Which home theater amp and why?

[PristineSound]

OK, got it.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. I think this confused me:

If you use the Q-series for left/center/right, they alone aren't bi-ampable. They have passive crossovers.

Regarding speakers, amps, and future-proofing. How about active speakers?

That's correct, the Q series aren't bi-ampable. I was originally considering the Q series for all ground level speakers because it is economical. And they are good value with fairly good performance, also they have great vertical directivity, which can come in handy if I need multi-row seating, although unlikely.

I am only now considering LCR that are bi-ampable because I don't want 3 channels to go to waste if I do end up with 14 channels. Now I feel like I am spending more money to get more value, which is an oxymoron.

Anyway, active speakers, which one are you proposing? The ones I looked at are costs a pretty penny, as much as I have been waiting for over 3 decades to build this home theater, and willing to drop some serious money on it, I unfortunately am not in the 1%, so I am still limited by budget.

 

[Chrispy]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. Just what is your speaker/dsp/amp setup? Passive bi-amping is simply a waste of time/wire/effort.

 

[PristineSound]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. Just what is your speaker/dsp/amp setup? Passive bi-amping is simply a waste of time/wire/effort.

It will be Tide 16, at least that is the plan, unless tariffs take a turn for the worse.

 

[Chrispy]

It will be Tide 16, at least that is the plan, unless tariffs take a turn for the worse.

So? Tariffs will probably turn for the worse with the shithead in office. Describe the whole system with the tide 16....and why it's needed....assume you're tearing out passive crossovers in your speakers or ?

 

[PristineSound]

So? Tariffs will probably turn for the worse with the shithead in office. Describe the whole system with the tide 16....and why it's needed....assume you're tearing out passive crossovers in your speakers or ?

Ahh, let's avoid politics here.

Why is what needed? The Tide 16?

 

[Chrispy]

Ahh, let's avoid politics here.

Why is what needed? The Tide 16?

LOL okay. The minidsp tide 16 could be useful, but passive bi-amping is more fantasy than anything else.

ps Or am I misunderstanding and you will be removing the passive crossovers in the speakers to utilize external dsp?

 

[PristineSound]

LOL okay. The minidsp tide 16 could be useful, but passive bi-amping is more fantasy than anything else.

ps Or am I misunderstanding and you will be removing the passive crossovers in the speakers to utilize external dsp?

OK, got it.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. I think this confused me:

If you use the Q-series for left/center/right, they alone aren't bi-ampable. They have passive crossovers.

Regarding speakers, amps, and future-proofing. How about active speakers?

I actually just reread Don's post. I briefly skimmed through it the first time and misunderstood.

Well, I guess there is no benefit with bi-amping. I don't know why the term "passive bi-amping" needs to be used since "active bi-amping" is only specific to active speakers.

 

[Chrispy]

I actually just reread Don's post. I briefly skimmed through it the first time and misunderstood.

Well, I guess there is no benefit with bi-amping. I don't know why the term "passive bi-amping" needs to be used since "active bi-amping" is only specific to active speakers.

More just a way to differentiate....lots of misinformation in the usual bullshit audio media.

 

[PristineSound]

More just a way to differentiate....lots of misinformation in the usual bullshit audio media.

Well according to Don's write up, it reduces current draw, which could put less strain on the amps, especially if the speakers are hard to drive. But you lose overall efficiency as each power supply has a floor inefficiency.

 

[Chrispy]

Well according to Don's write up, it reduces current draw, which could put less strain on the amps, especially if the speakers are hard to drive. But you lose overall efficiency as each power supply has a floor inefficiency.

Always tradeoffs of course with any speaker system. Not likely the speaker/amp/driving thing is worth discussing without details.....mostly I'd say it's not particularly important.

 

[PristineSound]

Always tradeoffs of course with any speaker system. Not likely the speaker/amp/driving thing is worth discussing without details.....mostly I'd say it's not particularly important.

If I end up with 2x 7 channel amp, I am still going to bi-amp to put all channels to use.

 

[MAB]

I actually just reread Don's post. I briefly skimmed through it the first time and misunderstood.

Well, I guess there is no benefit with bi-amping. I don't know why the term "passive bi-amping" needs to be used since "active bi-amping" is only specific to active speakers.

