Will this give me an improvement in sound?

Question

i Have a Onkyo TX-SR504 reciever and i have A pair Of Klipsch RB-51 bookshelf speakers
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rb-51.aspx


i want a somewhat audiophile setup stictly for listening to music do you think i would get an improvement in sound if i ran the too bookshelfs of a different amp i was planning on buying this amp for them Onkyo M-282

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/531299905

instead of running them off of the reciever Do you think this would improve the quality of my sound for music?

please keep in mind that im only 17 and i cant afford the best gear yet i know some of you have better stuff than me and have been into stereo equipment longer than ive been alive so i respect you and ask for you honest opinion.

im not planning on pushing this amp to hard proboly no more than 60% ever

im not planning on pushing this amp to hard proboly no more than 60% ever
my current amp only has 75W rms and this one is 100W rms

Answer 1

You currently own a receiver & you are looking at a power amplifier. Do you realize that to use a power amplifier you need a preamplifier?

Since your goal is not to get the maximum volume from your speakers, but the maximum sound quality, you are looking at the wrong specs.

Don't worry about wattage, it's not as important as you think it is. There isn't enough difference between most home stereo's wattage output to make much of a difference.

Going from 75 Watts RMS per channel to 100 Watts RMS per channel will give you a 1.5 dB increase in sound. 1.5 db is only 15% louder. Going from 75 Watts RMS per channel to 300 watts RMS per channel will give you a 6 dB increase. 1 dB is about the minimum change that we can perceive. 10 dB is the feeling of being twice as loud.

What you need to be looking at is the THD rating. The THD rating won't tell you how good or clear an amplifier (or receiver) sounds, but it's the best specification available we have to look at (that manufactures put out) to indicate how good an amplifier will sound. There are others you can look at that can also possibly be of some help such as it's frequency response output. An amplifier that says it puts out 5 Hz - 100 KHz should sound better than one that says it puts out 20 Hz - 20 KHz.

Onkyo TX-SR504 Home Theater Receiver $269.99
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-Home-Theater-Receiver-TX-SR504/sem/rpsm/oid/148422/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
Surround sound channels 7.1
Power per channel (RMS) 75 Watts 0.08% THD @ 8 ohms


Onkyo M-282 Power Amplifier $219.99
(Requires buying a preamp in order to use it.)
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Onkyo-Power-Amplifier-M-282/sem/rpsm/oid/35061/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do
Power per channel (RMS) 100 Watts 0.08% THD @ 8 ohms


Yamaha RX-397 $249.99
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-cK1A0x2aLMX/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=022RX397
50 watts x 2 (stereo) into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.04% THD


Yamaha RX-797 $499.99
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-cK1A0x2aLMX/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=022RX797
100 watts x 2 (stereo) into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.019% THD

Now since you are on a tight budget & you already have a fairly good receiver (75 Watts 0.08% THD) I think you should first concentrate on upgrading your speakers instead of your receiver.

The best way to choose speakers is to listen to them & choose the ones that you think sound best.

With speakers the important manufacturer specifications to look at are frequency response & sensitivity.

The frequency responce tells you how low & how high the speakers go, it's expressed in hertz (Hz). 20 Hz - 20 KHz is the range of human hearing.

Sensitivity tells you how loud the speaker is. It's expressed as decibels (dB). A 2.83 volt signal (equivalent to one watt output on a stereo amp) is fed to the speaker and a decibel reading is taken at a distance of one meter from the speaker. The higher the dB number the louder the speaker is.

Things like the crossover frequencies & the cabinet effect how a speaker sounds. That's why actually listening to how speakers sound is the best way to judge speakers.

When you look at a manufacturer's 1m/1W SPL chart the line that is more flat & level is better than a line that has a lot of high peaks & low dips. The numbers at the bottom of the chart indicate the frequency, starting with the lowest tones on the left going to the highest tones on the right. The numbers on the side of the chart indicate the decibels, starting with the quietest dB at the bottom & the loudest dB at the top.

Klipsch RB-51 Book Shelf Loudspeaker $348.00 pair (MSP)
Specifications
frequency response 50 Hz - 23 KHz +/-3 dB
power handling 75 Watts RMS / 300 Watts Peak
sensitivity 92 dB @ 2.83V / 1M
nominal impedance 8 ohms compatible

You can almost always build better speaker cabinets than what you can buy. So when you are on a budget building your own cabinets for your speakers & subwoofers is your best option.

