2. amps-preamps
  3. 1155074772

Will adding an amp make a noticable difference?

I have a Harman Kardon AVR335 7.1 receiver which is rated at 55wpc.I am building a 7.1 system that currently consists of Paradigm 7SE MK3 for fronts and Paradigm CC300 for the center. As I find them, I will be adding side and back surrounds. This system will be used 99% of the time for multi-channel music. I listen to a wide variety of music and if by myself I like it fairly loud. Since most multi-channel music at this time is 5.1, should I be looking at 5 channel amps now and add another when 6.1 or 7.1 software becomes available? And I guess maybe the first question should be, is adding an amp going to be that noticable? If yes...how many wpc of an amp should I be looking for and what brands? More than likely I would be interested in used. Thanks for your input.
spankydog6011
Post removed 
spankydog6011 OP
6 posts
 
Kthomas,

Thanks for responding. Yes the HK has pre-outs and Logic 7 decoding. I also have a cd player that plays DVD-Audio, SACD ant DTS cd's. The room is 17' wide by 24' deep, carpeted floors, walls are wainscotting (wood) lower 1/3 and drywall above. There is a dropped ceiling in the room that is made of 1" thick metal and it is insulated.
vman71
218 posts
 
Spanydog6011,

Not knowing what your budget is, you might try the following:

1. Add a multi-channel amp that at least has three channels (for the front three)
2. Mod your source with some basic upgrades (caps, dampening, diodes, power supply tweak, etc.)
3. Upgrade the crossover networks in your front three speakers

Really depends on your budget but doing those three things will make a noticable difference.

Mike
nuguy
195 posts
 
Absolutely, I added a Mcintosh MC352 to my HK AVR7200. The sound improved dramatically. Think about the cost of your HK and divide it by the number of amps (7), not to mention all the bells and whistles with the HK. You're probably looking at around 100.00 per amp (guessing). It would be great if you could find a good amp to try, if not you could always take your receiver to an audio shop and have them hook it up to something for you.


Good luck
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