There really isn't, just more wire-clutter. It's named that to distinguish it from bi-amping using an active crossover. Even then, the seeds of confusion run deep on this topic. If you have an amp that can't drive a pair of speakers due to some difficult impedance issue or other odd behavior replacing the amp with one that can handle the load is the remedy. Or you have a corner case pair of speakers like Apogee Scintilla, etc.

Anyway, active speakers, which one are you proposing?

I don't know your goals and limitations, but Neumann, Genelec, and JBL all come to mind. Neumann KH120 and KH150 are close to the same price as KEF Q-series floor standers, and that doesn't factor the price of the amp you don't have to buy.

My friend's home theater of JBL M2's and 708's + subwoofers is the best movie experience I have heard, uses Harman DSP and amps in a closet. The DSP is amazing, his in-room response is fantastic, and the speakers can play arbitrarily loud. Every seat sounds great.

I like Genelec. They have active speakers for nearly any room. They are ugly, but can work in a home theater where they are not the centerpiece.

 

[PristineSound]

I don't know your goals and limitations, but Neumann, Genelec, and JBL all come to mind. Neumann KH120 and KH150 are close to the same price as KEF Q-series floor standers, and that doesn't factor the price of the amp you don't have to buy.

My friend's home theater of JBL M2's and 708's + subwoofers is the best movie experience I have heard, uses Harman DSP and amps in a closet. The DSP is amazing, his in-room response is fantastic, and the speakers can play arbitrarily loud. Every seat sounds great.

I like Genelec. They have active speakers for nearly any room. They are ugly, but can work in a home theater where they are not the centerpiece.

I have the KH120 now, their $1k/ea. That's $11k for speakers. And ceiling mount would be difficult. I was planning on Q bookshelves.

I also need to figure out Dirac over Neumann's own room correction or not. And does the active speaker's DSP add any delay and if that delay would screw with Dirac.

 

[Eric Larson]

Well when I got my Tide16 I went for amp upgrade and bought 12 channels of Buckeye Hypex. So far I am impressed with the simplicity and obvious build quality of the Buckeye product.

 

[PristineSound]

Well when I got my Tide16 I went for amp upgrade and bought 12 channels of Buckeye Hypex. So far I am impressed with the simplicity and obvious build quality of the Buckeye product.

So one channel unused?

 

[Chrispy]

So one channel unused?

Why would that matter?

 

[Eric Larson]

So one channel unused?

Yes

 

[MAB]

I have the KH120 now, their $1k/ea. That's $11k for speakers. And ceiling mount would be difficult. I was planning on Q bookshelves.

I used KH120 as an example among many at many price points. At the KH120 price point, it's hard to find a passive speaker + 1 channel of amplification that sounds as good as a KH120 and has the same output capability. The KH120 plays ~10dB louder than the Q3 Meta Erin reviewed. But yes, a flock of them costs money.

I also need to figure out Dirac over Neumann's own room correction or not. And does the active speaker's DSP add any delay and if that delay would screw with Dirac.

Nothing in the EQ or delay characteristics of any of the brands I mentioned will have a negative interaction with Dirac, or any other room correction software. For example, I can use Genelec GLM or presets on any active speakers I have to manage the individual speakers, and DIRAC to mange the room, if that is how I wish to apply the DSP. The delay on these speakers is negligible, and in any case DIRAC measures and corrects each element in room for delay.

 

[PristineSound]

Why would that matter?

One of the premise of this thread is to have extra spare channels to be as future proof as possible.

 

[Madhuski]

I will be building a home theater system soon, it will be a 7.2.4 system.

I would like the amp(s) to be as my final amp(s) as possible, which means I need it to be high performing, reliable and can stand the test of time of new surround formats to come in the next two decades or so. Hypex is not an option for various reasons that I rather not get into now.

Below are the options:
1) Monolith 33307 (11 channel) $2,500
The most convenient and fits my purpose exactly but may not be future surround format proof/friendly. It should have enough power for all of my speakers, especially LCR is 200w into 8 ohms.

2) 2x Monolith 14566 (7 channel) $3,880
The most flexible option, the most performant option, also the most expensive option.

3) 2x Outlaw 7000x (7 channel) $2,200
The most flexible and affordable option, but also likely the lowest performant amp of all 3 options.

Which option would you pick and why? What other options would you recommend (that is not Hypex)?

what processor are you going to use? Of its a marantz, they have some good bundles eith their amps