Who uses a separate amp?

[Gov]

I realize this amp thing is all subjective, but what I really would like to know is, are the Ascends that easy for a "THX Select" receiver to drive at or near reference levels for a period of time without risking possible clipping. This is of course a calibrated receiver with an SPL meter, crossed at 80hz and the Ascends set to "small". As you probably already know, I have a Pioneer 1014 and I have listened at near or reference level a few times on music and movies. I know it's loud I don't think I have heard any clipping or compressed sound at those levels, but I want to be sure. My receiver, although it doesn't say it, I suspect is NOT considered high current (rated 480 watts consumption) and I realize the importance of that for dynamic peaks through out the frequency spectrum. I have looked at the impedence graph's for the Ascends and they look like they never go below 4 to 4.5 ohms. I guess thats considered good. Anyways, thats why I posted this question in the first place. I feel that maybe I should have a separate amp, so I don't risk damaging these great speakers.

[S_rangeBrew]

Something to remember is the efficiency of the speaker is just as important as the power of the amp.
The HTM-200s are a few decibles less sensitive than the 340SEs. I was using 200s for my fronts, and managed to blow the left and right mains with my 1014tx, playing loud music... as in over 100db loud... a bit extreme.
DaveF was kind enough to exchange them with 340SEs for me. So now I have three 340SEs in the front, and 4 HTM-200s for surrounds. The 340s take quite a bit less power to drive, and I've had no problems.
I still plan on getting some nice pro-amp overkill in the future, but as long as I don't go to crazy with the 1014TX, I'm not worried about blowing these 340s because they are so efficient.

[Gov]

Something to remember is the efficiency of the speaker is just as important as the power of the amp.
The HTM-200s are a few decibles less sensitive than the 340SEs. I was using 200s for my fronts, and managed to blow the left and right mains with my 1014tx, playing loud music... as in over 100db loud... a bit extreme.
DaveF was kind enough to exchange them with 340SEs for me. So now I have three 340SEs in the front, and 4 HTM-200s for surrounds. The 340s take quite a bit less power to drive, and I've had no problems.
I still plan on getting some nice pro-amp overkill in the future, but as long as I don't go to crazy with the 1014TX, I'm not worried about blowing these 340s because they are so efficient.

How long were you playing the music at that level for?
Where you using "7 channel stereo" on the 1014?
I assume you were "small" crossed at 80 or 100hz?

[RoadWarrior]

Could someone explain to me from a "Pure Technical" perspective, what makes this $17,000 Krell Amp supposedly sound better than lets say the $800-$1,000 Yamaha RX-V2700 Receiver or $499 Emotiva LPA-1 Amp?
Krell use special circuitry?


http://www.krellonline.com/krell_com...id=90&page=FBI


http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/p...ETYP=ATTRIBUTE


http://www.emotiva.com/lpa1.html

[Classpro]

Receivers have a lot of crap in them - tuners, tone controls, lots of switches, etc. All of that stuff can add noise. In addition, high-end separates use better parts than main-line receivers. That said, the new all digital receivers are eliminating some of the advantages of separates. I'm not saying a $200 panisonic receiver is going to sound better than a $20,000 Krell, just that the differences may be less than they once were (and may not justify to my ears the difference in price, even if I had the $20K to spend on the Krell, which I don't). I would expect that most of us hanging around the Ascend site are budget minded - the people paying $20,000 for power cords are likely hanging out somewhere else. It would be odd for someone to buy a $20K Krell amp and ascend speakers. Cool but odd.

I read Stereophile, and I think a lot of what they review is madness. It would be a much more interesting magazine if they reviewed more budget-minded equipment and didn't give a similar positive review to everything.

Ascends are easy to drive, as are most bookshelf speakers today. I have a pair of B&W 801s Series 80 (circa 1980s), and they are really hard to drive - I need a 200+ watt amp. Similarly, planer speakers (magnapan) and electrostatic can be really hard to drive - requiring high-power separates capable of dealing with those odd impedance drops. But you should not have any problems with a traditional modern bookshelf speaker. I'm not saying you can't blow them out, but you should have no problem with normal use. Music sounds just as good at normal volumes as it does stretched to the limit. It's bad for your hearing to play at rock concert levels. My wife always complains that I play my music too loud, but I never play music louder than a live symphony orchestra. A 50-100 watt receiver should be fine. Heck, you could probably run the smaller bookshelves with a T-Amp (10 watts on a good day).

[curtis]

I know it brings up a debate, but I believe Ascends benefit more from a quality front-end than more power.

[Gov]

I know it brings up a debate, but I believe Ascends benefit more from a quality front-end than more power.

But, do you think the Ascends, particularly the 340's, benefit from a separate amp vs a mid priced receiver (under $500)? I am talking about a budget minded amp and I'll use the Emotiva LPA-1 and Outlaw 7125 as an example.

[curtis]

But, do you think the Ascends, particularly the 340's, benefit from a separate amp vs a mid priced receiver (under $500)? I am talking about a budget minded amp and I'll use the Emotiva LPA-1 and Outlaw 7125 as an example.

IMO, it depends on the quality of the amps. I have no experience with the LPA-1 or the 7125.

Rather than looking at budget minded amps, assuming you are looking at new ones, I would look at used higher end amps.

[Robert7]

Even though I have 170's as mains and the 340se as center. It is my opinion that either one of these speakers benefit from better (more expensive electronics). But you simply have to hear for yourself. I did an A/B comparison between a Marantz sr8400 (retail 1,600) and a Classe pre + Marsh amp (retail 5,000+). The Marantz was nice but compared to the seperates it was thin and more 2 dimensional. The seperates offered a thicker more three dimensional presentation of the music which to my ears was much preferred. These speakers are amazing at moving alot of air while maintaning clarity. I can blast them and they dont seem to flinch. They don't seem to cloud the sound at all. So the better your electronics the better they sound. It's hard to believe they could sound much better mated with electronics 5-6,000 and above.

[ajt976]

Is anyone using or have heard the 340SE's with say a Parasound A21 or A23? These are the two amps that I'm looking into. I'm currently running all 340's up front with an HK 635. It does an great job now, but I'm curious to see what the 340's will sound like driven by a decent quality separate amp.