New to forum - Question...2ch vs. 5 ch amps

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  • asg420
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2004
    • 21

    New to forum - Question...2ch vs. 5 ch amps

    Hi -

    Well I have really enjoyed reading on this forum for the past few days......Very informative and insightful community! I look forward to being more or a part of it!

    After researching and recieving replies to my posts in the Rotel & Parasound forums.....I am trying to decide between powering a pair of B&W 802's with either a 2 channel or 5 channel amp.

    I have always thought that 200w/ch is 200w/ch no matter if it is produced by a stereo amp or a multichannel one. Why would one use and what benifits are gained by using a seperate 2 channel amp to power N802's vs. say a 200 or 250w/ch 5 channel amp?

    I care MUCH MORE about how my music sounds than my movies....I believe that movies are more able to sound good on a less stellar system - Movies, (I know that many in this community will feel more strongly than I about this and will have their opinions) sound good on most systems of the caliber equipment I am looking at and are discussed in this forum (B&W, Rotel, Parasound etc...). Will a 2ch amp benifit my Stereo Sound that much more than a 5 channel amp?

    Your insight is appreciated!

    Best regards,

    asg
  • aud19
    Twin Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2003
    • 16706

    #2
    Well if you think about it if the powersupply etc only has to power two channels it should perform better, no? Not to mention that the 2-channel amps tend to be designed a little pickier and with the specific intention to sound as good as possible for those two channels. It simply mean less compromise. Is it night and day? No but you can hear the difference.

    Jason
    Jason

    Comment

    • Andrew Pratt
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2000
      • 16507

      #3
      I can't speak for the Parasound line but in the Rotels they made an engineering choice to make the 2 channel versions sound more audiophile then the 5 channel versions...what this means as far as I can decipher is that the 2 channel versions are slightly softer on the extreme upper ends which suits music well where as the 5 channel versions are open ended..there may be other changes as well but I do know they sound different and that most people prefer the 2 channel amps over their 5 channel kin.

      Comment

      • jimmyp58
        Super Senior Member
        • Aug 2003
        • 1449

        #4
        One thing to keep in mind, I learned a while back that is much more difficult to reproduce high quality sonics for 2-channel than multi-channel (e.g., movies). Perhaps this is an oversimplification but that is the essence of it. This being the case, 2-channel amps provide a higher degree of definition than multi-channel amps because of the inherent nature of their applications and the criticalness of what they are intending to do. Hence, most audiophile-types will have a multi-channel amp for surrounds and center along with a 2-channel amp for their mains.

        If you are into 2-channel this much, do yourself a service and while you are trying to figure out which 2-channel amp to buy, take a listen to a Bryston amp (e.g., 4B SST). Not that any of the amps you mentioned won't do a good job but the Bryston is kind of in a league of it's own. True, it is more expensive than a Rotel RB-1080 or 1090 but it is well worth it. But married with those B&W's ... whoa....

        Jim
        jpiscitello@ameritech.net

        Comment

        • asg420
          Junior Member
          • Jul 2004
          • 21

          #5
          Tried new amps - McIntosh - Thoughts?

          Thanks for the very useful replies :-)

          I just returned from an afternoon at a new dealer and would welcome advice regarding McIntosh processor/amps to power B&W 802's.

          The Rotel gear was fabulous. Really nothing to complain about. Great sound all around.

          I then compared a full rotel set up to the McIntosh mht200 receiver and the McIntosh mht200 with a stand alone 2 ch amp, McIntosh 6900 powering the 802's/

          I did notice the 802's open up more. I felt like paul mcartney was sitting in the room with us. Not that the 802's didn't sing.....it just felt more "real" with the McIntosh.

          Your thoughts and advice regarding McIntosh gear would be greatly appreciated! Are they still as highly regarded as the once were?

          Thanks!

          asg

          Comment

          • aud19
            Twin Moderator Emeritus
            • Aug 2003
            • 16706

            #6
            Great gear :T Tends to be a bit of $$ and the styling is definitely a personal choice but if it sounds good and you've got the $$....

            Jason
            Jason

            Comment

            • David Meek
              Moderator Emeritus
              • Aug 2000
              • 8938

              #7
              Mac sort of fell out of favor for a few years, but they have come storming back with several of the pieces they've released lately. If you have the budget for them, they are an extremely good choice to consider.
              .

