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In need of some Amplifier advice. Is therereally any point in it with my current setup?

Hello. I have posted in the past, but have since learned a little bit more from reading audio forums, and doing some research and have come to somewhat of a juncture. 

I figure I could "stair step" up on my own and enjoy the ride, or, ask those who have most likely been where i am before and skip a few steps =). 

My current setup consists of a Yamaha adventage-A3070 AV receiver (150wattsx8ohms 2chd), and 2 Polk LSIM707 towers. 

I've been looking at used Classe amps here on audiogon, or possibly a new parasound Halo A21 power aplifier,  and have thought about purchasing them. 

My question is, would my Yamaha advantage 3070 even be a sufficient pre-amp? It has pre-outs for all channels, and it also has an ess sabre DAC for my digital flac files. Or would using the Yamaha as a pre completely destroy the sound of the power amplifier? Essentially wasting $1,000-$3,000. 

My other question is pretty obvious. Should I trade up, just spend the $1,000-$3,000 on better set of speakers I've been eye balling like  the EMT-LFT8s, and stick with the Yamaha receiver's power for now. 

If it were you. What would you do? 


moskaudio
gasbose's avatar
gasbose
82 posts
 
I'm not familiar with the Polk (or ET) speakers, but I totally agree with gdnrbob; put your money into speakers first. Then look at amps, pre-amps, etc. And yes, as he says, look for the speakers that 'sing' to you.

You're at the beginning of a search that should be a lot of fun. Enjoy!!

Gasbose


soix
9,456 posts
 
To answer one of your initial questions, if 2-channel is at all important to you the receiver needs to go.  All of it.  Forever.  End of story.  Then, as others have said, find the speakers that really blow you away and then find the power amp and preamplifier (or a good stereo integrated) that work best with them.  When auditioning speakers don't overthink it and just let them come to you.  When you hear the right ones you'll know because you'll stop thinking about individual aspects of sound (or other speakers) and just be thrilled with every part of what you're hearing.  Last piece of advice -- do NOT underestimate the role of the preamplifier in the ultimate performance of your system.  It is at least as (if not more) important as an amp.  Take your time and enjoy the journey. 

moskaudio OP
28 posts
 
@soix  Thank you for the advice. I doubt i will really get rid of the receiver since i do use it for my 4k TV for various video sources, but i certainly won't be using it to power my 2-channel setup by the time I am finished. The polks however will most likely be sold/traded hah. 

@bdp24 I have plenty of space. At the moment my polk towers are spaced about 7-8' apart (The seem to sound the best to me at this spacing. All vocals and mids still sound centered when they are supposed to be). I have more than 16' of space to play with horizontally and more than 2' to play with in depth from the wall. I currently sit about 14' away from the speakers themselves. 
moskaudio OP
28 posts
 
@mrdecibel  i have listened to many audiophile quality recordings to get a good idea of what the polks can do. I've listened to some remastered MQA 32bit pink floyd tracks, some MQA 32bit Daniel Barenboim pieces, along with a few MQA tracks from various female vocalists. Diana Krall being one of them. 

Overall for their MSRP and what i paid for I'm incredibly impressed. The only real basis I have for comparison are inifity r.s. 2.5 tower speakers with the 10" subs and 4 electrostats per tower. Which needless to say, blow the polks out of the water in the mid range and vocal area. 


moskaudio OP
28 posts
 
@mrdecibel Unfortunately the infinity's belong to my father =P. He's had them since the 80s. Until recently however they had just been collecting dust until I connected them up with an older rotel integrated amp and a decent CD player. He didn't realize what he had =)
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