Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners QS series surrounds

Yeah it has been awhile. I kind of slowed down (yeah right). I added a couple of amps (2 Ch Parasound and mono). Other than that I have been putting full concentration on expanding my DVD collection. I have been kind of half heartedly been searching out a pair of QS8's but they seem pretty elusive. I hope everything is going well in your neck of the woods.

Jason

Jason:

What do you think of the Parasound amps?

I've been wondering how much it would impact my setup by adding the 5-channel Parasound HCA-2205A (or possibly the 2-channel HCA-1500A) and using the Denon AVR-3803 as a pre/pro. I hate to be so anal, but the only thing bothering me about my current set-up (I'm using the M60s as mains) is the sibilance I hear in Rebecca Pigeon's Spanish Harlem, although this was also noted in a review of the M22ti. Please note that I only caught the reference to this song only after I had already noticed it myself. I also wouldn't mind having the extra power to drive the M60s as I am already at 00 (on a -80 to +12 scale) on the 3803 at 75 dB (my normal movie listening level) using the AVIA DVD and the Radio Shack SPL meter. In music, which is at least 70% of my use, I normally listen at -10 dB.

I would appreciate your observations on the Parasound amps.

I've been considering doing the same thing, but not necessarily with the amp you mentioned. I'm wondering if the brand of amp you use is going to change the quality of sound you get out of your speakers. I like the sound of my Denon 2802, but it would be nice to have more power and a little more "musicalness?" in 2 channel stereo.

Will switching to an outboard amp change the "flavor" of the signal sent to my speakers? Or will everything I play always sound the same due to the processors in the Denon?

When I jumped from my flagship Onkyo (TX-SV919thx) to Rotel seperates, the first and most noticable difference was punchier, tighter bass. I've heard that that is the most common "improvement" when adding a seperate more powerful amp. I really doubt adding an amp to your Denon is going to make anything sound worse.

I wasn't concerned that an outboard amp might make it sound "worse". I was wondering if its just going to sound the same - with the ability to play louder. If it isn't going to be a night and day improvement I'd rather wait and see what my next move might be (big screen, behemoth sub, dedicated theater, etc...)
I do believe that a salesworn at Circuit City told me that the more powerful amps deliver better bass. Don't know if that's true or not.
You never worked at Circuit City, did you?

Mark, not only won't it be night and day, it probably won't even be midnight and 12:01AM. More power, whether by way of separates or otherwise, won't necessarily make the slightest difference in bass or anything else audible. If you had say 200 watts per channel instead of 100 that would give you 3db more headroom. If your set up distorted audibly at say 115db peaks, you'd now be able to do 118db. Unless your 2802 is audibly distorting(unlikely) relax and spend your money on something that makes a difference.

Thanks, John. 3db doesn't sound like much and I have yet to max out the 2802, anyway. I had just remembered reading something a while back from a guy who didn't like the sound of the Denon receivers for music. I love the detail it shows in music, but it isn't as soft and silky sounding as my old Onkyo. Of course the old Onkyo didn't provide the detail of the Denon. I'm sure there is an expensive solution to get the best of both worlds, but I've got bigger fish to fry.

I think I might start working the old lady over for a big screen instead.

I really felt that it improved the quality of the sound I was getting from my fronts. It sounds kind of strange but the one thing I noticed while watching movies was the silence. It's kind of hard to explain but for example,in the the extended version of LOTR where Frodo is reading in the woods prior to Gandalf's arrival sounded sweet. The birds chirping in the background, the wind blowing through the trees made me feel like I was there. When the fellowship was awaiting the balrog's appearance it was so eerily quiet it sent chills up my spine.I didn't add the amps to try to beef up my "loudness" I added them to attempt to make every sound as realistic as possible. I don't know all the spec and mathematic decibal equation gobbeldy gook but I know what I like. In my case the addition of the Parasound amps improved the sound reproduction. It also made my 2 channel music sound much better. Any acoustic music sounded great. So in the end I would say do what you like, for me the amps were a welcomed addition to my system.

J

John, just a thought.. Doesn't that additional headroom given by a bigger amp (especially with separates) give a better (using 'better' for lack of a more technical term) sound, as the amp does not have to work as hard to gain the same results ? (He asked, as he stood scratching his head)
Or, as with separates, the pre/pro doesn't have to share the onboard power supply with the amp(s).. Wouldn't this then equate to a cleaner, or less negativley effected signal reaching the speakers ??
How's this: Small watt, inexpensive amp compared to larger watt top end amp.. Both driven at the lower end of their respective power rating, into the same make speaker, to produce the same SPL.. Would there be difference in the quality of the sound produced ? I have found that in most cases there is (only not home gear, concert sound reinforcement equip).. So, and I hope I'm not stretching this too far, would it not stand to reason that a quailty amp, not sharing power supplies, additional circuits, etc, and, having a great deal more headroom, would indeed provide a more quailty sound ?
I would really like to know, as I have been wanting to upgrade to some quaility power (separates), but have not tested or proven my own (just stated) theory with high end ($$) home stereo gear, only with large concert equipment..

Mikey, there shouldn't be an audible difference in the situation you describe. Remember that at average comfortably loud sound levels speakers use about 1 watt. Much more can be called for on peaks, but as long as its power capability isn't exceeded, a relatively low-powered amp will continue to amplify the music without audible distortion; it doesn't care that it's working harder, as long as it can still do it. So, no, the added headroom(say 200 watts instead of 20 watts)doesn't result in audibly better sound unless on some rare instance that extra headroom actually had to be used. When the power used didn't exceed say 10 watts the two amps would be audibly identical, unless the 20 watt amp(or the 200 watt amp)was audibly inferior in some other respect, which would be unusual these days. Clean power is cheap.