I was wondering at what point would you audibly notice the benefit of an amp? I own an Onkyo 805 and don't listen all that loudly. Can't really unless the kid, or soon to be kids, are not here. Anyway, is there an audible difference at any spl level, at some level, or only at high volume levels? I have always wanted to know this. I run my onkyo in 7.1 with axiom Epic 60 500 system. I am finding that I am becoming quite the movie soundtrack listener, such as Braveheart, The Patriot, Conan the Barbarian, BSG syfy channel, and other movie scores. I never thought I would enjoy this. I was strictly just a movie person until I got my speakers. Now I love to just hear MUSIC! Strange how that has changed. Anyway, I digress. Thanks for the input. Good Night All!
External amplification can have benefits. It depends on a lot of factors the extent of its benefits, in some cases it could be none at all. Such factors as room size, listening distance, SPL levels, sensitivity, impedance curves most notably the dips all can play important roles if a more robust amplifier with more dynamic headroom is needed.
A great example of the need for external amplification is this thread right here.
http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=326093&page=1The OP noted "harshness" during loud/dynamic passages. In these instances those brief dynamic passages are creating audible distortion. In this case the receiver does not have enough headroom to reproduce those peaks without distortion. Moving up to a more robust external amp with more dynamic headroom and lower distortion will certainly have audible improvements in perceived sound quality.
