Some newbie amp questions

[augustwest]

Hi – I have some newbie questions – hoping someone could help me out here. I have never considered buying separate components before and am wondering if it makes sense for me right now. I currently have a 5.1 home theater setup and am considering switching my speakers from bookshelf to floor standing speakers.

I was particularly interested in the T2+/C2+ combo for replacing my front stage.

After doing some reading, I thought maybe it would also make sense to invest in an amp as well. My current receiver is a Yamaha RX-A870 (https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-a870_u/specs.html)

My room is not that large, around 20x16, with low ceilings. I was considering getting the BasX A3, or the XPA-3 to go with these speakers.

I have never owned an external amp before and had some questions about this.

1) Does the external amp replace the receiver’s power source for the speakers it’s driving? Or does it supplement it (I'm talking about for each channel)?

2) Based on the specs of my receiver above, would the BasX be a noticeable upgrade in power? Or would my current receiver be enough power to drive these and an amp not necessary?
3) Would I see any other noticeable different between these two amps given my room size? Trying to understand if it’s worth spending the extra money for the XPA-3.
4) Is there any reason to not just get a 5 channel amp? Its only $100-$300 difference in cost.
5) Would the BasX pair well with the T2+/C2+ front system?

6) Is it ok to mix 4ohm and 8ohm speakers in the same system?

Thanks!

AW

[garbulky]

I would reccomend the Emotiva PA-1 monoblock amps for this purpose. Unfortunately they are no longer sold, but you can find them used for an excellent price. I would take them over the XPA-3.

[geebo]

Jan 27, 2022 17:50:04 GMT -5 augustwest said:

Hi – I have some newbie questions – hoping someone could help me out here. I have never considered buying separate components before and am wondering if it makes sense for me right now. I currently have a 5.1 home theater setup and am considering switching my speakers from bookshelf to floor standing speakers.

I was particularly interested in the T2+/C2+ combo for replacing my front stage.

After doing some reading, I thought maybe it would also make sense to invest in an amp as well. My current receiver is a Yamaha RX-A870 (https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-a870_u/specs.html)

My room is not that large, around 20x16, with low ceilings. I was considering getting the BasX A3, or the XPA-3 to go with these speakers.

I have never owned an external amp before and had some questions about this.

1) Does the external amp replace the receiver’s power source for the speakers it’s driving? Or does it supplement it (I'm talking about for each channel)?

2) Based on the specs of my receiver above, would the BasX be a noticeable upgrade in power? Or would my current receiver be enough power to drive these and an amp not necessary?
3) Would I see any other noticeable different between these two amps given my room size? Trying to understand if it’s worth spending the extra money for the XPA-3.
4) Is there any reason to not just get a 5 channel amp? Its only $100-$300 difference in cost.
5) Would the BasX pair well with the T2+/C2+ front system?

6) Is it ok to mix 4ohm and 8ohm speakers in the same system?

Thanks!

AW

I have the T2's with a C2 and the XPA-3 drives them quite nicely. The external amps would replace the receiver's amps and would be driven by the pre outs of the Yamaha. The BasX A3 can easily drive 4 ohm loads, too, but with the XPA-3 you have the option of adding more channels later if you ever get a stand alone processor. The Yamaha does not give a separate 4 ohm load power spec which could mean it's current limited and just can't put out much more power into 4 ohms than 8 ohms. The stand alone amps will give you increased dynamics regardless of room size. I went from and Onkyo receiver about 11 years ago to a standalone amp and was blown away by the differences. There's just no comparison. With the Emotiva amps you can drive a mix of 4 and 8 ohm speakers but I'm not sure how the Yamaha would handle it because again, they avoid giving a 4 ohm power rating.

[drtrey3]

Great questions, welcome to the nut house!

1. Yes, the external amp will power your speakers instead of the receiver. The amp section of the receiver does not have to be used at all if you have enough channels of external power.

2. The BasX will spank the power section of your receiver and show it who is the new boss. Really.

3. Not sure about the two amps, I think there might be less of a difference between the Emo amps than the difference between the receiver and the emo amps. More power is more good, but I am running my T2s louder than I want (a little last night) with 150 Emo watts.

