Help me pick an amp

[mcwilson]

I have a unique situation, although it's probably a typical newbie cluster&%*$. I am going to provide some detail, so please bear with me...

I bought a Yamaha RXV 2400 receiver and the following speakers:

2 JAMO D870 (front left and right)
1 JAMO D8CEN (center)
1 JAMO D8SUB
4 JAMO D8SUR

Long story short...

The D870s and the D8CEN are 4 ohm speakers and the 2400 is an 8 ohm receiver. Causes my receiver to trip (shut down) on occasion.

I need a separate amp to run the front and center channels. I was told the check into Parasound. Any suggestions for my configuration?

Thanks!

Mark

[Chris D]

Hi, Mark! I came to Parasound from Yamaha myself. First, Parasound is a VERY large step up in quality (and to a bit lesser degree, price) from Yamaha. If your goal is to power speakers from a Yamaha output, a Parasound amp would be like putting $300/ea Z-rated speed tires on a Ford sedan. It will give you much more quality, but it will definitely be overkill and may leave you just wanting to upgrade the Yamaha receiver to Parasound also. I wouldn't discourage you from doing this, because we all need to start somewhere and this may turn out the best for you.

[nicholtl]

Very true. Like Chris said, just be warned. Hooking your equipment up with Parasound may influence you to swap out the Yamaha in short order! Resist! At all costs!



Or just give in.

[Drew_W]

I had the same situation when I added a Rotel RMB-1075 amp to my Yamaha RXV-630. Needless to say, the RSP-1066 followed a month or two later.

[mcwilson]

Just bit the bullet...

Well, after consulting with several AV enthusiasts, I have decided to zero out the bank account. Now my HT is going to be worth more than my car cost new! I recently purchased the ATI 8500.1 pre/pro and an ATI 3006. The 3006 will be used to bi-amp the front three speakers:

JAMO D870 Left and Right
JAMO D8CEN

Also purchased the ATI 3004 to drive the JAMO D8SUR speakers...

The HT is just a couple weeks away. I mounted the projector bracket on the ceiling this morning. Screen goes up on Monday. Carpet will be installed next week. Berkline recliners due in by Oct 7...

AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[nicholtl]

Nobody said this was an inexpensive hobby.

[ekkoville]

Not sure if this is considered a hobby, more like a virus that afflicts all sense of judgement. Good luck mcwilson.....just place a cool cloth over your head and enjoy.

Erik

[Chris D]

:banana: Yeah, baby! Pictures, we want pictures!

[mcwilson]

I'll post some pictures when the project completes. In the meantime, I'm gonna check if the domain www.ilikehtmorethanfood.com is registered...

[nicholtl]

Lol!

[Rags]

Using something like a Yamaha / Denon etc as a pre/pro and getting a good seperate power amp will provide a huge step up in performance especially if you are using hard to drive speakers. The clarity even at lowish volume levels will improve significantly.

If you then add a dedicated processor (C2, MC4, 1098 etc) there will be an improvement but nowhere near as much as the step above. The biggest problem with HC integrateds is their wimpish power amps. In terms of processing, most of them do a pretty decent job.