Q about adding amp to RSX1056

[FSonicSmith]

Please forgive me for the basic question-I searched through the archives and failed to find something informative on this issue;

My new dedicated HT is 19 feet by 19 feet with a front projector and 103" screen. I have B&W speakers all around, DM603 S3s in front, DM602 S3s in back , LCR600 in front center, and a Velodyne powered subwoofer. I bought a brand new Rotel 1056 receiver from my local high end audio dealer to go with the B&Ws. I should mention that none of this is hooked up yet since I'm still waiting for contractors to finish the dedicated HT room. I've read the threads where owners of the 1056 have added amps (Crown seems to be popular at the moment) but don't understand how the additional amp is being implemented- I assume to power the front L and R speakers? Why is this such a big improvement given that most of the sound in HT is coming from the center channel? And, assuming I'm going to be told that enough sound comes from the front L and R to make the extra power important, is there a way to utilize (bridge) the now unused two channels of power from the receiver for the back speakers?
I know the "smart" thing to do would be to wait until the system is set up to see firsthand if the 1056 on it's own seems sufficient to power the 5 B&W's, but I have found a good deal on a 200 wpc stereo amp (A McCormack, a brand of amp which I happen to use in my dedicated two channel system elsewhere in the house) and I'm tempted to just grab it now and have fun implementing it in the HT.

[rick c]

I also have the rsx1056 w/603s3/lcr600/def.tech promonitor 100's(rears) will be getting the 601s3 for rears when i can.The rsx1056 is more than enough for your speakers.I have a 22.5 x 19.5 room and the setup does very well.That being said adding an amp i'm sure would just make it that much better.I'm also plannig to add an amp in the future probably a 3channel rb993(200 x 3)if i can find one if not the 1080(200 x 2).But if your question is do i need to add an amp i would say no.But since you may have one lined up go for it,more power is always better.Also you can redirect your front speakers on the rotel to the rear if you ever add an amp.

[Andrew Pratt]

Adding stereo amps does help in a number of ways. First it takes some of the strain off the receivers power suppy so that the remaining channels have more current available. It also enables people to redirect the two front channels to the rear so that they can run a 7.1 setup.

Crown amps are ok but only the expensive ones are worth using on your main channels..the lower more affordable models are too noisey and typically only used to power passive subwoofers.

[FSonicSmith]

Thanks for the advice. Again, it's a McCormack I'm considering, the DNA-1, which is an old model circa the mid 90s but a very good amp that can be upgraded by it's original designer, Steve McCormack. The DNA-1 is a conservative 200 wpc but more importantly, it sounds good. I was only using the Crown as an example of amps I've seen people mention when adding an amp to their RSX 1056 in previous threads.

[Andrew Pratt]

If the price on the McCormack is good and its caps look to be in good shape it would very likely be a very worthwhile addition.