How Do You Know if You Can Use Reciever as a Power Amp

The question often comes upward on our forums request what benefit a user may come across from connecting an external amplifier to their A/V Receiver.  The answer depends on many factors including:

• Listening habits - how loud you mind.
• Room size - big rooms crave more than power to accomplish high sustained SPLs (Sound Pressure Levels).
• Speaker Load - some speakers present a more hard load impedance than others; efficiency also plays an important part.
• Bass management – if you're running your main speakers full range, they will typically demand more ability for bass heavy passages.

Let's assign a point system to decide if you may do good from an external amplifier, or if yous would be ameliorate served past saving your cash. Please keep in listen this is not a biblical source.  I didn't use any fuzzy math to come up with these guidelines.  They are in fact just guidelines based on common sense and experience, then delight use them as such.

Points Assessed	+0	+1	+two
Listening Habits	Conversation level (60-70dB)	Moderate to high (75-85 dB)	Headbangers brawl to the walls, plow it to volume 11
Room Size	< 1500ft^3	up to 3,000 ft^3	> 3,000ft^three
Speaker Load	eight ohms > 90dB efficiency	eight ohms < 90dB efficiency	4 ohm < 90dB efficiency
Bass Management	Yes, crossing over speakers to dedicated sub	No, running them fullrange
Score	Max = 0	Max = +iv	Max = +half-dozen

How to find your Total Score?

Add upward the points from each column of the higher up table to find your Total Score. Your Total Score tin can exist as low equally 0 points or upwards to +seven points depending on your conditions.

• If Total Score is 0-iv, you lot can probably get away with your current A/V receiver amp department.
• If Total Score is > 4 , and so it is time to consider adding a divide power amp to your system.  If you lot score a +7 and feel your score should be even college, we really desire to hear from you in our forums!
  

A Detailed Expect at your Weather condition

Determining questions on calculation an amp: how loud practice you listen?  how large is your room? what blazon of speakers are you running?

So what are your listening habits like?  Practice you often listen at ear-haemorrhage levels that would send your mother-in-law out of your room in a hysterical rage, or do you listen at levels where you tin can nonetheless have a comfortable conversation?

How big is your room?  Did you cram all your equipment into a small bedroom, stuffing your TV and subwoofer in the closet to accommodate everything, or do yous have a dedicated theater room that tin seat more than two people?

What kind of speakers practice y'all have?  Information technology'south a good thought to report your speaker's impedance graph and sensitivity rating.  Speakers that dip into the 4 ohm range at depression frequencies tend to demand a lot of power from an amplifier.

Are yous running your speakers total range, or are you lot running bass management and redirecting the low frequency content to a defended powered subwoofer?  If you're running them full range, than add a point to your total score to make up one's mind if you may need an external high power amplifier.

If y'all're fortunate plenty to own an A/V Receiver that has preamp outputs to connect an external amplifier, then doing and then is quite straightforward.  You only connect a pair of RCA terminated line-level cables from the front or main channel preamp outputs of your A/V receiver to the inputs of the external two-channel ability amp.

Yamaha RX-A2020 AV Receiver Backpanel - find the highlighted main front left/right preamp outputs

What an External Power Amplifier Will Practice For Your Arrangement

Adding an amp isn't but almost making things louder, it's too nigh preserving dynamic range.

Non all output ratings are created equally.  An amplifier rating actually depends on many things like the bandwidth it'due south being rated at, the impedance it'south existence tested at, and the specified distortion level.  Some A/5 receivers current limit when driving low impedance speakers pregnant they volition evangelize similar or slightly less ability into a iv ohm load than they will into an 8 ohm load. While you'll find many A/V receivers rated to evangelize ~100 watts per aqueduct into an 8 ohm load, relatively few are able to deliver big output into 4 ohm loads, particularly when driving 5+ channels worth of loudspeakers. Conversely, finding a separate amplifier capable of driving complex iv ohm loads with dominance isn't too difficult, and isn't necessarily an expensive proposition either.  Go on in heed that doubling power volition non only give you roughly 3dB more acoustical output, but it will also take off some strain from your A/V receiver's power supply that is beingness tasked to power 5 or more loudspeakers.  This will clean upwardly the audio and provide a nice shot of adrenaline that your organisation just may exist in need of.  Adding external distension isn't just about making things louder, it's also virtually preserving dynamic range of the music to avert unwanted compression.

