Denon 5800 and Seperate Amplifiers

[Trevor Schell]

Hi!,

There has been much discussion as of late on whether to invest in a 'Seperates' set-up consisting of a dedicated Pre/Pro and seperate amplifiers or a Flagship receiver such as the Denon 5800, B&K 307 ,and Onkyo 989.

Opinions here tend to sway in both directions with both sides having some very valid points to back up their decisions in which is the right or best way to upgrade. As usual it all comes down to what you want in terms of quality combined with what you afford, or want to spend. It has been established that the above mentioned Flagship receivers have very high quality Pre/Pro sections using very sophisticated digital components and processing engines. This level of quality and performance allows these receivers to perform as very capable Pre/Pro's in ones upgrade path to a seperates configuration. I also have to include that these receivers also offer the newest surround formats available such as THX, EX, DTS-ES, DTS Neo, DPL2 through future upgrade,,etc..

Being an owner of the Denon 5800, I may one day take this route to move to a Seperates combination while using the Denon 5800 for the Pre/Pro duties. I think it would be 'unwise' to invest in seperate amplifiers that would output around the 150 watts per channel as the Denon 5800 is rated at 170 watts per channel. I would conclude that the improved results may be minimal for the cost of this investment since the amplification could possibly be very similar as far as performance.

So with this in mind,,The question I will ask is to what level or brand of amplification (5 channel or mono design), would be necessary to use in conjuction with the Denon 5800, that would offer a 'significant' improvement over the current amps in the Denon, in this type of configuration..?

My initial thoughts would be an amplifier that outputs at least 250 WPC or more..Would I be correct in this assuption.

Thanks!,




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
Sonically Enhanced
C5

[Crimson]

Trevor,
Based on the speakers you have, I would probably also say around 250W/ch if thier power-handling ratings are in the range of 100-200 W. But I would also ask this: Are you currently experiencing any shortcomings with the power you have? Lack of dynamics? Shrill highs at loud volumes? Any distortion/clipping? If not, then adding/upgrading your power section may not be all that worth it. Monoblocks may give you the added advantages of better dynamics (separate power supplies) and better channel separation, although this is highly dependant on the efficiency and load of the speakers. Well-designed multi-channel amps, IMO, are just as good for powering dynamic drivers.




Q.

[SiliGoose]

Do you use your 5800 for music or just HT? If you use it for music have you considered adding a 2 channel amp for stereo for starters?

A quality 2 channel amp would allow you to really decide if upgrading the rest of your channels is worth it.

I plan on starting with a good 2 channel amp and adding a 3 channel later.




-Sili

[Andrew Pratt]

Trevor simply put not all power is created equally. I'd take 100 clean watts over 170 noisey watts any day. I'm not saying that the denon's noisey or anything like that but its food for thought. Also I highly doubt that the denon can do 170 watts all channels driven...at least every denon except the 4800 couldn't meet its specs when benched. Again don't know for sure and its not a slight against the denon's since almost every reciever is in the same boat. Anywho that take home message I wanted to say was don't get hung up on numbers as you might rule out a killer amp simply b/c its only "rated" at 120 watts etc.