David. A mid-sized (48"x15"x15") floor-stander speaker.
http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/David.html
"With average sensitivity of 95dB/2.83v/1 meter this is one powerful speaker, and with response of plus/minus 2.5dB from 38Hz to 16kHz it's also very accurate. In room the bass response extends to below 20Hz. And the best feature? How about a build cost as low as $300- for a pair!"

Answer 2

In theory, recievers have many components that can introduce noise into the amplifier. For example, the TXSR series has an Xm tuner and an AM/FM tuner. These components can introduce noise since they are relatively close to the amplifier. There is also the on screen display system and video switching components, those introduce noise. So, again in theory, if you can seperate you amplifier from all this noise, you can get better cleaner sound.
The amplifier you listed has only pre amp inputs, and the reciever does not have dedicated pre outs. You can use the video 1 output, but now you have introduced video switching noise.
The two items you listed are a great start to something bigger in the future. Give it a try. Keep in mind that sound is in the ear of the beholder. Wether is sounds better or not, is up to you, not what everybody else says! Have fun, and good luck!

Answer 3

The question is the output of the receiver needs to be known for this, specifically if the receiver's output matches the speaker's Nominal or RMS handling, then no.
The current naming system is confusing and took time for me to figure out what they mean by nominal or rms, and peak.
The easiest way to understand speaker power handling ability is to think of the two ratings as continuous or sustained and peak, vs. the store's nomenclature which usually states nominal or rms and peak.
On your speakers, the power handling states 75W RMS / 300W Peak, so this means your speakers can handle 75 watts continuous or sustained volume (nominal / rms), and peaks of up to 300w but they are not 300w speakers, they are best thought of as 75w speakers (which is actually pretty good).

Now when it comes to the items that output the power, such as the receiver or the amp, a good rule of thumb to remember is that you will get crystal clear sound UP to 90% of the receiver's / amps max. rated power.
I am not sure why they do this, but every single thing I've ever tested seems to distort sound at full output, but turn the knob back a little, and it gets better. 90% is pushing things, 80% is usually pretty good and you usually can't go wrong by the time your volume knob is at 3/4's, so if your receiver states Max.rated output at or near 100w, then your system is as good as it gets.

But if the receiver's ratings state the max. output is at or below 75w, then you would see an improvement with the amplifier. If the receiver is rated somewhere around 85 - 95watts max, I doubt the improvement would be worth the expense, no offense.

Keep in mind if you get the amp then you will have to watch the volume control afterwards, the amp is rated at just over 100w's output, so the most you will want to crank it continuously would be around 70% - 75% of full volume or you would likely damage your speakers over time, 80% would be really pushing things and if you want to play it safe, then stick to 60%.

Hope that helps

Answer 4

No, going from a TX-SR504 to an M-282 in order to improve sound quality is a waste of money... if you really feel you need to improve your sound quality than you'll need to save because you already have a pretty good system and spending at least $200 on a new amp is not going to improve it... if you want to really improve your system you're looking at $500 speakers (each) and a $400 amp.

Answer 5

It's not possible to know for sure if you will hear a difference between those two amps. The only way to know is if you can try both and spend some time listening to things you are familiar with for comparison.

I've done comparison testings among several products, and while I can hear some differences, it is not always so easy to tell. Also, I used a special device for switching to quickly listen to one then the another.

Answer 6

Every time you double the POWER you only increase the VOLUME by 3 decibels...So switching from 75 watts to 100 watts will only increase you overall volume by ONE AND A HALF decibels...Not worth it.

But for overall CLARITY, that separate amp will offer a much cleaner sound...But your overall SURROUND effect will suffer for movies...The whole thing will be unbalanced...But your stereo music will sound great.

But it sounds like you need to try it and find out for yourself...That's the only way you're going know what's better for you...They're your ears...Stop listening to the rest of us and do some leg work...Go get your hands dirty and prove us wrong.

Answer 7

Dude get off the juice. Now. before your little bitty balls disappear continually. you're 5'5' and 130lbs. you are able to be in ballet classification no longer a gymnasium. you'll damage your little body. i'm severe. What you're doing is risky. Your welcome