# Wanting an external amp opinions?



## graydodge14 (Jul 17, 2010)

Since its getting close to CHristmas i was thinking of asking for an external amp from the family to further my HT experience. Im currently running all my equipment off of a Onkyo 808,along with PSB T65 which say they can take up to 200 watts. which sounds good but i want that extra power and clarity. I was thinking maybe Emotivas 3 channel amp since i am only running a 3.1 setup. If in the future i got surrounds i could just run them off the AVR.

Does anyone have any suggestions or maybe a better reccomendation for an amp, im not trying to spend thousands on amps but i think it would be nice to get a little louder clearer more full sound.


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Emotiva is a good way to go, I am not as up on external amps yet, but I am working on it. I have read a lot of good things about them and their customer service as well. I'm sure there are some cheaper alternatives, but I fear you would be sacrificing quality as well.


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## taoggniklat (Mar 30, 2010)

graydodge14 said:


> Since its getting close to CHristmas i was thinking of asking for an external amp from the family to further my HT experience. Im currently running all my equipment off of a Onkyo 808,along with PSB T65 which say they can take up to 200 watts. which sounds good but i want that extra power and clarity. I was thinking maybe Emotivas 3 channel amp since i am only running a 3.1 setup. If in the future i got surrounds i could just run them off the AVR.
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions or maybe a better reccomendation for an amp, im not trying to spend thousands on amps but i think it would be nice to get a little louder clearer more full sound.


Nothing wrong with that setup. Emotiva makes some good amps (imo their best products). 

Another option is to look at used amps on Audiogon. You can find Adcom, Acurus, Parasound and other "budget" amps at sometimes reasonable cost.

Don't worry too much about your speaker rating, those are just suggestions. Get the most power you can afford.

Even just getting a stereo amp can help reduce the strain on your AVR.


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## graydodge14 (Jul 17, 2010)

Yeah im still kinda looking around i just saw Emotiva was having a holiday special, never messed with external amps so i didnt know how much power i could out towards my PSB T65 because i definately dont want to blow anything.

But with me like most on these forums im never satisfied and always want louder/clearer/etc. so i think an external amp would serve me well.


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## taoggniklat (Mar 30, 2010)

graydodge14 said:


> Yeah im still kinda looking around i just saw Emotiva was having a holiday special, never messed with external amps so i didnt know how much power i could out towards my PSB T65 because i definately dont want to blow anything.
> 
> But with me like most on these forums im never satisfied and always want louder/clearer/etc. so i think an external amp would serve me well.


There is a saying "No such thing as too much power" which for the most part is true. You actually have a higher chance of damaging your speaker with an under powered amplifier. I would not hesitate to plug a 500w amp into your speakers.

Either of the Emotiva UPA or XPA series will work just fine for you. XPA will give you a bit more headroom which is good.

Good luck


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I could allmost gaurantee that the Emotiva will reap you the most out of you system at the prices they are at right now. Emotiva makes some exellent products and they stand behind them 100%.
With an outboard your gonna notice an immediate differance IMO, you'll probly hear them in a different way, they should sound more relaxed especially at higher volumes. I have had an XPA-2 and 5 and loved them both from the time i first fired them up.
As suggested though you maybe able to find other products on the used market for the same or less money, my only gripe with used is the warrenty issue, there is none.:T


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## Cory Phoenix (Nov 7, 2010)

taoggniklat said:


> Either of the Emotiva UPA or XPA series will work just fine for you. XPA will give you a bit more headroom which is good.


+1

I'll back anyone pushing emo amps. I also believe you'd be fine with the UPA-5, but the XPA-3 will really give those t65s the juice they crave.


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## q2bon2b (Aug 5, 2010)

Another one for Emotiva. Their amps are very good value and they are good amps too. With their 5-year transferable warranty, you can't go wrong. Good resale value. I had the XPA-5 and now own XPA-3. With their current sales on with free shipping, this would be the opportune time to order one if you are on the fence.

Or if you don't mind pre-owned, look at Rotel.

And generally speaking, you shouldn't be afraid of bigger wpc amps. They can really make your speakers sing! Kinda like choosing between a v4 and a V8 car, both will get you where you want to go but when you are going uphill, that's when the V8 power will display it's true glory. Wouldn't you want to enjoy your speakers in their full glory too? Go for a bigger wpc amp if the budget allows. Plus, you will have one less component to upgrade down the road when that upgradeities bug hits!


