Pairing an EMO Amp to NHT Classic Three speakers

[parkingchair]

Will the UPA-500 be enough?

Thanks!

[pedrocols]

I once had Paradigm Studio 100 speakers with a UPA-500 and I think it was fine for HT. But then again my listening space is not huge .

[Deleted]

I'm not clear on your situation.  You are asking about a 5 channel amp for a HT system?   What exact speakers are we talking about here?  Five NHT Classic Three's, three of them and two different surrounds, or what?  You have a 5 channel amp already?  Thiel SCS2?  Can you be specific on your plans and what exact components will be in this system.  5.1 HT?  Do you have or plan on a sub?

The Classic Three are considered to be an excellent bookshelf speaker and should be a great match for a THX style system along with a quality sub.  However, the Three's actually tested out at a quite low sensitivity of 83dB's versus the 86dB spec.  They will take a lot of power for maximum performance.  Lots of detail on the dimensions of your room, opening to other areas, carpeting, other sound absorbing material (drapes, heavy upholstered furniture, etc.) and how loud you like your playback will help to determine how much power you need to avoid clipping/distortion of instantaneous dynamic peaks.  Looks to me like the UMC-500 might be OK to marginal in a small to medium room.  In a medium to large room and loud the XPA-5 might be better depending on the surround speakers.  More info please.   

[parkingchair]

I guess i should clarify. My ADCOM amp fried one of the Thiels and so I am redoing the system with NHT Classic 3s. So yes, There will be Classic 3’s for L, R front plus matching center channel. Then a pair of NHT Classic 2s or Super Ones for the rear surrounds. My room is not large so i was hoping the UPA-500 would suffice.

[parkingchair]

And I already have an HSU sub.

[Deleted]

The Classic two or Super one should be a nice match for the surrounds.  The ThreeC Center is the best center match.  They are low sensitivity like the Classic Three's. However, the two rear channels don't require as much power as the LCR's.  The HSU sub helps but no model number and no room information (not large?).  Sorry to ask for so much detail but it quite important and helps greatly trying to recommend the proper amp for your situation.

That said, presuming you will indicate all 5 speakers as "small" (not large or full range) in the pre-pro I would try ordering the UMC-500 first.  Transferring all LFE special effects and the bass below 80Hz to the powered sub will take some of the load off the amp required to drive that lower bass, if there was no sub or you set them to "large", and this free up the amps to adequately drive the five speakers to your reference level requirements .  Have everything else set up and ready to go when the UMC-500 arrives.  Test your system thoroughly to make sure it has enough power for the loudest dynamic passages from movies and also from multi-channel music/videos.  If it is OK, you are one happy guy.  If not then the return freight is a cheap price to pay for upgrading to the XPA-5.  Going with the XPA-3 and a smaller amp for the surrounds would not save you any money.  Good luck.     

   

[parkingchair]

I couldn’t remember the model number yesterday. It’s a HSU VT-2 sub, and the room is about 13x15. I have a 55 inch Samsung DLP which sticks out a couple feet from the wall, so I’m really only about 9 or 10 feet from the screen. That’s why I thought the UPA-500 might be enough power, but the low sensitivity worried me.

[knucklehead]

Most (not all) bookshelf speakers have low sensitivity. More drivers equal higher sensitivity - usually. I wouldn't worry too much about the 86db sensitivity of the Three's. They are a great sounding speaker by most reviews I've read. And you are using them in a smaller sized room which will help a lot. The UPA-500 should do just fine. You'll have 30 days to decide that for yourself. A more powerful amp probably isn't needed. I drove my ERT's with a UPA-500 for a few months. It didn't have near the power of most of the amps I've owned over the years but it did the job. And thats all you can ask of an amp.