Polk & Pioneer Audio Advice - Class D Amp, Bi-Amping, Ohms

[Brand-Newbie’n]

Hi all,

Newbie hear! Never had a stereo setup before (alway had portable speakers). Just bought my first stereo setup (below). My purchase was very cost/performance based. I.e - I am more interested in playing just music with with my receiver, but bought this 7.2 Pioneer receiver because it had everything I wanted (WiFi audio streaming, Roon tested and DAC) for a very reasonable price of $350 on sale. I know it’s probably not the best setup, but it is what I could afford at the time. That being said, I do want to get the most out of my setup and could afford a class d power amp in the next 1-2 months.

Questions:

- Will an external power amp (those recommended/reviewed in this forum like buckeye, topping Pa7, Apollon) be compatible with this receiver and/or make any noticeable difference with my speakers?

- Reliability issues aside, if I were to buy the Topping Pa7 Plus (mainly because I could finance it and add a 3 year warranty on Amazon), what cable output do I need? It doesn’t seem to say and they don’t look like regular Banana post outputs (maybe I’m wrong).

- In the short term, before I buy an external amp (if necessary), would I benefit from bi-amping/wiring my Polk Speakers?. I can use the center channels as the extra amps/watts since I am not really interested in surround sound at this moment

- Lastly, if I don’t bi-wire/bi-amp my speakers what ohm input should I use and why?

Any tips or help with my questions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!



Thanks!

 

[AnalogSteph]

If you are not exactly drowning in cash, I wouldn't worry about this whole power amplifier and biwiring nonsense at all for now. The thing is, I don't think MCACC is particularly great a room EQ system, so the next thing on my shopping list would be a measurement microphone (like the venerable UMIK-1), plus REW, plus system-wide parametric EQ software. You should also make sure that room acoustics are up to snuff in general - nobody expects studio-level room treatment but particularly if your place looks like an architect's dream (barren walls and hard flooring), you likely have some work ahead of you.

 

[MarkS]

All amps (including those in cheap AVRs) sound the same, all DACs sound the same, all cables sound the same.

 

[DonR]

Bi-amping will gain you no benefit here. You could add an external amp but since you are driving only 2 channels, the built-in amp of the AVR should be sufficient. Save your money and look into room treatment. Usually, a nice rug placed in front of the speakers cuts down floor reflections.

Not sure about your last question. Just leave the connector bars on the speakers and hook the speaker wire from the amp as if there is only one pair of binding posts on the speaker.

 

[Deleted member 21219]

I know it’s probably not the best setup, but it is what I could afford at the time.

The setup that you have is not bad at all!
I believe that your receiver has the capability for a sub, should you want one. (A sub can make a very audible improvement, but a sub can also be very finicky to integrate into the overall system.)

As @AnalogSteph and @DonR have said, room problems can make or break a system. These are the so-called "little things" that are actually quite important, and not so little at all:

1) The room in general, which means the size and shape.. Very square rooms can yield nasty resonances.
2) Reflectivity. Playing music in a tin can is no fun.
3) Placement of the speakers within the room, and ....
4) Placement of your listening position within the room.

These last two can drive you crazy. Rooms have "nodes", also called "eigenmodes". These are resonances within the room that are fixed. Walk all around the room while playing music with low bass, and you'll see (hear) what I mean. What you'll hear is that there are spots where the bass is louder, possibly even very boomy, and there are spots where the bass is lacking. These are the locations of constructive and destructive interference, respectively.
If your listening position absolutely must be fixed at a certain spot, then change the position of the speakers as you play a selection with low bass; you'll hear some differences this way also.
How close you sit to the speakers can also make a big difference. Personally, I like to sit very close, it reduces the proportion of reflections from the room surfaces. Some people don't care to sit all that close. YMMV.

This sort of experimentation can be time-consuming, but it can yield great results .... and it won't cost you a penny. (I like that; I'm a cheapskate. )

Good luck, and enjoy your system. To me, the music is far more important than the equipment.

Jim