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## graydodge14 (Jul 17, 2010)

Trust me the bug hits hard and the budget doesnt always allow me to have fun! haha but if i went with somethin like the xpa-5 wouldnt that be kinda wasted money for me? i mean i really dont plan on 5.1 anytime soon. The way my room is setup i virtually cant i have an 18.2 on one side of my couch which is against the back wall, and theres maybe half a foot between the couch and sub so surrounds are kinda out of the question for now. It would be nice to run my towers off of the xpa-2 for the extra power but i think im learning towards the xpa-3 so i can include my center in the upgrade.


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

Sounds like you need an Emotiva XPA-3. Only $529 delivered on sale.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

taoggniklat said:


> There is a saying "No such thing as too much power" which for the most part is true. You actually have a higher chance of damaging your speaker with an under powered amplifier. I would not hesitate to plug a 500w amp into your speakers.


This is actually a myth. The whole idea that an underpowered amp driven into clipping will produce direct current is uninformed of what's actually going on. It's basically an interpretation of low resolution graphs. Even 10% THD which is very audible and enough to turn our systems down can't damage a speaker the way thermal overload and overexcursion can.


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

GranteedEV said:


> This is actually a myth. The whole idea that an underpowered amp driven into clipping will produce direct current is uninformed of what's actually going on. It's basically an interpretation of low resolution graphs. Even 10% THD which is very audible and enough to turn our systems down can't damage a speaker the way thermal overload and overexcursion can.


I'm just gonna kick that logic to the curb:rofl:


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## ddgtr (Nov 1, 2009)

I've been running a 350wpc, 2 channel amp with a pair of 150w speakers for a while now. Crank it up quite often and never had a problem. On the contrary, it sounds much better than with the 120w amp I had before.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

sub_crazy said:


> I'm just gonna kick that logic to the curb:rofl:


Lol.

To simply it a bit, 100wrms sine wave will have a crest (for example, 150w) and a valley(for example, 50w maybe). A clipped sine wave makes the crest looked like DC especially on low-res graphs, but music/movie content is a bit different.

When a speaker clips, think of it as trying to do, say, 200w peaks and 65 w valleys. It's not capable of the 200w peaks, so for every crest where there is much distortion, you have maybe 160w peaks instead. Now musical content may try to send a sound that requires that 200w peak. This will result in clipping to 160w as established.

That 160w can definitely damages the speaker if it can't handle 150 watts, so over-driving some seemingly underpowered amps is still a bad idea. It might be fine for an instant, but not for a long time. But the idea that you can then pump 200 "clean" watts into a speaker that can't even handle 150 watts is further flawed. 

So you can't damage a 50 watt speaker with a heavily clipping 8 watt amp that has dynamic power of 14 watts, or with a 50 watt speaker that has dynamic power of 80 watts being given a non-dynamic signal, but you can damage it with a 50 watt amp that has dynamic power of 80 watts being given a dynamic signal, and you can certainly damage it with a non clipping 100 or 200 or 1000 watt amp at an output which is past the speaker's power handling. You can run that 50 watt speaker off a 200 watt amp and it may be fine, as the improved dynamic ability may help the speaker sound better at low volumes and not damage it because the speaker is designed to handle short dynamics. But a too-powerful peak (IE 1100 watts for a burst at the driver's resonant frequency) even at a very quiet average listening volume (1100 watt bursts, but only 55 watts average... Gene over on audioholics was frying some axiom drivers using this "technique" and it sounded cool!) can quickly make short work of any driver. It's all a matter of being careful with your gear, and thus it's better to be underpowered than overpowered. 

Thus, a clipping, underpowered amp won't damage a speaker. It'll sooner damage itself from current overload. A 50 watt speaker can take those 14 watt dynamic peaks all day. Luckily, most speakers are built to handle much more than their rated power. We get away with overpowering our speakers becuase companies over-engineer their speakers. The benefit of this is that a better amp will provide better dynamic capabilities and thus "sound better" without seeming to damage the speaker any more than a weaker amp.

Clipping isn't about damaging a speaker, unless you're running very dynamic content well above reasonable listening volumes (IE running a 200w sine wave with 300 watt peaks "clipping at 250w" in a 150 watt speaker), it's about sound quality. Clipping just doesn't sound good. Clean power just sounds better. There is a threshold of "too much power" and selecting the right amp for the job is important. Or to get more efficient speakers which can handle more power if your listening habits indicate this. It's a lot easier to damage an 85 dbSPL / 2.83v / m speaker with 100 watts of power handling than it is to damage a 95dbSPL/ 2.83v / m speaker with 200 watts of power handling!


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