              David - Trigger-happy HTGuide Admin

              Comment

              • LEVESQUE
                Senior Member
                • Oct 2002
                • 344

                #8
                I was using a Rotel RMB-1095 before, and did exchange it for an Anthem Statement P5 (5X325W) and WOW! In a totally different league compare to the Rotel.

                The noise floor is so low you can't hear it at 1'' from the speakers (just like my 4BSST)... My Anthem D1 upsampling is working wonders to the noise-floor, so the P5 is really shining paired with it. How can they make a 1625W monster totally free of any noise-floor is behind me! Unbelievable. My 1095 was humming like a refrigerator in the exact same conditions.

                2 power cords (needs 2 dedicated circuits to work...), build like a tank (my RMB-1095 was looking ''thin and skinny'' compare to this), 140pounds, effortless, impossible to clip, totally transparent.

                And it can easily go head-to-head with my Bryston 4BSST in 2ch. So it's saying alot about the sonic qualities of this monster. :T

                I'm really thinking now of selling my 4BSST and buying the P2, and put some money back in my pocket. With the P5, the ''line'' between the performance of the 2ch and 5ch amps is getting thinner, almost non-existant anymore... The P5 can easily pass for and compete with any high-end 2ch amp I have heard...

                In canada, my P5 did cost me almost the same price has the Rotel 1095. :rofl:
                To spend more $$$ on electronics without first addressing room acoustics is fruitless IMO.

                Comment

                • Aussie Geoff
                  Super Senior Member
                  • Oct 2003
                  • 1914

                  #9
                  Missing Club Rotel thread

                  asg420,

                  Just in case you thought it was deleted, moderator Aud19 moved your related thread out of Club Rotel into the Home Theater area as per the link below.



                  Geoff

                  Comment

                  • marinoji
                    Junior Member
                    • Jan 2005
                    • 1

                    #10
                    5 Ch vs 2 Ch

                    Its early am here in Texas and just thought Id read a few thoughts on the MHT200. I have the Multichannel McIntosh MC206. I'M from Binghamton and never have used anything but MAC. for amps. Starting back with the tube blocks. We even used them in our rock bands in the 60's.Ive had every model since.Trade them on E-Bay now... My ears arent as decerning as they once were, but I can always tell when a MAC is played, without looking. They designed these things for Submarines because the Sonar gear wouldnt work with the old noisy tube amps of the day- so they asked MAC to design a silent amp and thus the autoformer was born. To make it short- even in the 5.1 MC 206 or now the 8 amp MHT200 , they are still there. Soooo, you know- at this price level, warm , high end, punch, all these terms- kinda like wine...personal choice. But believe me, I have no problem replacing my MC206 with the MHT200. Put a CD in or the New formated DVDs like Cindy Loper...turn my back to the music, throw it up to 150Watts a channel... and it sounds exactly the same. My opinion, but biased at that.And wow- coming out of 8 speakers instead of two !!!!!!!!!!! UH , I think 8's much Kewler

                    Comment

                    • Fraise
                      Member
                      • Dec 2004
                      • 93

                      #11
                      i can sort of make a comparison here having the classe CAV-180 and borrowing a pair of CAM350's for a couple of weeks.

                      I have martin logan ascents which aren't exactly easy speakers to drive. they're also 4ohm. my classe CAV-180 have an intermittent problem where after inially powering it up it would go into protect mode so i took it in for repairs and was lucky enough to be lent a pair of CAM-350's while the repairs were being done.

                      The CAV-180 is bi-amped and is rated at 360Wx5 @ 4ohms which would put it just slightly over the CAM350's on paper which are rated at 700WX1 @ 4ohm.

                      my initial reaction was that theres not much of a difference in the sound between the monoblocks and the meant to be surround amplifier, both having an extremely low noise floor and detailed and open sound. By the end of 2 week period with the CAM-350's the only real difference i noticed was they they were slightly less bright when driven hard (vol @ -10 to -5 on the classe SSP60 pro.) and the midrange didnt break up when played stupid loud (vol @ +10 to +12 on the classe SSP60 pro.) like the CAV-180 does. while this may not really be an issue for me becuase i find it almost painful when set that loud, it did show that the CAV-180 had is limitations.

                      i think the biggest factor when comparing multichanel amps to the stereo is the size of the power supply thats included. i like to think the classe multichannels have rather large and adequate supplies in their multichannels making them great for 2 channel applications as well as HT. i'm sure the same goes for the other manufactures although i dont have first hand experience with any others. i'm very interested to see the new Halcro multichannel amps.

                      Comment

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