Audiophiles, need your help!


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Jan 21, 2005
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A friend of mine very kindly gave me an amplifier. At the back of the amplifier it says:

front: 100 W, 8 ohms
centre: 110 W, 8 ohms
rear: 50 W, 8 ohms

I am not into these stuffs so I need you guys to point me in the right direction. I want to hook this up to my CD player. I guess I'd only use two front channels as I don't want to deal with the wiring mess. I was told that I need a preamp and some speakers. What sort of specs would I be looking at?

I'm not going to spend much (at most a few hundred bucks) on this so I probably be going second hand, where would be a good place to hunt?

Also, would it be a good idea if I to hook it to my PC for music and movie?

Thanks. :)
 

A friend of mine very kindly gave me an amplifier. At the back of the amplifier it says:

front: 100 W, 8 ohms
centre: 110 W, 8 ohms
rear: 50 W, 8 ohms

I am not into these stuffs so I need you guys to point me in the right direction. I want to hook this up to my CD player. I guess I'd only use two front channels as I don't want to deal with the wiring mess. I was told that I need a preamp and some speakers. What sort of specs would I be looking at?

I'm not going to spend much (at most a few hundred bucks) on this so I probably be going second hand, where would be a good place to hunt?

Also, would it be a good idea if I to hook it to my PC for music and movie?

Thanks. :)

Its a multi-ch amp? With such info like:

front: 100 W, 8 ohms
centre: 110 W, 8 ohms
rear: 50 W, 8 ohms

I only know that its a multi-ch amp for home cinema use. I dunno if its just a power amp or integrated amp etc, so I can't tell if u need a pre-amp.

For main speakers, just buy 1 that is rated at 8ohms and under 100 W.

u can get decent bookshelf speakers for a few hundred. Brands like Mission, Tannoy and Whalfdale are quite good.
 

I think it;s just a power amp, it has only a power switch and nothing else.

Ok, so 8 ohms speaker under 100 W.
 

What brand/model is the power amp?

For amp, pre-amp, decoder, speakers set up, be prepared to spend about at least another 1-2k to add the latter.

If you are not really into audio, then there are many HT packages (5.1 speakers, HT receiver/dvd player) that sell for under 1k from Sony, Pioneer, JBL etc that will more than satisfy your needs for audio and video playback from DVD, PC.

Just my 2 cents.
 

It's Carver AV-405, 5 channel power amplifier.

I'm actually not looking for a home theater set up, nor I'm into it. I'm just looking for a CD player that would sound better than my 5W per channel mini hifi. ;)

I guess I'm looking at a pre amp with basic control like volume, bass, treble, and a pair of speakers. But any other suggestion are welcome too.

I'd also like to hear comments on hooking my mini hifi or PC to it.

Also, what would happen if I hook it to a 100W 4 ohms speaker instead of 8 ohms? It will blow? Also if a 100W 8ohms speaker will sound louder than a 50W 8ohms? Or rather, would they sound any different if I don't blast the speakers?
 

A friend of mine very kindly gave me an amplifier. At the back of the amplifier it says:

front: 100 W, 8 ohms
centre: 110 W, 8 ohms
rear: 50 W, 8 ohms

I am not into these stuffs so I need you guys to point me in the right direction. I want to hook this up to my CD player. I guess I'd only use two front channels as I don't want to deal with the wiring mess. I was told that I need a preamp and some speakers. What sort of specs would I be looking at?

I'm not going to spend much (at most a few hundred bucks) on this so I probably be going second hand, where would be a good place to hunt?

Also, would it be a good idea if I to hook it to my PC for music and movie?

Thanks. :)


The ratings on the amp simply means that the amp will produce 100w of power on an 8 ohm speakers, where ohm means speaker impedence or resistance. When the impedance of the speakers connected to the amplifier is halved, the current flowing increases and the power that can be delivered should be doubled.

So now you have an 100w 8ohm amplifier, but if you hooked it up to a 4 ohm speakers, the power delivered is 200 w. And if you have a 2 ohm speakers, it will be almost 400 watts of power.

So you have a 100w 4 ohm speakers, if you hooked up to this amp, it will deliver 200 watts of power to a 100w rated speakers. It will distord the sound and possibly blow up.
 

Thanks everyone for chipping in. :)

Keep the answers coming. :)
 

The ratings on the amp simply means that the amp will produce 100w of power on an 8 ohm speakers, where ohm means speaker impedence or resistance. When the impedance of the speakers connected to the amplifier is halved, the current flowing increases and the power that can be delivered should be doubled.

So now you have an 100w 8ohm amplifier, but if you hooked it up to a 4 ohm speakers, the power delivered is 200 w. And if you have a 2 ohm speakers, it will be almost 400 watts of power.

So you have a 100w 4 ohm speakers, if you hooked up to this amp, it will deliver 200 watts of power to a 100w rated speakers. It will distord the sound and possibly blow up.

No, it does not work out that way all the time.
An amp that is current limited on the output (typical of solid state amps) would provide half the power rating each time the speaker impedance is halved (if it doesn't go up in smoke, that is).
If the amp is voltage limited rather than current limited, then power rating doubles with the speaker impedance being halved.
This is quite unlikely to be the situation except when you consider transconductance amplifiers or very specialized amplifiers that can perform dynamic biasing (kinda like having a mini-computer onboard).