4. If you are going to use all those channels, it sure is nice to have just one amp to work with. Unused channels just wait for an upgrade to show you their stuff.

5. Yep, it will grab those woofers and move them with authority. Good choice keeping the same speaker family so the tweeters match.

6. It is with an Emotiva amp.

Keep us posted!

Trey

[leonski]

Have you heard the speakers you are thinking of buying?

I'd recommend going somewhere.....nearly anywhere, just for a LISTEN. Take notes of what you listen to and if you like or NOT.

The price point of the T2 / C2 is very competitive. Many builders in and around this price area.

Also? If the speakers are enough different, you'll maybe be annoyed at the 'timbre' difference between fronts and the rest.

My OPINION is that this match is very important long-term.....

A longer term plan MIGHT be in order? Improve amps this cycle and in 6 months? Buy some new speakers after audition.....

And yes, adding amps using the PREAMP outputs, will 'ease' the load on the Yammy. HT receeivers are feeble at best and you'll hear THAT difference, too.

[housetech]

Greetings
If you bought the BasX A3, you would have 140w/ch into 8 ohms and about 200w/ch into 4 ohm (Emotiva T2 & C2) which would be plenty. (use the pre-outs to the amp) Your front 3 speakers will draw the most power, so it's smart to power them with a more powerful external amp. That would leave the receiver's amp to power the others with plenty of power also. Also there's no concern for mixing speakers of mixed impedance with an external amp powering the from 3 speakers if your surround & rear speakers are 8 ohm from the receiver. You'll notice a big improvement just adding the A3, and upgrading the 3 front speakers. Many people like that simple upgrade of 3 ch amp.

EDIT- I meant to say " and upgrading the 3 front speakers later, if you choose ."
With a quality external amp, mixing impedances won't hurt the amp- as long as it is stated to be 4 ohm. 

If I was buying an AVR today for Atmos use, I would still use my XPA-5 or a 3-ch amp for the front stage.

[AudioHTIT]

Jan 27, 2022 17:50:04 GMT -5 augustwest said:

Hi – I have some newbie questions – hoping someone could help me out here …

Plenty of good suggestions here. I think your questions are best answered by only changing one component at a time, starting with the speakers. So give the T2+/C2+ a listen without changing anything else in your system, there will be a significant difference as nothing makes more of a noticeable change than speakers (excluding fixing a faulty component). Listen to your system for a while like this, maybe you’ll love it just the way it is, or maybe you’ll decide that you want to try and make it even better. You’ll then have a new baseline to evaluate any change against.

[leonski]

Jan 30, 2022 15:23:12 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

Jan 27, 2022 17:50:04 GMT -5 augustwest said:

Hi – I have some newbie questions – hoping someone could help me out here …

Plenty of good suggestions here. I think your questions are best answered by only changing one component at a time, starting with the speakers. So give the T2+/C2+ a listen without changing anything else in your system, there will be a significant difference as nothing makes more of a noticeable change than speakers (excluding fixing a faulty component). Listen to your system for a while like this, maybe you’ll love it just the way it is, or maybe you’ll decide that you want to try and make it even better. You’ll then have a new baseline to evaluate any change against.

I get the 'one thing at a time' suggestion.    A very good one, at that.    Changing several things at once means never knowing just WHAT made it better or worse.

But for speakers?    I'd GET OUT somewhere for a listen.   Even somebody's house which has a decent system.  I've seen ONLINE speaker listening and am left puzzled.    Just how does that

actually work?    I'm listenong to a pair of 5000$ Klipsch speakers thru a 100$ set of headphones.....or worse, the dimestore speakers with my computer.      Now What?

And buying by 'review' is also tricky.    If you can figure out what you and the reviewer do or do not have in common, that may help.    But just listening to a bunch of blather about

imaging or slarm or WhatEver doesn't get you much without a reference.      I can think of ONE reviewer at stereophile with which I totally disagree.   But even that can help......