25mm tweeter
•
Sensitivity: 89db (2.83volts @ 1 Meter)
•
Recommended amplifier power: 50-350 Watts RMS
•
Frequency response: 80hz-20kHz +/-2db



Thanks.

[Dark Ranger]

Hi dominica,

I'll take a stab at your question. First, let me ensure I understand what you have:


Speakers

Mains - Polk VM30 Floorstanding
Center - Emotiva ERM-6.3
Surround - Emotiva ERD-1
Back Surround - Polk VM20
Front Wide - Emotiva UAW-8.2


Amps

Emotiva UPA-200 - new arrival / nothing connected
Emotiva UPA-500 - Front Wide L/R, Surround L/R
Emotiva UPA-500 - not in use / nothing connected
Onkyo TX-NR818 - Back Surround
Other unknown amplifier - Front L/R, Center? (or were these speakers previously connected to your Onkyo?)


There are many ways to skin this cat and I've listed a few options below. According to this high-res image of the rear panel, your Onkyo has preouts for 7.2 channels, plus the optional Wide/Height channels. The additional Emotiva amps will allow you to move the Wide speakers off the Onkyo to the external amps.


OPTION #1

UPA-200 - use for Main L/R
UPA-500 #1 - use for Surround L/R and Back Surround L/R
UPA-500 #2 - use for Center and Front Wide L/R

This option is probably the simplest and allows you to run the Front L/R speakers on a dedicated, high-performance amplifier. By utilizing both UPA-500 amps, you can power the rest of your speakers, including the Wides. You'll also have two extra channels available on UPA-500 #2, so you could use them for a Zone 2 setup or alternate, small 2 channel setup.


OPTION #2

UPA-200 - use for Main L/R
UPA-500 #1 - use for Front Wide L, Surround L, and Back Surround L, and Center
UPA-500 #2 - use for Front Wide R, Surround R, and Back Surround R

This option provides the same dedicated amp for Front L/R, but uses each UPA-500 to power either the left or right side speakers. Notice that each UPA-500 powers one half (or side) of the system. You can maximize surround separation here between left channels and right channels. Of course, you'll still get two free channels available on UPA-500 #2 for a Zone 2 setup, etc.


OPTION #3

UPA-500 #1 - use for Front L, Front Wide L, Surround L, and Back Surround L, and Center
UPA-500 #2 - use for Front R, Front Wide R, Surround R, and Back Surround R
UPA-200 - use in another system, sell, etc.

This is a variation on Option #2, except it removes the UPA-200 from the system and connects the Front L/R speakers to the UPA-500 amplifiers. Notice that each UPA-500 powers one half (or side) of the system. This is a great option to use if you can only fit two amplifiers into your setup, but want all the speakers connected to external amplifiers. It also provides the least "waste" of amp channels.


I could list a few other options, but these are the main three I'd consider. It comes down to how much space you have available for amplifiers, as well as overall preferences.

[dominica]

Hi Dark Ranger,

Thank you so much for taking the time and giving me so many different options, so glad I came to the site. Your break down was easy to understand for me. I have the space in my rack and my speakers install is very clean (wall plates, jacks, labels etc), connecting and changing was very easy, so I tried option #2 and it sound's much better than my older option of the speakers split between one UPA-500 and my ONKYO 818. I will run the Audyssey xt32 config when no one is at home. I have a different setup in my zone 2 area, so I have the extra channels to play around with ( maybe bi-amp the center?)

" OPTION #2

UPA-200 - use for Main L/R
UPA-500 #1 - use for Front Wide L, Surround L, and Back Surround L, and Center
UPA-500 #2 - use for Front Wide R, Surround R, and Back Surround R

This option provides the same dedicated amp for Front L/R, but uses each UPA-500 to power either the left or right side speakers. Notice that each UPA-500 powers one half (or side) of the system. You can maximize surround separation here between left channels and right channels. Of course, you'll still get two free channels available on UPA-500 #2 for a Zone 2 setup, etc.

Speakers

Mains - Polk VM30 Floorstanding
Center - Emotiva ERM-6.3
Surround - Emotiva ERD-1
Back Surround - Polk VM20
Front Wide - Emotiva UAW-8.2 "


I have one more question(smile). I use the Emotiva ERM-6.3 as my center, can I bi-amp my center channel within the UPA-500 using the y-cable and two channels on the UPA-500 or is it even worth it to bi-amp?

Thanks for your help

[Dark Ranger]

Sure, no problem. I'm glad you found my suggestions useful.

Per your other question:

I use the Emotiva ERM-6.3 as my center, can I bi-amp my center channel within the UPA-500 using the y-cable and two channels on the UPA-500 or is it even worth it to bi-amp?

There are folks in both camps on the bi-amp discussion. Personally, I haven't played around with it much because none of my speakers are bi-amp (or bi-wire) capable. That being said, the improvements depend on a lot of things. You might hear an improvement, you might hear no change at all, or you might find it sounds worse (less common). From a technical standpoint, bi-amping can improve dynamics and lower distortion (among other things) because the speaker has more power to play with. Consider the UPA-500 amplifier and ERM-6.3: rather than 80 watts to share between all 5 drivers, it's 80 watts dedicated for the 3 tweeter/mid drivers, and an additional 80 watts dedicated for the dual woofers.

If you're curious, my suggestion is to try it both ways. That's the only way to be sure, and you won't have to constantly wonder if bi-amping would sound better. It might seem like I'm taking the easy way out, here, but I'm just being honest. A lot of our choices boil down to simple preferences. If it were me, I'd definitely try it. The extra amp channels make it very tempting to bi-amp that ERM-6.3 permanently, especially since we're discussing UPA-500 amplifiers here (rather than, say, an XPA-5 or XPR-5).

As far as hook-ups go, you're on the right track there. Use a Y-splitter and connect to 2 different amp channels. You can use the same UPA-500 for both inputs, or, if you want to get crazy, connect one Y output to UPA-500 #1, and the other Y output to UPA-500 #2. So basically, the bi-amped center will be connected to 2 different UPA-500s (e.g. the tweeter/mids from UPA-500 #1 and the woofers from UPA-500 #2). You've got spare channels, so just wire it up how you'd like.

***IMPORTANT***

Remember to remove the bi-amp terminal links since you'll be connecting the speaker to 2 discrete amp channels.

[dominica]

Thanks again Dark Ranger.

I will give it a try later to this week. I ordered some Banana plugs ( I want a clean install on all my speakers etc lol), so when I get them in a few days I will give it a try and bi-amp them. Like you said all I can do is give it a try and see if it is worth it, since I have the extra channels on the amp to give it a go. I will remember to take out the terminal links for sure.

Thanks again for your help. Have a great one!

[dominica]

Update

Thanks Dark Ranger again for all the advice and Amp setup options. The setup sound much better, and by setting up the amps everything runs much cooler and the receiver so so cool to the touch. I have been so busy these day, but will have some vacation time to enjoy my setup now.