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Denon 4520CI + 4806 combo as pre-pro and power amp

I just recently bought an used pair 4520CI+4806 combo which previous owner used as pre-pro/power amp combo. Also, previous owner mentioned that 4806 amp section is better than 4520CI and that's the primary reason for using 4806 as power amp while using 4520CI as pre-pro.

Based on my research, it seemed like 4806 is one of the best Denon amp - beefy amp, power supplies, large capacitor etc. ( other than 5805 of course) and thought it would be great setup as audiophile friend of mine used Denon 4308 as pre-pro with NAD T773 receiver as power amp and NAD has power amp inputs other than regular 8.1 EXT inputs and it sounds great.  Based on checking with my friend, in case of NAD T773 setup, it looks like there is no involvement of volume control on power amp inputs in the receiver but it looks to me that's not the case for 4806 based on looking up online so far.

So here are my questions:

I primarily bought this setup and considering used as I can't afford 7200WA right now but wanted high end sound and that's why purchased used. Secondly, I'm also right now not really interested in setting up Atmos( but 4200W is on fire sale with 5.1.2 setup and is tempting though) for now but at the same time wanted best sound quality for both music and movies. My listening preferences includes 50% music and 50% movies.

1) Is it really worth the pain of setting up 4520CI as pre-pro and 4806 as power amp?

First of all, is this setup really recommended? Also I'm not sure if 4806 really supports power amp mode similar to NAD T773 or not. If it isn't then is this setup really valid/recommended? It's confusing as both are receivers and have volume controls in both 4520CI and 4806.

If this setup is valid, then can you recommend what are the setup steps involved in setting it up in both 4520CI to configure as pre-processor and 4806 as power amp?

2) Secondly, is it going to be any better than what's out there such as Denon X4200W which is on fire sale and also there is a great deal on Denon X6200W

4200 has discrete amplifier and is close to 28 pounds
6200 is close to 30 pounds with mono block power amp construction.
4806 is really heavy around 52 pounds and 4520CI 36 pounds similar to 7200WA with L/R separated mono block power amp construction.
4520CI amp is very similar to 7200WA as both are mono block construction with L/R separated except 7200WA has upgraded DACs

First of all I'm not sure if the amplifier differences between 4520/4806 to 4200/6200 are worth it? I don't really listen at high volumes but at moderate volumes and my speakers are rated 4 ohms.

I did not find really rave reviews on 4520CI other than usual Denon 4.5 stars review from Sound and vision which also provided 4.5 stars for X4200W as well. Does this mean they both perform equally well?

For 4806 there are lot's of good reviews out there raving about sound quality and internals:

https://translate.googleusercontent....Y1dXbr0MnJtbXw

http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-av...eiver-2-2.html

http://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12...05-part-1.html

Last but not least, I appreciate your help and based on your replies I'll either keep this combo or may want to back out the deal if it's not the right setup as the seller did not provide accurate info on the setup so far and moreover the seller is not going to ship until early next week and I may have to to ask my money for refund(worst case).

Thanks.
adumadu
savdllc's avatar
savdllc
40 posts
 
Since you mentioned Cambridge Audio as one of the brands you might look into, I’d recommend you give Arcam a look as well; I own a home theater company in Atlanta, GA, and in my experience, I would say that the audio quality of their AVR’s (the AVR850 in particular) is the closest you can get to that of separates before taking the plunge into the world of really expensive high-end audio. If you want to keep the 4520CI as a preamp, there are lots of great options out there from the likes of Arcam, Parasound, Bryston, and many others. Let me know if you need any additional advice - we’re always glad to help. :)

-David Campbell
 President - Southern A/V Direct, LLC
adumadu OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for AVR 850 suggestion but I'm on budget and that's the main reason I originally thought this combo would work but backed out due to non optimal setup and stop gap as suggested above as two volume controls are involved. I'm currently looking at lower model of CA selling for $449

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/camb351rsla/cambridge-audio-azur-351r-5.1-ch-x-50-...
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

@adumadu - What kind of speakers are you using? Keep in mind that that Azure 351r has a smaller power supply and very limited output transistors (50w x 5). You can see the square heatsink in the middle in this picture - limited power supply capacitance.

https://img.tradingpost.com.au/RNSWLVQ7/C92NGJ/R2Y4-Boxed640x480.jpg

The Azure 351R doesn’t even have 5.1 preamp outputs, so you will not be able to add an external amplifier on this unit, should you choose to do this in the future. I have not heard the Azure and it may be nice, but it is going to be a "final buy" item. What you get with it is what you have forever. If you are looking for a short-height unit completely self-contained unit, it may be good. I would look for a double-height (normal height receiver) with a bigger power supply. Even if you don’t use the additional channels, a 125w x 7 would give you a bigger shared power supply to work with. This can be important if your speakers are hard to drive with a radical impedance curve.

adumadu OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for showing the internals. Yes, I do have Totem speakers but it's running fine with Sherwood 972 and I don't want to invest a lot and wanted one simple solution for both audio/video still sounding good for music as opposed to separates. How about Cambridge Audio 651R instead? It costs almost double but I don't want to spend more than that.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

First thing - I totally understand you’re on a budget and I’m not knocking the 351R in any way (I have not heard Cambridge stuff). I’m just pointing out things to think about and things that I would find important to know.

That being said, the 651R is a significant improvement in all ways. I would say the power supply capability is almost 3 times that of the 351R. It does have 7.1 preamp outputs, so you can add an amp in the future if you want. It also has 2 HDMI outputs, which is something you wrote on your wishlist (the 351R only has 1 HDMI output). Reading feedback on this receiver, I would say it’s all about sound quality. It shouldn’t have any problem pushing your speakers -- you may not even feel you need an external amp. If you can swing the cost, I would definitely recommend this one over the 351R (probably even over the Marantz SR6010 I mentioned above). The Marantz might have a warmer sound, but the Cambridge will totally rock on Home Theater and sound impact.

I looked at specs and the 651R doesn’t have any of the fancy internet radio / streaming audio / bluetooth stuff, but it supports all the important things, in my opinion. If you want streaming audio, just buy a cheap Sony Bluray and it has all sorts of streaming functions.

http://www.soundheaven.lv/sites/default/files/product-images/receivers/651r_internal_0.jpg

http://www.soundandvision.com/images/styles/600_wide/public/011212cambridge.jpg?itok=dwAF99bS

It looks like there’s a brand new one on Audiogon for $1199. Is this the one you’re looking at?

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