2. home-theater
  3. 130062-1976

HT receiver to separate amp - tips?

My Pioneer SC07 seems like it got damaged and Im getting all sorts of interesting issues.  At this point I suspect it is not worth the repair (looking into that) and if thats the case I think I should look at a HT receiver that is a good value with 4K and whatnot for the future with analog outs to a multichannel amp.  that way I can get a "better" amp and update the receiver as needed.  Not sure if this is the smart thing to do so thoughts are appreciated.  

that aside I find that I cant get specs on the analog outs on nearly any receiver but I read that I should insure the receiver pre-amp section can power up enough to meet the needs of the amp.  For example the Outlaw 5000 system wants the inputs to be 1V.  I checked all the major receiver vendors and I cant find what they output voltage- wise.  Am I overthinking this or is this a tricky thing I need to account for.

If I do this are there any recommendations for a good pairing of receiver/amp that you like?

thanks everyone

sax
paulsax
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

First question, as always, what's your budget?

Second question is if you are intending to hook up some of the speakers to the receiver or if you are going to connect all speakers to an external amp.  If you are using an external amp for everything, you are better off getting a dedicated processor (such as Marantz AV7702/AV7703 or Anthem AVM60 if you choose that direction).  The processors will have much better power supply and analog output sections.  The only question is how 4K "current" you want the processor to be and how many bells/whistles you want.

As far as voltage output, 1V is not a lot and I would say most receivers will have no problem with this.  There may be some amplifiers that require 1.4 to 2 volts for maximum power output.  If you really concerned about amplifier gain, then get a dedicated processor/amp combination that has XLR inputs/outputs and use balanced XLR cables for signal.  XLR has an additional 6db gain and the volume will be louder.

If you are still looking for a receiver, there is generally no difference in the preamp section between models of receivers.  For example, preamp in Marantz SR5011 is not going to be any different than preamp in Marantz SR6011.  The difference would be power supply for the amplifier section of the receiver.  At this point, you would have to choose the brand that offers the sonic signature you are after.  Marantz, Yamaha and Anthem will all have different sonic signatures.

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paulsax OP
275 posts
 
thanks much for the information and suggestions.   love actionable information!  appreciate it.
soix
8,602 posts
 
I totally get what you're trying to do, but matching the middling performance of the preamp section of a mass market AVR with a presumably higher quality amp is kind of a waste.  I agree with the above -- better to invest in a good prepro (i.e. Anthem) that will likely be upgradeable for quite some time and will allow you to extract more of the performance benefits out of a good amp.  This all assumes the rest of your system justifies this level of expense of course, otherwise better to just continue to just use an AVR and replace whenever it becomes outdated since they're not all that expensive anyway.  Separate prepro (or stereo pre) becomes even more important if you also use your system for music.  Anyway, best of luck. 
paulsax OP
275 posts
 
You know it had not occurred to me that a pre-pro could be upgraded. I had it in my head that, like the receivers when the new think like 4K comes out that a new unit was required. Options galore!

thanks for the advice everyone.
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