OP
TheReef510
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- Joined
- Apr 13, 2022
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- #21
I know what you're saying, but if you split it up to do LCRs powered by external amps, and the other surrounds by internal amps on the 3700, you still run into the issue of the 3700's LCR pre-outs not being able to provide a signal above 2V to the amps, because it sends that same signal across all of the onboard amps, regardless of which are actually under load (which in this case would only be the surround channels, not the LCRs), which then causes the amps to be under powered/clip. So you either defeat the entire amp section and use it just as a pre-amp, or use it as a receiver as intended.You could use a 3700 as a prepro, buy an amp for your front 3 speakers speakers and use the 3700's amps to power the rest.
If you want to get the 8500, then by all means get it. I just don't think your justifications are very logical. You can add 3 channels of amplification to take care of your front 3 and use the AVR to power the rest. Then you have an amp for future proofing that will work with any processor you get down the road.
The only AVR that avoids this specific situation and acts in the manner you're proposing is the 8500H, where you can turn off the pre-amp to select individual amplifiers in the chassis, while using a combination of outboard and onboard amplification.
So, I want 16 channels of processing, and all the audio formats. I've already decided I want that. If not today, I'll set up a system for that in the near future. So that takes out the 3700, leaving onlt the 4700 and the 8500H. The 4700's built in amps arent as powerful as I want for my speakers, so if I got the 4700, i'd get outboard amps for my speakers. The total cost of this would approach the cost of the 8500H, which by accounts here, has enough amplification to power my current set up as is, and then still have power left over for when I add more speakers. That's why I'm leaning towards the 8500H, but I'm still not 100% on whether I would rather just the 4700 and get some amps. I guess I'll reassess based on cost in 6 weeks or so