amplifier upgrade advice needed

[kinggimp82]

I am looking to add an external amplifier to my onkyo receiver. For the most part I am happy with the performance of the onkyo but when I watch movies It doesn't seem to be dynamic enough. For example I will be having trouble hearing dialogue so I turn the volume but when the action picks up again the sound is too harsh and doesn't sound good. I sit about 10 feet away from the speakers and have a pretty large open floor plan room with a vaulted ceiling (5800 cubic feet). As far as listening habits I don't need movies or music to hit the reference peak of 105db. I'd be more than happy with peaks around 96-97 db if that's possible I have read articles about the benchmarks of my receiver and when all channels are driven it only outputs 75wpc. I'm looking at the XPA-5 and the XPA-2 from Emotiva. I am using Sierra 1's and htm 200's for my set up. Here are some questions that I have. Keep in mind that I don't know a ton about external amplifiers. I know the basics that not much beyond that.

1) will adding an external amp increase performance and be beneficial?

2) do emotiva amps have good build quality? do they have any issues I need to know about?

3) am I better served getting the XPA-5 to power all five speakers or getting the XPA-2 to power the mains and using the onkyo to power the center and surrounds? I'm guessing the XPA-5 is the best route.

4) are there any competitors with similar amps in the $1000 price range? As far as I can tell emotiva gives me the best bang for the buck.

Hope this helps. Thanks in advance

[curtis]

Have you ever just tried turning the volume up on the center channel a couple of db's?

[natetg57]

For the most part I am happy with the performance of the onkyo but when I watch movies It doesn't seem to be dynamic enough. For example I will be having trouble hearing dialogue so I turn the volume but when the action picks up again the sound is too harsh and doesn't sound good.

In addition to what Curtis said, is it possible to tweak the position of the center? Minimizing reflections and angling the speaker towards your ears might help too.

[MusicHead]

I noticed you are using a sub. That should help the amp quite a bit, at what frequency have you set the crossover?

If you really want to go the external amp route, Outlaw is another brand to look at. They have a relatively new 5-ch amp which is getting good reviews and it is priced way below your budget:

https://www.outlawaudio.com/products/5000.html

The XPA-5 would give you more headroom at 200W/ch, though. If the Onkyo really gives you 75W, going to 120W with the Outlaw is not a big gain power-wise. It is less than 3dB.

[Mag_Neato]

Did not see that new Outlaw amp. Looks like a solid choice.

As for comparing it to the Onkyo, I'd wager that you would experience a noticeable difference for the better. I had my first experience with Outlaw when I purchased their 1st receiver, the 1050. I was using a AVR rated at 110 watts/channel at the time I bought the 1050. The 1050 was "Only" rated at 65 watts/channel, 3 channels driven(Out of 6 channels). I was a bit concerned when I ordered it, not sure if the power would be sufficient. Upon playing the first DVD...Saving Private Ryan, my fears were laid to rest. It trounced the 110 watt AVR without breaking a sweat. The dynamic punch provided by the higher capacitance was immediately obvious. Where the gunshots used to be heard, they were now felt as well with a kick.

But, as has been mentioned, I'd play with the center channel placement and level to see if that helps.

[Blutarsky]

I have the Outlaw 5000 and am very pleased at the improvement over my receivers amps. Receivers are usually rated at their stereo power, the actual multi channel power is much less. The Outlaw gives a little more than it's rated 125 WPC X5. Contact Blue Jeans Cable for your wires.

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/

[MusicHead]

I have the Outlaw 5000 and am very pleased at the improvement over my receivers amps. Receivers are usually rated at their stereo power, the actual multi channel power is much less. The Outlaw gives a little more than it's rated 125 WPC X5. Contact Blue Jeans Cable for your wires.

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/

The OP had mentioned that the 75W/ch of the Onkyo came from a third party actual benchmark with all channels driven. It should be then an "apples to apples" comparison with brands like Emotiva and Outlaw that use the same criteria to spec power. In any case, as also Mag_neato pointed out, it is not just about the spec'd continuous power. Well designed amps, like Emotiva and Outlaw, have generously sized power supplies, with big and heavy transformers and plenty of output capacitance. Both helps with the dynamic demand and keep the amp from clipping during peak power demand. Incidentally, those are exactly the areas where mainstream AVR skimps to keep overall cost low.

Case in point, comparing the weight of the Onkyo TX-RZ900 (the most expensive of the current Onkyo AVRs, 7.2, THX certified, 140W/ch over TWO channels, $1,600 MSRP) with the XPA-5 and Outlaw 5000, both of them spec'd at rated power with ALL channels active:

TX-RZ900 39.7lb
XPA-5 70.4lb
5000 50lb

[N Boros]

One solution might also be room treatments. Do you have any absorption and diffusion panels? Many have said that clear dialog can be attained by properly treating a room. I think first reflection points in particular are supposed to provide the biggest help in dialog clarity. I still haven't done any acoustical treatments to my room yet, but plan to in the future when I get a better understanding of what exactly I need to do.

If you can understand the dialog at a lower volume setting then then when the loud effects (like explosions, etc.) happen they hopefully wouldn't be so loud. Though I have read several reviews from professional reviewers who think many Blu-Ray's have too much dynamic range. Some even use slight dynamic range compression to help with this, on some movies.

[eyecatcher]

If it sounds harsh, you could be clipping the amp if you listening at or close to reference level? But with the spl levels your talking about an external amp may not not be necessary and you might not be clipping. Are you using audyssey dynamic eq? I found sometimes the dynamic eq can be too aggressive on the sub and surrounds, there is also an offset setting to do less compensation on some onkyo's if you listen below reference level. You can try making the dynamic eq offset from default of 0 to -5 or -10, -15. This will make the dynamic eq compensate less. You can even try disabling it. I'm pretty sure onkyo defaults the dynamic eq to on after the audyssey calibration. This will accent the explosions and high dynamic range of the movies relative to the listening level of say your center channel. You could just need some fine tuning before you go and add an amp. But an emotiva or outlaw will certainly add more clean power than what you have if you listen at high volume.