Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater amplifier?

Thanks, For me simple is better and no golden ear here.

Aaron, the people who would "assure" you of such a thing appear to know little of the facts of audio technology. Your 3806 has a quite powerful amplifier and has more than enough maximum power capacity for the vast majority of home uses. A 200 watt amplifier might increase the level at which a brief split-second peak could be played by about 2dB(e.g., 108dB, rather than 106dB), a result of little significance which in no way would "optimize" the performance of your speakers.

The "clarity" which you mentioned will be determined by the program material, the speakers and the listening room, not by adding unused maximum power capacity. Use your money for something that'll make an actual difference.

I don't see why you think you need more power, it is not like you have m80's or anything that can play to concert levels, he he. Really, your 3806 should be more than enough, why are you condidering that you need more power, the difference between a 100watt receiver and a 200 watt receiver is 3dB, which is barely noticable.

Knowing you are running the W22's I think I am less likely to recommend a new amp for you. I did hear a different sound when I hooked up my M22's while using the A1400 but it wasn't as much of a difference, the highs did sound better and more spatial but to me it wasn't worth the upgrade, now for the M80s I can't wait to buy my seperate amp. Maybe spend your money on a second subwoofer

I concur. I am a 'pro-amp' guy myself when it comes to big speakers in big rooms. However, in a fairly reasonable sized room, the M22's should play 'optimally' while utilizing just the Denon. As you've said, you don't have 'golden ears'. Therefore, I highly doubt you would notice any difference at all besides the hit to your wallet in buying an amp.

+1. While I think more power does pay some dividends in certain respect, I don't think you will see it in your setup. At most, get a two channel amp and let the 3806 run chan 3-7. That will free up the power of the 3806 for those chns so you will not have to worry about inadequate power reserves on 3-7 - and 1-2 are covered by the stereo amp.

For $2K, I'd look to bigger speakers, a bigger sub, and room treatment long before adding more power. My dramatic increase in power only shows in high volume critical listening - a guilty pleasure many don't have the ability to enjoy, so consider your needs before dropping $3K.

Hello aspicer. You definitely do NOT need a 200 watt per channel amp to drive a pair of fairly efficient M22s. At normal listening levels your Denon's amplifier section is ticking over at less than 3 watts per channel. If you push the volume of our your M22s, to antisocial levels, your Denon might be asked to produce 10-20 watts per channel.

What I figure you hope to accomplish with a new amp or receiver is better sound quality. Improvements to sound quality from efficient speakers which present an easy load to an amplifier is rarely achieved by means of more watts per channel.

Your Denon is a high quality piece of audio gear. You my friend have upgradeitis. You want something more but you don't know what it is.

Welcome.

A disease that strikes at any time and seems to have no immunization for, unless you are JohnK.

Yes, Jay; as I've reported previously, I had upgradeitis as a child and apparently developed an immunity.

Well, watch out for the new swine strain. It'll make you dip into your piggy bank.