I pulled out my Denon avr 5800, planning to add it to my 5.1 HT setup as a power amp with the marantz receiver as pre amp. EDIT: OK, I just looked up your old receiver and it is a mini system, with integrated CD and tape so there is no CD input. There is so much audiophile B.S. Emotiva Audio Today's receivers are jam-packed with features, but the one thing they lack is power. Power is cheap these days so it certainly won’t hurt to add an external amplifier for the main front left/right channels of your A/V system if your conditions call for it. I have a Yamaha 2005 AVR that's bottom end and an old receiver with a 200watt amp that I could bridge to. Recently I have had to add hearing aids to my old body and the whole equation has gone bonkers. Some great and affordable options include those from Emotiva ( UPA-200 costs only $349 and pumps out 200 watts into 4 ohms x 2 channels) or the Outlaw Audio ( M2200 Monoblock for $379/ea delivers 300 watt into 4 ohms). At least I thought the Vidar would be more stable driving the low-impedance Maggies but even that didn't happen. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. "Let our rigorous testing and reviews be your guidelines to A/V equipment – not marketing slogans", Get our latest product reviews and AV stories emailed to you weekly. The system is quite capable of playing loud enough for me. I was getting so many different answers on other forums also that I figured a call to NAD was in order. But I'm an old guy and my hearing is probably somewhat insensitive so maybe 30 years ago the maggies would've been plenty loud. The Yammy is 95wpc into 8 ohms. 9.2 powered, 11.2 processing. Actually both receivers can be operated. Hopefully it can. Your assumptions were pretty close. I use it for everything; TV, CD, blu ray, netflix, youtube, internet radio and IPOD via USB. Louder and "better" are not the same thing. The only drawback is they can't play as loud as conventional box speakers and they require a good powered sub(which I have). Moreover, even an older AVR like the DSP-A1 boasts features like bass management which is sorely missing on most two channel equipment. Long story short: it may be possible to salvage that old A/V receiver by turning it into a glorified power amplifier. For now it'll power my surrounds & down the road it'll power my back surrounds & I'll still have amps left over. Adding amps won't magically improve the sound quality of your system. The hearing aids now have three settings one for normal conversation one for crowded places and at my insistence one for music only. If one can assume that it lacks main-amp inputs (rare in AVRs) and an HT bypass (never saw one in an AVR), you should use a stereo analog line-level input and make sure that the gain (volume) is absolutely fixed at the same setting all the time. Summary. However, it’s not necessarily the simplest or most cost effective path. Now I have one hell of a 7 channel amp waiting to be used. Well., yes and no. I'm not the most tech-savvy guy so I've never known how to get a picture onto an on-line forum. Pre-amp sound quality????? The receiver still sounds excellent to my aging ears (a Carver). Sure. The XPA power amp will light up your home theater! One audiophile even told me to get a separate pre-amp because, he said, the pre-amp in the AVR isn't good enough. After getting hearing aids I have discovered that I was missing most of the treble in music. So basically, the sound will be the same sound you have now, just with the ability to go louder. all excellent replies. I would think that the T773 can be run that way but I need to know for sure. Instead of projecting sound out the front like a box speaker the Maggies are like an open window. If I push the volume the Vidar overheats and shuts down just like the Yammy did. That took its toll on my ears, I wish I had taken better care of them. Thread! So the maggies took some getting used to for me. The receiver still sounds excellent to my aging ears (a Carver). If you need the AVR for HT, then use a stereo preamp/amp or integrated amp with HT by-pass. No speaker is going to give that back to you without making listening very hard to anyone else in the room. However, it’s not necessarily the simplest or most cost effective path. I read that Pete Townsend has a perpetual ringing in his ears so bad it was threatening his sanity. I think I wasted my money. My previous speakers were Polk floor standers. I have a Yammy Aventage AVR so I thought a good amp would improve the sound so I bought a Schiit Vidar amp. I also have this problem (to a lesser degree) as a result of working around loud machinery my whole life. No improvement. Some receivers offer "preamp outputs" in order to allow it's internal pre/pro to feed an external power amp. Consult the manual if you’re not sure. The Maggie's impedance dips down to approx. I was a drummer for a long time and played rather loud. Not likely, AVR's use some sort of an electronic/digital volume control, and stereo preamps generally use an analog VC. 2 ohms at certain frequencies. Of course, if you own a separates AVP (pre-pro), then you have to get an external amp. Thanks fellas, had a feeling you were going to say this. I'd say save your money if the avr gets you cleanly to where you listen now. In truth I am not sure what I was aiming for. The Vidar is 100 wpc into 8 ohms and 200 wpc into 4 ohms. 1 1 ... Like just good and loud but not uncomfortably so. You must log in or register to reply here. The Marantz AV7705 Surround Processor/Pre-Amplifier Giveaway is Here! 1 H. You should also use a 'direct' mode to make sure the NAD never does any processing of the signals. BTW I love the Aventage AVR. JavaScript is disabled. If you like rock music loud the maggies are probably not the speaker for you. I've been looking at a few pre/processors lately & I'm curious if my NAD T773 can still be put to good use. Low rez mp3. Forget about stereo analog line-level inputs, fixed gain and 'direct' mode. Has anyone here ever done this? Not true. Contest Giveaways from Audioholics Partners! The 5 RCA jacks give you direct access to the 5 internal amps. But I'm an old guy and my hearing is probably somewhat insensitive so maybe 30 years ago the maggies would've been plenty loud. The master volume knob is most likely the only Originally Posted by m. zillch Yes. The prepro in the T773 is now completely out of the picture. If you want to get higher quality sound get higher quality speakers perhaps.... Yeah, save your money. Sure. Maybe someone here can help me with this. Have 2 question. I've learned to tune it out. Denon 5800 will drive front and center speakers (3 spks), while the surrounds are still connected to the marantz. Summary. I think many of us own multiple amps anyway regardless of whether the amps improve the sound quality. Of course, if you own a separates AVP (pre-pro), then you have to get an external amp. No need to worry about volumn control or any sort of processing because it's totally disconnected. Everything I've read suggests that you can use a secondary receiver as an external amp, as long as it supports multi-channel external input. My view is if you own an AVR, then don't get an external amp. It's all a bit much. I used to listen to a lot of youtube music videos which sounded real good on my Polk speakers. As far as power amp sound quality I suppose it's possible that if I were able to compare the Yammy to the Vidar with an A-B comparison switching back and forth I might hear a slight difference. Set the old receiver's source to CD. My view is if you own an AVR, then don't get an external amp. You should also use a 'direct' mode to make sure the NAD never does any processing of the signals. Better sound usually means listening to some new speakers. In this case, that external amp will be your old receiver. Can I utilize atmos with my current setup if I get a new receiver. The Maggie speakers sound amazing. Could I plug, say, the external outs for the fronts from an RX-A3060 into the external decoder inputs of the A2, turn the volume up to reference, and use it as a power amp for the additional 2 channels not amped by the RX-A3060 (or any other 7.1.4 capable AVR)? I only need power for the surrounds. Long story short: it may be possible to salvage that old A/V receiver by turning it into a glorified power amplifier. Really? My primary receiver (Marantz SR7010) supports a 7.2.4 Atmos setup with the use of an external amp. 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