New member - any advice or comments most welcome

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by alexleitch37, Jul 9, 2019.

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  1. alexleitch37

    alexleitch37 Active Member Thread Starter

    G'day. I'm a New Member - let me begin by stating emphatically that I am completely open to the criticism of others (especially wise experienced people who really know what they are talking about). Any advice will be appreciated so talk to me as you would a small child or a loving eager labrador.

    I am eager to learn all things related to my system.

    I am a 50 year old with sever tinnitus in my left ear and mild tinnitus in my right ear (from years of playing live music and being a DJ). 10 years ago I stopped listening to HiFi music to save what was left of my precious hearing. I actually enjoyed listing to music through my MacBookPro because the sound was tiny. BUT 5 years ago I thought "if I put a high end/ish (limited by a poor man budget) system together maybe I could re-create the beautiful sound my Dad used to get in the mid 80's with his brilliant Marantz Gold HiFi". Dad raised our entire family on great music.

    The idea was simple enough: buy great speakers and a great amp on the used market and see if I could produce high quality, creamy toned and warm balanced music.

    I've gathered : (all second hand)

    Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD DAC (for hi res SACD stereo and 5.1 mix) AU$750.00
    Pioneer PD-F1007 300 disc CD Player AU$40.00
    Yamaha RXV-3800 140W 8hm Flagship 7.1 AV Surround Receiver (24/96 hi res) AU$350.00
    Focal 836V 240W 8hm Towers AU$1,500.00
    Focal 807V 160W 8hm Bookshelf and stands AU$900.00
    Focal SW700S sub AU$400.00
    Samsung 46inch Series 6 Full HD TV $250.00

    I am currently running the two sets of speakers in 7 Channel Stereo

    Soon hopefully I will add Focal 800cc Centre, and
    Focal 826V's Towers (if I can get them for $1,000.00)

    A question? Do I loose any power or volume or sound quality when drawing on multiple channels (i.e. when I run 2 or three sets of speakers). And if so what can I do about it. I see some people here run out of their multichannel AV to a stereo tube amp or second power stereo amp for the front mains. I ask because I am seeking the best and most efficient sound I can get (and afford).

    I could be very wrong here but I have a mate who is selling a Yamaha RXV-3800 (same model as I use). If I got a second amp am I getting any benefits at all by running the mains from one amp and the rears and centre from another?

    Here's my logic (and it may very well be naive of me): If I run the one amp and draw on 5 or 7 Channels I am stressing the amp.

    So by running the Main L and R through amp 1 (by sending the front L and R from my BD752 surround RCA multichannel output) and running the Centre and Surround Rears (by sending the centre and Surround L and R from my BD752 surround RCA output) through the second amp am I gaining anything? My logic is to use 2 cheap second hand amps to take on a heavy load when running multi 240W and 160W Speakers through the amps 140W channels.

    Or do multi channel AV Receivers handle outputting all their channels really well?
     
  2. bobc

    bobc Bluesman

    Location:
    France
    Welcome. I've got tinnitus as well, worse in the left ear. Mine came from Who and Led Zep gigs in the 70s.

    I know nothing about music systems. How about starting a thread on the Beatles? Could the White Album be reorganised into a single album? It might sound great on your system.
     
  3. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Welcome and ditch the 300 disc player ASAP:cheers:
     
  4. alexleitch37

    alexleitch37 Active Member Thread Starter

    I'n not a big Beatles fan. More of a Wings and Paul Mccartney fan (Like "Band On Th Run") But I will check out the SACD version of the White Album and tell you what I think. Yes I too damaged my hearing at loud concerts. But you can't put a 40 year old head on 18 year old shoulders. We live and learn. Thanks for welcoming me mate. Great to meet you.
     
