Receiver Relief - What actually happens when ...?

[timetohunt]

I will be adding an amp to my system to better accomodate my front speakers. There was a comment made on a previous thread basically stating that 'if you add the amp to power your fronts, it will relieve the receiver of some amp duties thereby making the receiver more capable in amping other channels'.

I was wondering what really happens then. Does it make more power available to CTR and back channels ? Or does it reduce heat thereby adding stability to its amping capabilities. Or was the above statement not really true at all, and no additional power (or anything positive) is reclaimed by the receiver. Just wondered if someone knows what really happens here.

[Ovation]

My understanding is that your receiver's power supply will have more "reserves" for any heavy transients if it has fewer channels to drive (there has to be a reason for those massive power supplies on powerful hi-end amps beyond the "weightiness"), particularly as surround transients are less demanding (usually) than those across the front. It's one of the reasons I'm exploring adding a two channel amp in the future (though with my heavy MCH hi-res music listening, I may splurge for a five channel amp instead--depending on finances, of course).

[Briz vegas]

Receivers are a compromise in most cases. Ok everything is a compromise but receivers do more at a lower price so there are generally more compromises. I have noticed that some hifi rags are now quoting 2 channels and 5 channels driven power ratings when they review multi-channel receivers. If you check these out you will see how power RMS drops as you drive more channels and the amp section has to deal with more load.

Adding a power amp relieves the strain on the receivers amps but also most power amps will be better quality than the ones in a receiver. Receivers also often compromise on the pre-amp stage so a separate pre-amp for music is another step you can consider.

Remember to factor in a decent pair of interconnects when you add a power amp. I recently inserted some $(AU)300 dollar flat silver/copper interconnects to replace a basic coper pair at half the price (its tricky avoiding cable brand names). Pretty much everything improved, particularly bass. When adding a power amp try auditioning a few cable options as well, including the HTguide house brand as well of course.

[spyboy]

timetohunt

If you have not already added a separate power amp, I have some information that might save you a lot of money. It all depends on how you set up your receiver and which speakers you use. We can discuss this on or off line.

Best Regards