Graphed below you can see the relationship between perceived double loudness vs frequency.  If you want to calculate how much more perceived loudness you tin can potentially reach by calculation external amplification simply pull out the scientific calculator and plug in the following:

dB(gain) = 10*log (Pext amp / Preceiver)  where dB is log base of operations 10 and P is ability in watts

So if yous're running a 100 watt/ch AV Receiver and upgrade to a 500 watt/ch external amp, so y'all simply plug into the formula as follows:  dB(gain) = 10* log(500/100) = +7dB

Equal Loudness Curves - courtesy of Hyperphysics

Editorial Note about Equal Loudness:
It takes 10dB of added output to double perceived loudness in midrange region (500Hz to 3kHz band) but much less (effectually 3-4dB) at bass and high frequencies.  For more than information on the human relationship betwixt loudness and the DB, please check out our article The Decibel (db) Scale and Sound Rules 101

Emotiva UPA-200 (left pic) 2-channel amplifier; Outlaw Sound Model 2200 Monoblock Amplifier (correct pic)

Do All Amplifiers Sound the Same?

Well, nosotros discuss this topic in great detail in the video beneath so you're gonna have to watch it to get our take.  Of course nosotros encourage you to voice your opinion on our forum as well.

Do All Amplifiers Audio the Same?

What to Do with Unused Receiver Amps

Some may fear that adding an external amp volition in a sense "waste material" the unused internal amplifiers of the AV Receiver.  Our reply to that is to simply reroute them.  Most mod AV Receivers allow yous to reroute them to ability speakers in another zone or to add summit channels to exercise a full 9.one speaker configuration.  Another option would be to power a second set of speakers in another room from the main zone if your receiver doesn't have multi-zone capabilities. You tin plow them off by toggling the main speaker A or  B switch.  Fearfulness not as there is ever a apply for those unused amplifier channels.

Yamaha AV Receiver GUI for Speaker Assignments

Conclusion

Power is cheap these days then it certainly won't hurt to add an external amplifier for the master front left/right channels of your A/V arrangement if your conditions phone call for it.   Some slap-up and affordable options include those from Emotiva (UPA-200 costs but $349 and pumps out 200 watts into 4 ohms ten two channels) or the Outlaw Audio (M2200 Monoblock for $379/ea delivers 300 watt into 4 ohms).  Of course if the upkeep allows, it'due south always a good thought to purchase more power.  Please share your experiences in what calculation external distension has washed to elevate the sound quality or listening experience in your A/Five system.

Ramesh47 posts on January 19, 2020 00:30

Hi All
Hoping to get some communication on my stereo dilemma

I wish to upgrade my stereo listening music experience.

I currently have a 6000f RP klipsch speakers ( highly sensitive speakers) an Onkyo RZ830 AVR (120 watt per channel two channel driven) and a marantz UD 7007 cd player.

I am thinking of getting an older version of used Mcintosh MC 7100 (100 watt per channel) stereo power amp to be connected to my Onkyo receiver to ability my front ii speakers for stereo listening. The Onkyo hence becomes the preamp.

For movies, mcintosh will also power amp my front end speakers while Onkyo drives my other 5 speakers.
Appreciate it if you could permit me know if getting the mcintosh power amp volition help significantly in my stereo listening though there is a slight difference in power between the mcintosh and onkyo.
Appreciate your advise pl.
Tks a lot.

TechHDS posts on March 27, 2018 06:27

M Code, post: 1236665, member: 43612
The field of study Pyle PMXAKB2000 Karoke amplifier challenge to be 2KW (1KW ten 2) sells for $189..
Total BS….
More than than likely a existent power output rating is 50W or 25W x 2…
@M Code, Maybe Gene, or someone with Audioholic could practice a review on those types of gear like they did with cables. It sure would put to rest any ideas. Mail service up their thoughts and facts. I for ane would like to encounter the 'slope' or at minimal what the dynamic 'Headroom.
Merely my $0.02…

Verdinut posts on March 27, 2018 01:51

In the case of a solid country amplifier, it's output power should not subtract with time. Nonetheless, your hearing vigil volition subtract with time and you will have to adapt the volume then.

In your case, having to plow the volume way up, there seems to be a problem with your equipment equally the situation is not normal. For starters, I suggest that you lot verify or alter the interconnects between the preamp and the power amp and meet if this procedure works.

hk2000 posts on March 27, 2018 01:24

What I want to know is this: Can an amp power output decrease with age? I utilise Onkyo/Carver per-amp/power amp combo, and recently I've been having to turn the volume way up to accomplish levels it used to easily get to.

Verdinut posts on March 06, 2018 23:23

G Lawmaking, post: 1236665, member: 43612
The subject Pyle PMXAKB2000 Karoke amplifier claiming to be 2KW (1KW x 2) sells for $189..
Total BS….
More than likely a real power output rating is 50W or 25W x 2…

Just my $0.02…

And probably not even clean!

hallamwonsize.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/connecting-an-external-amp-to-a-receiver

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