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Do I need an amp for my speakers?

46K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  lcaillo 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

Need to know if I need to buy an amplifier for my speaker set up. Just to give you an idea of what I have right now:

Onkyo NR609
*All Speakers are Def Tech
2 BP8060st floors
1 CS8060HD (center)
4 Front Back/Surround (Pro Cinema 600 series)
1 ProCinema 600 series subwoofer

I just moved to a 7.1 setup by adding in the floors and updating my center channel. Also if I do need an amp, do you have suggestions on which to buy?

thanks for the help
 
#2 ·
the more power the better! yes you need much more.. if you want great sound quality and dynamics..

head room and power is one of the main tickets for great sound..

cheers
 
#8 ·
There is no reason he needs an amp. The BP8060's have built in amps for the bass radiators and the rest of the speakers are 92db efficient. The Onkyo 609 was bench tested to do better than 90 Watts per channel all channels driven and it would have no issues driving all his speakers to reference levels without distortion.
 
#5 ·
The answer to the question about needing an amp is this: Does your system play loud enough as-is? If so, then spending the money for an external amp is not worth it. Yes, you will get some benefit in dynamics, but consider this: The ear is a logarithmic "device." Most people can barely hear 3 db of volume difference, but that represents twice the amp power: 100 watts to 200 watts. For a system to sound twice as loud to the ear requires a 10 db increase, or 10 times the power: 100 watts to 1000 watts.

That said, there is a way to add an amp to your existing receiver. Search for a line level converter that will connect to your receiver speaker connections and provide RCA jacks at line level for driving an external amp. I know that they used to be available, but I haven't checked in a long time. Carver made one long ago, so maybe you could find one on ebay. The ones made for car stereos may work as well, but they may not be able to handle the receiver's output.

The other option, of course, is to replace the receiver with one with preamp outputs. To get that will put you into the mid to upper price range.
 
#9 ·
Do you "need" an amp? Probably not. Would an amp be beneficial? Possibly... I think Tony's reply is spot on but depending upon your room and listening habits an amp might help. I do think in your case that room treatments would likely be a better investment than an amp.
 
#11 ·
My 709 is rated 110 w with two channels driven. Many would say that my Rotel RB-965 rated at 100 w all channels driven would be a better amp and would sound better. Frankly, I cannot tell much difference. I think it might make a difference on some speakers, but the OP is using Def Techs, which are typically pretty efficient.

I'd test the actual output myself, but my old dummy loads are only going to let me test 4 channels driven at once, but it might still be interesting to do. With music it is unlikely to reach anywhere near the current demands of all channels driven. Loading the center, left, and right and one surround channel and driving sine wave to max should be harder than anything one would do with actual music programming.
 
#13 ·
Hey guys,

Need to know if I need to buy an amplifier for my speaker set up. Just to give you an idea of what I have right now:

Onkyo NR609
*All Speakers are Def Tech
2 BP8060st floors
1 CS8060HD (center)
4 Front Back/Surround (Pro Cinema 600 series)
1 ProCinema 600 series subwoofer

I just moved to a 7.1 setup by adding in the floors and updating my center channel. Also if I do need an amp, do you have suggestions on which to buy?
thanks for the help
With the speakers you have it is unlikely that you are stressing the AVR.

Is there something you think is lacking with the sound quality ?
 
#16 ·
no power equals low dynamic flat sounding systems..

you need lots of headroom power for the dynamic spikes

spikes can draw a 1000 watts of power for a milli sec avr do not campare to amps..

drum kicks etc.. can draw enormous amounts of instantanous power that avrs do not ave the
capacitance to deliever..

cheers
 
#19 ·
Nothing "canned" about my answers at all.
If you like 2 channel listening without a sub thats your choice but there is hardly any resonable priced speakers out there that can reproduce full frequency without a drop of more than 3db at or below 30Hz and with today's good recordings there is plenty of information below that. Besides this thread is not talking about 2 channel listening.
I know what good speakers sound like and own some. I run a dedicated amp only on the mains for piece of mind only as I have run them on the receivers amps as well and did not hear any difference at all. Jazz is one of my most favorite types of music and have many high quality recordings so I do know what cymbals and other instruments should sound like.
 
#21 ·
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