power amp? stereo reciever?

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tromostheory

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How much color does a standard Kenwood stereo reciever add? Is a power amp that important in a studio? Are there any cheap power amps that would work a lot better than a stereo reciever? I'll be using Tannoy Saturn S8LR home theater speakers along side my MAudio BX5's and am wondering what the best way to power them on a budget is (I already own a Kenwood stereo reciever).Thanks a lot.
 
Stereos are made to sound good, power amps are just amps.

You can get away with it, but it isn't optimal.
 
Farview said:
Stereos are made to sound good, power amps are just amps.

You can get away with it, but it isn't optimal.
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i support this. ^^

will work- but consider it 'rigged', and call yourself the Studio McGyver.. people do it, but it's not the 'proper way'.

a power amp for monitors won't kill you too bad, you can get somehting nice for around $100-200 used. i have an Alesis RA150 i paid like $100 for.
 
I used to have an older (when Kenwood was cool) Kenwood power amp - Straight up, no volume, no nothing, just an power switch and I/O on the back.

As great as it was for home stereo use, it didn't have the open clarity and headroom as most decent amps out there.

That's not to say that there aren't some common home stereo amps that will kick the crap out of most amps you'll find at the local banjo mart... Bryston, Rotel... They're out there.

But it'd have to be a helluva integrated amplifier before I'd use it as a mains amp...
 
I use an older JVC Receiver to monitor to, and can say without a doubt that your mixes will not translate well unless you know your shit, bigtime. I do not, so I use my receiver as my excuse for shitty mixes.

I'm contemplating getting an amp, but then I'd have to either learn how to mix or find a different excuse.
 
I agree. When you listen to your mix somewhere else, you'll be shocked how different it sounds from what you thought you heard through the kenwood. You need brutal honesty from your monitoring setup.
 
I'm currently stuck using a Yamaha receiver amp, but it has a direct power amp input that bypasses everything, which is what I plug into. Still not spectacular.

If only I had the cash to buy the Bryston John was selling :(
 
check the back of the thing for a preamp loop... then use the amp in... bypassing the preamp section... if it's an older one it should be there and the amp section if powerful enough should be ok for awhile...
 
My amp does not have an "Amp In" but it does have something called "CD Direct" which I believe bypasses all the controls. Another stereo online that had "CD Direct" and said that it "incorporates a separate amplifier solely for the CD input. It bypasses the tone, loudness, input selector and balance controls and assures a pure power path." Should this work for now? Thanks a lot everybody for your help.
 
tromostheory said:
My amp does not have an "Amp In" but it does have something called "CD Direct" which I believe bypasses all the controls. Another stereo online that had "CD Direct" and said that it "incorporates a separate amplifier solely for the CD input. It bypasses the tone, loudness, input selector and balance controls and assures a pure power path." Should this work for now? Thanks a lot everybody for your help.
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Yes. That is your "purest" audio path...
 
One last question...would getting a cheap dedicated power amp be a major improvement? Is there a huge difference in quality when dealing with power amps? Any reccomendations?
 
Define cheap. Cheap power amps tend to overstate their specs. (50 watts/channel rms - 1500 watts peak bridged mono going downhill with a 100 mph tailwind)

Technically the specs are correct, but the power supply can't put out fast enough to keep up or the specs are accurate but the thd is 10%.

I really wish Hafler was still making amps. They were the perfect combination of quality vs. price.


There really is no angle, no secret, no insider knowledge that will keep you from having to pay for the right equipment. The good news is: buying the right stuff will save you money in the long run. When you buy garbage, you always end up replacing it with what you should have bought in the first place.
 
NAD power amps would be my choice for the money if you were to use a home stereo amplifier. I have seen with a scope what happens with their 'power envelope' concept, and it is probably much less than a Hafler, etc.- at least as far as I can remember :)
 
Something inexpensive, better than home hi-fi amps and reliable...

Alesis RA100.

It's discontinued but available on the used market. I like it a bit better than the current series.

Matching an amp to speakers is an art though, and home stereo speakers generally have the same problem of being built to enhance the sound rather then be true.

Tim
:)
 
Beck said:
Something inexpensive, better than home hi-fi amps and reliable...

Alesis RA100.

It's discontinued but available on the used market. I like it a bit better than the current series.

Matching an amp to speakers is an art though, and home stereo speakers generally have the same problem of being built to enhance the sound rather then be true.

Tim
:)
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I have had an RA100 for the last- ~10 years- a bit noisy but never had a problem once- solid and dependable. Good call

TRD
 
if you think a lowend "pro" is better than a home stereo amp.... pass the bong dude you've had enough... the best suggestion was the nad....
 
dementedchord said:
if you think a lowend "pro" is better than a home stereo amp.... pass the bong dude you've had enough... the best suggestion was the nad....
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It's not a matter of quality. The power section in a home stereo might be cleaner than a low end power amp. But you can't get signal to the power section without going through a bunch of circuitry designed to hype the sound. More that a few home stereos were designed to sound extra dull until you hit the loudness button. Don't get me started on tone controls, surround, stereo wide, etc...

If you could get your signal to the power section of your home stereo without going through all the garbage, you would be in really good shape. Unfortunately, you can't. The types of audiophile power amps that don't have all that crap are as (or more) expensive than a regular studio power amp.
 
Some of you might remember this thread a couple of weeks ago:

Hafler P vs TA

I mention it because if you're wanting a Hafler Rockford is auctioning all the NOS off on ebay right now.
 
Farview said:
If you could get your signal to the power section of your home stereo without going through all the garbage, you would be in really good shape. Unfortunately, you can't.
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What about a home stereo receiver such as my Yamaha that has inputs labelled "power amp in", much like the effects loop in a guitar amp? On mine this bypasses all tone controls as well as the receiver's volume control, which indicates to me that it is a direct input to the receiver's power amp.
 
Adam P said:
What about a home stereo receiver such as my Yamaha that has inputs labelled "power amp in", much like the effects loop in a guitar amp? On mine this bypasses all tone controls as well as the receiver's volume control, which indicates to me that it is a direct input to the receiver's power amp.
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You just happen to own the 1 in 100 recievers that are the exception to the rule. As long as it cost less than a comparable power amp, we have a winner.
 
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