Hello

[Charlie]

Hello, my name is Charlie. I have been a Martin Logan owner for some time. My wife and I are currently remodeling our 1st floor which includes my room . I use my speakers for my surround sound, radio and listening to CD's. My system is so old that HDMI was not really popular. Upgraded my TV to a projector and wanted to upgrade to HDMI. My old receiver is a Yamaha RX-V1500 that I use to push 2 Aeon i front speakers, 2 Script i rear speakers, cinema i center speaker and a depth sub woofer. My old receiver does not have any HDMI inputs, that is my problem. I was thinking about upgrading to the Yamaha RXA-1050, what are your thoughts? Do you have any other suggestions that would really give me big bang for buck upgrades? I figured I would use the remodel to my advantage especially since these are needs not wants! Thank you for your input, Charlie

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Perhaps amplification is the weakest link in your system.

Please audition new Anthem MCA 225 and MCA 325, two and three channel power amps.

Made in Canada by Martin Logan sister company, Anthem.

I have not listened to the MCA 225 but will be doing so first week of March.

First week of March is the time when HiFi retailer will get first delivery of new Anthem amps.

 

[Charlie]

Thank you for your help. I am a lover of good sounding equipment and always loved loud music that is why I feel in love with ML's. I just found this site, it seems from reading a little on here over the last couple of days I am probably not getting the most out of my system. It in my opinion is already crazy loud and always crystal clear, can't wait to hear it with a little extra. I look at some of the systems that the people on here have and I can not even believe how humbled I am :bowdown: As I age I am starting to have more time and a little more what we would call extra money. I really appreciate your input, I will look in to the Anthem's. Thanks again!

 

[Charlie]

Just looking at the Anthem website it looks like I would be looking at the MCA 525 as I have a 5 channel surround sound system, is that correct? The 225 watts per channel is much more then I am currently running. I am also assuming this amp will not act as a receiver and I would still have to buy one of those?

 

[Gordon Gray]

Just looking at the Anthem website it looks like I would be looking at the MCA 525 as I have a 5 channel surround sound system, is that correct? The 225 watts per channel is much more then I am currently running. I am also assuming this amp will not act as a receiver and I would still have to buy one of those?

Charlie,

Check out the Denon line. Big bang for the buck.

GG

 

[Charlie]

Which one would you rather have and why? The Anthem MRX 1120 or the Denon AVR-X7200WA. These are both AV receivers that seem to give me a little more then what I currently have. I think that they both would allow me to add pieces as time and money permit?

 

[amey01]

Perhaps amplification is the weakest link in your system.

I would 100% agree. Logans will never sound their best without the right amplification. Usually this means the best you can afford.

It's not uncommon for 'Logan systems to have better amplification than what would be acceptable in other similarly priced systems. Just the nature of an ES panel unfortunately.

For me: I would investigate the possiblity of using a cheap(er) receiver to drive the centre and rear speakers, save as much as you can (as long as it has pre-out), and invest in a good 2-channel power amplifier for the Aeons.

 

[ralflar]

Be prepared to be underwhelmed when you add power amps and keep the Yammy as a preamp. I once had a RX-V1600, also into Aeon-i, and bought nice mono blocks for the front L/R channels, using the receiver as a preamp. What I got was more of the same - no significant improvements. That changed when I replaced the receiver with a decent stereo preamp. The preamp part of the RX-V1600 had been holding the whole system back. So, getting a better power amp is only the first step.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I would 100% agree. Logans will never sound their best without the right amplification. Usually this means the best you can afford.

It's not uncommon for 'Logan systems to have better amplification than what would be acceptable in other similarly priced systems. Just the nature of an ES panel unfortunately.

For me: I would investigate the possiblity of using a cheap(er) receiver to drive the centre and rear speakers, save as much as you can (as long as it has pre-out), and invest in a good 2-channel power amplifier for the Aeons.

Then again you have guys like me running an Emotiva XPA-2 rated for 500W into 4ohms for each side. Currently you can pick one up for $719 NEW! It weighs 75lbs, runs cool and sounds great. The have a 30 day money back guarantee making them almost too cheap not to try. You just pay shipping to return them if you don't like them.

Emotiva also has an XPA-3 and XPA-5 that are not as powerful that you could pick up to drive the other channels for surround speakers depending on whether you had a 5.1 or 7.1 system.

My XPA-2 has been going for about a year now and I have no complaints. It drives my Ethos speakers loud and clear.

