# More amplification in home stereo.



## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

Hi
I was wondering if there's a power amplifier or pre-amplifier or any sort of amplifier that will add more power to my home stereo. I have a Yamaha RX-797 Stereo Receiver that runs two Cerwin-Vega VE-12 floorstanding speakers and 2 BOSE 301 bookshelf speakers and one Polk Audio A9 Floorstanding speaker. I also have 2 powered subwoofers but they have very powerful amps. I want to spend up to 425 dollars. My reciever has a Pre-Amp RCA output and a Main In RCA input. I also wanted to know what kind of connections I need on an amplifier. Thanks


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

How do you have those speakers configured on the Yamaha RX-797? That stereo receiver is designed to accommodate two pairs of loudspeakers. How do you have the single Polk A9 hooked up?

You could get a Crown XLS1500, connect it to the preamp out, and run the two pairs, Cerwin Vega/Bose, off that. I don't get how to incorporate another single speaker.


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

The speakers that you list, are they being used as a surround sound set?

Are you wanting outboard amplification for all speakers, or just the main speakers? If you're wanting 5 channels of amplification I'm not sure $425 would give you very much improvement.


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

jackfish said:


> How do you have the single Polk A9 hooked up?


He lists 5 speakers, I was wondering if he is using them all as a surround sound set.
If so, I would use the money to buy matching speakers before looking at amps.


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## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

I have the single speaker because i'm looking for another A9 used from amazon. The Cerwin-Vega and Bose hooked up to A and B left and right and the A9 is just running off the A connection right side. i'm not using surround sound just stereo left and right. Well, i wanted the amplification for all five A and B speakers. I probably don't need anymore amplification for the subs. I just wanted more power for as many speakers as possible. I will probably add more speakers in the future.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Repatilian said:


> I have the single speaker because i'm looking for another A9 used from amazon. The Cerwin-Vega and Bose hooked up to A and B left and right and the A9 is just running off the A connection right side. i'm not using surround sound just stereo left and right. Well, i wanted the amplification for all five A and B speakers. I probably don't need anymore amplification for the subs. I just wanted more power for as many speakers as possible. I will probably add more speakers in the future.


The problem is not power but impedance. If you have the CV and Bose speakers hooked up to A+B, they are hooked up to the same amp and, probably, in parallel. That lowers the impedance seen by the amp, perhaps below what it can handle. Adding one (or two) A9 would make it even worse. What you have is a formula for low output and possible amplifier overheating. (Doesn't the Yamaha run warm?) You cannot simply hang multiple speakers on to the same amp without consequence, even a powerful amp or even with efficient speakers, such as the ones you have chosen.

Rather than add a power amp, you should replace the Yamaha with a multichannel receiver which can devote an amp to each speaker, whether you run it in multichannel or in "all-channel-stereo."


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## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

if it's playing real loud for awhile it gets pretty warm. So do you think i need a surround reciever?


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

Kal Rubinson said:


> ... whether you run it in multichannel or in "all-channel-stereo."


That's what I was thinking. 
Buy a 7.1 surround sound AVR (make sure it has pre-outs in case you still want to add outboard amps later). 3 sets of stereo speakers can be connected safely using the main speaker and surround speaker connections. Set the AVR to "all-channel-stereo."


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

Repatilian said:


> So do you think i need a surround reciever?


Yes.
Not just for safety of your equipment, but also it will sound 100% better with each speaker getting it's own amp!


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Repatilian said:


> if it's playing real loud for awhile it gets pretty warm. So do you think i need a surround reciever?


If you want to play multiple speaker pairs simultaneously at high levels, you need multiple amps and a MCH AVR is the cheapest way to do this. Another way is to buy multiple power amps and wire them up to either your current receiver or a new one.


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

Are the operative words "home stereo"? If you are not listening to multi-channel program material and just want a two-channel wall of sound, then you could use your Yamaha RX-797 as a preamp and get a pro audio amp which can handle a 2 Ohm load, as the three 8 Ohm speakers combined in parallel would represent a 2.67 Ohm load. A $400 Crown XLS1500 Drivecore amp would provide about 700 watts per channel to such a wall of sound.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I fully agree with Kal's recommendation. It really speaks to the quality of your Yamaha that it is working in the setup you described. Many AVR's would have crashed.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

Thanks everyone :bigsmile:


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## Stroh (Sep 14, 2010)

I am not trying to knock any brand of speaker you are using but I was under the impression in surround setups you want to match speakers for all channels so I assumed mixing multiple brands in a stereo setup was not the optimal setup. Are you happy with the sound of multiple brands of speakers mixed together in your setup?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Stroh said:


> I am not trying to knock any brand of speaker you are using but I was under the impression in surround setups you want to match speakers for all channels so I assumed mixing multiple brands in a stereo setup was not the optimal setup. Are you happy with the sound of multiple brands of speakers mixed together in your setup?


Hello,
A Stereo Setup should be just that 2 Speakers. I understand having 2 different types of Speakers being setup for A and B for instances where one Speaker excels in HT and one with Music, but to have 4 different Speakers running at the same time for Stereo is unconventional to put it kindly.

Indeed when amassing a 5.1 HT using Speakers from the same Brand and ideally from the same Series is ideal as then all tweeters will be identical.
Cheers,
JJ


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

Shane,
Are all these speakers in 1 room used all at once, or are they for individual rooms?


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## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

Yea, i can't do a surround setup because my tv's in a wierd spot. It's like up and to the left. I've had surrounds though. I really just wanted a loud stereo. The cerwin vega's and the BOSE are really loud. The subwoofers will pound. It's like being in a car. It literally hits your chest where ever you are in the room. The polk provides sound quality and loud mids. I really can't think of a better stereo. I don't have the polk hooked up. Someday i'll have an amp for the polk. I'm telling you though it's a loud stereo. Thanks for all the information. I really really needed to know that. Thanks.


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## Repatilian (Mar 5, 2010)

they're in one room


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

Stroh said:


> .... I was under the impression in surround setups you want to match speakers for all channels so I assumed mixing multiple brands in a stereo setup was not the optimal setup.


These are my thoughts on matching speakers:

1. For surround sound, matching speakers are necessary for sound cohesion. If the sound of a car travels from the left speaker, then to the center, then to the right speaker, you want the sound of the car to be the same coming from all speakers. If all speakers are different, the car will sound different.

2. For stereo, sound cohesion is still good to have, but that's not the biggest problem when mixing speakers. If you are mixing 2 sets of speakers that are of equal sound quality, that is not too bad. But if you mix a high end set with an entry level set, then the overall sound quality will suffer. Kinda like, a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.
If all you want is loudness and don't care about quality, go for it.


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