    bever70 likes this.
  5. alexleitch37

    alexleitch37 Active Member Thread Starter

    Ha ha ha ha. I own 3-4 thousand cd's so I have about 600 of my favourites in two 300 stacker cd players. I route them digitally through the 752BD DAC and into my Yamaha amp. If I had the money or the knowledge I would convert the lot into full quality digital format. But I did burn my entire collection into iTunes on my MacBook Pro laptop only to later discover the format iTunes default setting was about 80% of the CD quality. It took me months to go through all the CD's and upload them to iTunes. Then I bought a copy of TUNEUP and it really messed with the CD track information. I also gave away a whole heap of CD's that I had copied into iTunes and when I told my Catholic Priest he said I should delete the copies I had on iTunes. So I actually deleted the entire collection and now have an almost empty iTunes Collection. I am just starting my Blue Ray Audio, SACD and DVD-A collection focusing on the 5.1 mix's available. Any thoughts on Hi Res streaming or Hi Res downloads. So far most comment I have read prefer the SACD format over downloads. Thanks for welcoming me. Great to make your acquaintance Sir Dennis
     
  6. Jimmy Mac

    Jimmy Mac Zooropa... better by design

    As weird as it seems this is not really a Music Corner question but an Audio Hardware question and if you ask the Mods to move it the thread will get more traction and responses.
     
    GoodKitty, forthlin and alexleitch37 like this.
  7. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    I'd focus my budget on a 2-channel stereo amp + a SUBWOOFER. Get a good stereo amp; those multichannel HT receiver are far from optimal for stereo listening. Then again, since you are already using it and like it, by all means keep it.
     
    Bingo Bongo and SandAndGlass like this.
  8. alexleitch37

    alexleitch37 Active Member Thread Starter

    Cheers mate. How do I contact "Mods"?
     
  9. Ezd

    Ezd Forum Resident

    Welcome to the forum... there are multiple informative threads about ripping a CD collection to a lose-less format... it has worked out well for me.
     
    alexleitch37 likes this.
  10. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    And you might also ask the Moderator to give your topic a more meaningful title. This will attract more responses, and also assist if someone does a search in the future seeking a solution to a similar problem (eg. something like "Do I loose any power or volume or sound quality when running multiple speakers").

    Sorry, I'm not familiar with your gear so can't give any solutions. I would think there is more demand on your amp when driving more speakers, so there may be a slight drop in volume. If your amp is high-quality and designed to drive multiple speakers in the way you have it set up I would not expect a problem. There may be more of an issue if it's a budget amp or not designed for this use. In this case, I would expect buying a more suitable and more powerful amp would give better sound.
     
  11. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    It sounds like you have put a pretty nice system together on the cheap.

    But buying another receiver to just be used as an amp is silly. If you want to pursue you present idea, then just find yourself a good stereo power amp to drive your main stereo pair of speakers from.
     
    alexleitch37 likes this.
  12. alexleitch37

    alexleitch37 Active Member Thread Starter

    My logic was simple. A new 140W stereo amp is prohibitively expensive (especially a tube amp). The RXV-3800 is a 140W 7 channel amp and I can get it for under AU$300.00. My question was am I gaining anything by not expecting too much from the one amp and running two. The second amp would be cheap, powerful and dedicated to only two front speakers. So I am asking people here if you lose much by running 3 sets of speakers from the one amp. If the answer was a definite yes then it makes perfect sense to run a second dedicated amp to run the mains. That is if both amps ran more efficiently running less speakers. I honestly don't know and I'm taking on board that you think it's "silly". Do you know what the differences are between running two speakers compared to 6 speakers from a multi channel AV amp? For example if I was seeking optimum X and running 3 sets of speakers from the one amp have me Y and Z then I think it is m ore than logical to run 2 amps and gain the desired optimum X. But honestly I am guessing. Cheers for your comment and YES I am delighted with the equipment and the prices I pay. I consider my self Bargain Royalty. And all the equipment was bought from people who bought new, kept the equipment in excellent condition and only sold because they upgraded. Many of the sellers were asking way way more than the prices I paid but I have found people love selling their precious gear to a real music lover (especially one with such little access to capital). People have taken a kind liking to me and drop their prices (sometimes by 100's or 1000 dollars). I am very blessed and truly humbled by this generosity and kindness. Cheers Alex
     
  13. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Use the small "report"button which will bring up a place to put a comment which goes to a mod. In your comment just ask to have the thread moved and let them know you are the original poster. Doesn't matter which post you use the report button on, it will get to the right place.