 

[Charlie]

Thank you all for the good info! I have never used an amp of any sort so please forgive me. If I were to buy the Emotiva XPA-2 and the other amps as you suggested what would you recommend I use for the receiver for my home entertainment system. This is where my ignorance comes in. Why can't I use 1 amp for more then the front speakers? Thanks again for all the input, I think I am getting a direction that I would have never gotten if not for you all!

 

[RCHeliGuy]

Thank you all for the good info! I have never used an amp of any sort so please forgive me. If I were to buy the Emotiva XPA-2 and the other amps as you suggested what would you recommend I use for the receiver for my home entertainment system. This is where my ignorance comes in. Why can't I use 1 amp for more then the front speakers? Thanks again for all the input, I think I am getting a direction that I would have never gotten if not for you all!

It depends on how long you want to wait.

Emotiva is introducing a new lineup called Emersa that has a single 2000W power supply with a rail feed that allows you to mix and match your amplifiers that feed off the rails. So you could put a couple powerful channels to drive your Martin Logans and then less powerful amps for the other channels at only 125W @8ohms.

This is new, not quite released, they are making some serious claims for it, but they all do that. They are using a switching power supply for this which many people would consider blasphemy. They claim the frequency is high enough that there are no artifacts.

They have a 7.1 preamp that will be available with that.

You can buy this as a 5.1 and later upgrade it to a 7.1. The only downside is you have to ship it back to the factory for them to upgrade.

I honestly can't advice you to wait for an unknown product. The concept sounds very cool, but the design is sure to rub some people the wrong way.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

It depends on how long you want to wait.

Emotiva is introducing a new lineup called Emersa that has a single 2000W power supply with a rail feed that allows you to mix and match your amplifiers that feed off the rails. So you could put a couple powerful channels to drive your Martin Logans and then less powerful amps for the other channels at only 125W @8ohms.

This is new, not quite released, they are making some serious claims for it, but they all do that. They are using a switching power supply for this which many people would consider blasphemy. They claim the frequency is high enough that there are no artifacts.

They have a 7.1 preamp that will be available with that.

You can buy this as a 5.1 and later upgrade it to a 7.1. The only downside is you have to ship it back to the factory for them to upgrade.

I honestly can't advice you to wait for an unknown product. The concept sounds very cool, but the design is sure to rub some people the wrong way.

The key is that your ML's demand more current than typical surround speakers, so they have different needs to allow them to sing properly. That's why the separate amp. Until this recent modular design by Emotiva I've not seen a solution that allowed you to mix and match your amplifier power to fit your system. Typically the amplification is identical for all channels.

Whoops! I meant to edit, not reply to my own post. I'm talking to myself again, better call the shrink!

 

[amey01]

Thank you all for the good info! I have never used an amp of any sort so please forgive me. If I were to buy the Emotiva XPA-2 and the other amps as you suggested what would you recommend I use for the receiver for my home entertainment system. This is where my ignorance comes in. Why can't I use 1 amp for more then the front speakers? Thanks again for all the input, I think I am getting a direction that I would have never gotten if not for you all!

I can't really help you with what to use for receiver (or processor), but I suggested a stereo amplifier for the two front speakers only as this is where you will probably get your best "bang for buck". You said in your OP that you use your system for listening to radio and CDs (stereo), and when you are using it for surround sound, the two main speakers will still be the most important. Buying a 2-channel amplifier for this purpose will really assist, while you can drive the remaining speakers from the receiver. Sure, you can buy a 5-channel amplifier and a processor and drive all speakers from a separate amplifier if you'd rather........all about options! Have fun.

 

[Charlie]

Can you use an amp on a sub woofer?

 

[amey01]

Can you use an amp on a sub woofer?

Do you mean "Can you use an amp to drive a subwoofer"? If it is a passive one then you can. Most subwoofers have a built-in amplifier. You can also drive a subwoofer with a speaker-level input - but you are still using the amp built into the subwoofer - it is just taking the signal from the amplifier.

 

[Charlie]

Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[TDIMike]

Charlie,

Check out the Denon line. Big bang for the buck.

GG

I definitely agree. I would also consider Marantz's AV Preamps and prehaps a Parasound A51. Stable power down to 2 ohms.

 

[bebop]

Try a tube integrated. A 60 watt tube integrated will drive most modern ML's to levels that are more than satisfying for "most" users. They're inexpensive, and plentifully available nowadays.