If the output stage is not meant to drive 4 ohm impedance speakers, you can prepare to see (and smell) smoke.

You can always drive speakers with higher impedance than the output rated but you should never try to drive lower impedance speakers.
 

No, it does not work out that way all the time.
An amp that is current limited on the output (typical of solid state amps) would provide half the power rating each time the speaker impedance is halved (if it doesn't go up in smoke, that is).
If the amp is voltage limited rather than current limited, then power rating doubles with the speaker impedance being halved.
This is quite unlikely to be the situation except when you consider transconductance amplifiers or very specialized amplifiers that can perform dynamic biasing (kinda like having a mini-computer onboard).

If the output stage is not meant to drive 4 ohm impedance speakers, you can prepare to see (and smell) smoke.

You can always drive speakers with higher impedance than the output rated but you should never try to drive lower impedance speakers.

Yeah its very true about the ohm thing. Dun pray pray and try to drive 6 ohm speakers. If u try 2 ohm ones, it will go kaput! Better stick with 8 ohm ones.

100W can +- a bit its alright.

As for pre-amps, i'm out of depth but can expect to pay $300 and above for a new one. Try NAD.
 

if u are looking for 2nd hand .. simlim at the back of the alley have 2 shop that sells 2nd hand. they are the 3rd level.. you can miss them as u can hear them. they are located side by side each other.

As for the preamp.. Just look for a integ amp that have preamp output terminal..Even HT (high end) integ amp like pioneer, maranta, Denon have it .. in a 2nd market .. they are not expensive at all.

Carver power AMP is a reputable amp for HT entertaiment.. been on a look out for 1 in the 2nd hand market.
pm me if u need more detail abt the shop
 

When hooking up speakers, be xtra careful of the impedance. The wattage is not really dat critical.

IIRC, diz Carver AV-405, u dun actually require a pre-amp. It wud definitely b better tho. For music, all u need is a CD player n a pair of speakers.

As for speakers, I wud recommend Mordaunt Short. Itz great for music. Or if u r willing to spend a lil more, try getting a pair of Castle bookshelfs (the older models not the newer ones).

U'd luv the Castle tho... :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 

When hooking up speakers, be xtra careful of the impedance. The wattage is not really dat critical.

IIRC, diz Carver AV-405, u dun actually require a pre-amp. It wud definitely b better tho. For music, all u need is a CD player n a pair of speakers.

As for speakers, I wud recommend Mordaunt Short. Itz great for music. Or if u r willing to spend a lil more, try getting a pair of Castle bookshelfs (the older models not the newer ones).

U'd luv the Castle tho... :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

No, you ned a pre amp or a int amp with preamp output.
Carvier is a poweramp.. you need another to control.




check this out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carver-5-Channe...ryZ67789QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 

Mine look exactly like the one on the link that Luval provided.

I guess I'll have a look at Sim Lim. What about Cash Converter? Are the audio stuffs there ok?

I have a mini hifi with audio out jack (the red white cable thingie), would that qualifies as a "integrated amp with preamp output"? What about a PC sound card output?

As for the speaker, so 8 ohms are the way to go. But how would a 50W, 100W or 200W differ in the output quality?

Thanks again for all the help. :)
 

yes , go for Sim Lim .. Not cash converter.. they buy in trash.. it rare u find gems there.

on the back panel, u shd find a pair of terminal "pre Out" for all left , right and centre..
anything else is a "No"..



As fro speaker output .. it is safer to have anything above 100W . u wun want anything lower than that if u happen to want to turn the volume up.. it will distirted ..cos the speaker isnt able to handle well beyond the appro volume...
 

The cheapest way is to get a passive pre-amp (get someone to build you one).
 

Visit www.echoloft.com and go to the Buy n Sell section and you may just find someone getting rid of his or her pre-amp. You can also consider getting a CD player with a volume control. Most CD players do not have a volume control but there are some that I know which do have this feature.
 

Thanks a heap guys for all your advices. :)

If you guys know of any good deals around please let me know. :)

Btw, can someone list down the reputable brands and brands to avoid commonly found in Singapore? For both preamp and speaker?
 

I got a preamp and a pair of speakers. Now's the time to hunt for player. Would there be significant difference between those dedicated CD player and those 100 bucks budget DVD player?

I hooked up to a DVD player I borrowed. It doesn't sound bad but it doesn't sound impressive either. It seems to lack the clarity and the details that I've heard when I bought my preamp. I wonder if it is more of a lousy speaker or lousy player? I believe the speakers are Chinese made. Or could it be that the speaker hasn't break in yet?
 

There is a difference between a dedicated CD player and a budget DVD player. But you need "good ears" to really differentiate between the two. I suspect the speaker is your weakest link and it does not have anything to do with break in.
 

Haha great then, I just bought some crap.

So how would the sound differ between a decicated CD player and budget DVD player? More detailed? More balanced? Sorry if this question is too abstract to answer. :D

Any cheap and good ones that you can recommend?
 

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