    Welcome, hope you enjoy your time here!
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  14. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    You won't gain anything by substituting another amp of the same model for what you already have. So your idea is pointless unless you are getting something better to replace it with.
     
    F1nut likes this.
  15. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    Welcome to the forum!

    I think it's a great title!!
     
  16. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    Please see an audiologist. My hearing has improved considerably and my tinnitus has decreased to the point that it is usually not noticable.
     
    timind likes this.
  17. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Curious - what did the audiologist do to treat this problem?
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  18. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    Diagnosed a moderate hearing loss at progressively higher frequencies and recommended hearing aids. Two different hearing specialists suggested that tinnitus is your brain filling in the missing higher frequencies. It sounds wacky to me but my tinnitus is largely gone.

    I feel that my hearing aids have changed my hearing from maybe 50% of what I had as a young man to possibly 85%. Not perfect but a huuuuuge improvement. My appreciation of music is greatly improved.

    The OPs case may be completely different but he'll never know until he is tested.
     
    Ezd likes this.
  19. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    any advice or comments most welcome
    Buy low, sell high :D
    Quit this insane hifi hobby before it drives you insane :laugh:
    ...wait, you're posting on this forum, that means it's too late...;)

    No, they absolutely do not. ALL of them "droop" their power output at clipping when driving more and more channels, because the power supplies are limited. And in the end, ALL your amplification is limited by how much power can get sucked out of the wall outlet, unless you have dedicated wiring.

    Having said that, how much it matters depends on whether you are playing loud enough to clip your AVR. That is hard to tell definitively without a storage oscilloscope (perhaps there is a smartphone app like that by now? I see some scope apps but can't tell if you can freeze their image). Possibly a fast reading peak hold voltmeter.

    Adding another of your Yamaha...it's not set up for that. Pre-OUTS but no Pre-INs to the amp section. (The multichannel inputs are affected by the volume control. You could conceivably run pre-outs from one into the multichannel in of the other, and you'd have to set the volume to make the correct gain for the speakers. That *might* have some audible hiss, but perhaps not. If your buddy will sell cheap, hey, give it a shot!

    By the way, let me say as a loudspeaker engineer that speaker power ratings are pretty much meaningless nonsense, and so the amp power does not need to match those ratings at all.
     
    Reggie Sears and F1nut like this.
  20. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Shocking
     
  21. lonelysea

    lonelysea Ban Leaf Blowers

    Location:
    The Cascades
    Welcome to the forum! Don’t mention cables, cords, or wires, and all will be well.
     
    bever70 likes this.
  22. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Absolutely.

    Ditch the AVR (big compromise for listening to music) and extra speakers, then buy a dedicated amplifier and pre-amp to enjoy stereo the way it is meant to be with 2 speakers.
     
    Reggie Sears likes this.
  23. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I would advise you to completely forget using other amplifiers with your current system. If you want the multi-channel thing, wire all your speakers to the Yamaha, you have 140 watts per channel, there is absolutely no reason to add amplifiers. If you want to change directions and go for the stereo/audio experience, go ahead and sell your multi-channel amplifier and purchase a nice two channel Integrated amplifier. Welcome to the forum :wave:
     
    Big Blue likes this.
  24. AKA-Chuck G

    AKA-Chuck G Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington NC
    After a quick duckduckgo.com search I found a great review on your Receiver. I say keep and just get those hearing aids. :laugh: You don't need to add anything, amp wise plus your speakers are 8ohms making them easier to drive. You got a fantastic receiver. A lot of posters just automatically say upgrade this or that with out looking at the facts. I don't do that. Its easy to find information on the web about all of your gear. I just concentrated on the receiver.

    Yamaha RX-V3800 AV Receiver
     
    rodentdog likes this.
  25. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    The rating is for only 2 channels driven. The more channels driven that WPC rating drops considerably. It's the dirty little con job the manufacturers play. You can only get so much power from a single shared power supply.

     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2019
    Litejazz53 likes this.
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