Please recommend Surround receiver

[JonFo]

Another thing to keep in mind, it's current that these speakers need. So look for amps that double their rating for each halving of the impedance (200wpc @ 8ohms, 400wpc @ 4 ohms).

My recommendation: keep the Yamaha as a pre-pro, and add a used Sunfire Cinema Grand (5x200wpc). Available around $1,500 (or less) used on Audiogon.

It would be hard run out of power with that amp on those speakers.

 

[attyonline]

Okay. So, why does Martin Logan recommend 175w? Is that peak?

I think that is maximum sustained power handling. These speakers are quite easy to drive, easier than my Aeons. My 75 wpc receiver could easily drive them in a room of comparable size to mine, with the caveat I mentioned earlier regarding peak volume levels. In my experience, peak levels of 90 db are very loud, but some folks demand reference levels which would make me deaf quickly. Rotel, Arcam, Marantz and Pioneer Elite all provide quality amplification that easily can drive the Mosaics and Vignettes to levels of volume that I find adequate.

 

[jjqiv]

Sounds great. Now what "quality" 50 wpc system would you recommend the man in his $1500 price range. I agree that you don't need as much wattage with quality tube-driven or Class A solid state amps, but they are out of his ballpark. You guys are comparing apples to oranges.

That price point will almost get you a pair of used Six Pacs.

 

[DTB300]

That price point will almost get you a pair of used Six Pacs.

Pair on Audiogon right now for $1650 obo. Might be had for $1500 + Ship

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1170175295

Dan

 

[Rich]

That price point will almost get you a pair of used Six Pacs.

. . .which would cover the front two channels. The poster was asking about adequate amplification for five channels for $1,500.

I have to agree with JonFo -- try to find a used Sunfire cinema grand. That would probably give you the most bang for the buck in your situation. Or go with one of the Outlaw products mentioned earlier.

 

[edwinr]

I'm driving my rear channel Vignettes with a Cambridge Audio 540R V2. This receiver is rated at 80 per channel 5 channels driven (probably 25 to 30 watts in reality) and rated at 100 per channel 2 channels driven. The 100 watts driving 2 channels is probably fairly accurate based on my listening tests, so the Vignettes have enough power from this receiver to keep up with the rear channel effects for my Summits when I watch movies. The Summits of course are driven by a 200 watt + per channel pre power combination.

So you can do this surround thing on the cheap if you wish - just don't overtax the receiver by expecting it to drive too many speakers. Also I have to commend Cambridge Audio on their receiver. It's a beauty for the price. It lacks DSP options when listening to Dolby Digital but I don't like DSP anyway. Worth checking out if you want to save some money.

 

[billman1965]

Thanks

Thanks for all of the replies.
I have decided to go with a Rotel RMB-1095 5 channel amp.
I will initially pair it with my Yamaha RX-V2500 using the pre outs.

Again, I have a large room (~4000 ft3).
This should help my situation.

 

[Pcar928fan]

Rotel's with ML's

That is what I am using...very happy with the combo.

 

[mike67]

i used to drive a pair of Aeon with a pioneer 10i THX receiver, it frequently shut off at high volume.i generally think that japanese amp are overated ,not suitable for electroststic. the primare SPA21 is no doubt a good sounding gear but could have software problem need to dealt with.
currently i switched to KRELL hts7.1 with moon aurora 200w amp..is a total different experience if u havent tried a pre/pro with dedicated amp.

 

[Pcar928fan]

i used to drive a pair of Aeon with a pioneer 10i THX receiver, it frequently shut off at high volume.i generally think that japanese amp are overated ,not suitable for electroststic. the primare SPA21 is no doubt a good sounding gear but could have software problem need to dealt with.
currently i switched to KRELL hts7.1 with moon aurora 200w amp..is a total different experience if u havent tried a pre/pro with dedicated amp.

I love that SimAudio Moon gear! It is just beautiful! One day I will either have that or a full on MBL set up with 101e's! Depends on the size of the lottery I win!

 

[socialxray]

I always ignore wattage ratings for speakers. It is a useless metric. Nobody even knows what it means. It really is just marketing.