Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater pre-amps

poke........
poke........
poke........


ok.


I got nuthin'.

Fred, you just described my wife perfectly. "Efficient but particular."

First of all, welcome to the group, patwho!

A pre-amp (or pre-pro[cessor]) handles the decoding & switching of sources. DVD, CD, TV, etc. An amp does nothing but amplifies the signal its given. It drives the speakers. A 'Receiver' contains both the pre-amp and amp parts, so that it handles all of the tasks.

You're going to find that the whole preamp+amp vs. AVR (audio/video receiver) debate has many devoted followers on both sides of the camp. We're a pretty calm bunch around here, and basically agree to disagree on debatable topics such as this. But you will find *very* heated debates about this on other forums. The idea is that with a separate prepro & amp, you're separating the tasks between two components. You remove the heavy-duty electrical interference that might be generated by the amp away from the much-lower powered signals that the pre-pro is dealing with. The result is maybe a cleaner signal. The debate against it is that with modern electrical engineering techniques, this isn't an issue.

The simple fact is that the vast majority of people these days are absolutely fine with an AVR doing the decoding, switching, and powering of their system. Fine in the objective sense, in that everything is technically fine. And fine in the subjective sense, in that everything sounds great. And there is *nothing* wrong with that. Most modern AVR's can handle the lower-impedance load that the M80 presents, and it's debatable whether an external amp would make a difference.

But pre-amp/amp combos can still be worthwhile. I have a c.2002 Pioneer Elite VSX-43TX. Yes, it's overdue for replacement and that will happen soon. But, it can not reliably power my M80's. At anything near reference levels (like 100db), and the sound gets muddy, scratchy, and just simply doesn't sound very good. It's not subtle. The AVR doesn't shut down, but you can tell that it's givin' it all she's got. I picked up an Emotiva LPA-1 amplifier, and run it from the pre-outs on the Pioneer. So my Pioneer is acting as a pre-pro only with the LPA-1 powering my Axioms. It sounds, IMHO, fantastic. Much clearer level of sound at high volume, with punchier bass and smoother highs.

While it's flamebait around here, I honestly believe that it sounds better all around, even at lower volume levels, with clean & rich sound, concise placement and a superbly dimensional soundstage. But I'm of the opinion that the way each of us perceives sound an quality is as different as the way we taste things. We can all agree that an apple tastes like an apple, and that the chemical makeup is the same, but we might disagree on how good it tastes, even with bites taken from the same apple. I think A/V gear and the perception of audio and video quality works on a similar level. So from that, it's impossible to say that, "oh yes, you need to buy a Super-Mojo 9000 18-channel amp for $5,000, as it'll be amazing!"

All I know is that as soon as either Outlaw or Emotiva can get their HDMI 1.3-capable pre-pros to market, I'll be buying one to replace the Pioneer. I just like the look & idea of true separates, and that's where I'm headed.

There are several manufacturers that have a no-questions-asked, no-restock fee return policy on their amps. If your AVR has pre-outs, and you're curious about a dedicated amp, buy one! Try it out on your system in your home. If it improves things, wonderful! If not, great - just return it and get your money back.