I'm kind of new at the higher end audio stuff, but I have one question for someone to answer. I have only owned a/v receivers and never seperate amp pre amps and tuners. I have a marantz SR6400 receiver and have just bought Paradigm referance studio 100s. My question is when I started to play it on the loud side louder than normal, it went into protect mode. I never had this happen with my other speakers. Just wondering if maybe the bannana plugs were a little loose when I first plugged them in? (were checked again) or if speakers are to much for receiver. Second question. Is it possible or correct to ad a seperate amp to go with my receiver and run speakers off that or is it better to by a receiver in the future that can run the speakers. I realize maybe a little vauge in question but any help would be appreciated.
michael i'm using an external amp on my reciever many people do this.
it's one way to start getting all your amps so you can make your move to seperates later if you wish.
and by putting a 2 channel amp on your front speakers makes it a lot easier on your reciever "probably never go into protect mode again" also if you get a nice quality 2 channel amp for your front speakers you'll probably notice a good sound improvement also, excspecialy when playing 2 channel material.
go for it i think you will be very happy with the results.
there are some nice used amps on audiogon.com for good prices.
J. Vigne
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Michael, here's an answer I gave to another question that might help you out. You might also go to "definitions and descriptions" under "Speakers" in this forum for more on amplifiers.
Opinions obviously differ on this forum and range from the (more or less) all amplifiers sound alike (with little exception) to the "I can hear the difference a humid day makes in my system" set of ears. I, personally, fall more toward the latter side of the equation. The investment in separates should be based on several factors that only the individual can decide for themself. The first is cost. There are the people who buy a luxury automobile and don't even drive, but how much you use the system is a first consideration to me. (I have had this discussion many times, you see, I sold audio/video for over twenty five years.) If your usage is so infrequent or you are not a person who sits and listens to music with no distractions (no newspaper, no computer, no playing games with the kids - just sit and listen) then a listener who is not going to be involved in the music is going to be quite happy with a reciever. If you can find a reciever that you can operate. So many recievers are full of switches and circuits that can send you off into a land that time forgot, you (or the kids with a remote that is now a ray gun) can accidentally hit a button and suddenly there is no sound and you have no idea how to get back so you turn everything off permanently. The casual user forgets rapidly how to make complex equipment work. (If you're not a frequent user of Photoshop try giving a little dashing or burning in to photo.) So you can buy bottom of the line gear since price precludes many features but that may not be acceptable even to the casual listener who is familiar with live music's sound. One of the values of a separtes based system is they are almost always more straight forward in their operation. Buttons and knobs are bad things in the world of separates as they are percieved to affect sound quality if for no other reason than to add a feature either raises the cost of the whole or lowers the cost of the individual parts that are included for the same price. Simplicity usually equates to the best sound for the dollar spent. Separates also offer the flexibilty of both upgrading your system and picking what pieces of equipment suit your needs best. Few manufacturers can be best at everything or offer the package of "features" one person might want. If you want DVD-A/SACD playback you can pick which brand siuts your needs best while buying the best pre amp and amp that fit your needs. Some people need the flexibity of mulitple inputs (or a phono input) while others do not. Some need high powered amps but simple in-out on their pre amp. Separates give this flexibilty which no reciever possibly could match. If you look at the cost of replacing a reciever every few years to stay current vs. the cost of separates the separates still are the better value. I say this because, even though your initial outlay for separates is higher, if you look at the used equipment market you will see many separates hold their value quite well while few recievers are worth anything on the used market. So you have equity in separates. A quick example is a McIntosh, Marantz or Dynaco power amp from the 60's is worth as much as 10 times their original cost. As to what you will hear I can't predict from this vantage point. When I sold equipment the most common remark I would hear from novice clientelle was, "I don't think I could tell the difference." I seldom found that to be true. The example of any item where subjective opinion is the deciding factor is sufficient for most people to at least be curious about high end audio. I did sell to people with more than enough money to meet their basic needs so they had experienced a better autombile, better food and drink, better appliances and better seats at the concert. Ask them if they would find a difference if those items were removed today and most said yes to all of the above. Better audio is the same way. You may not know what you are hearing at first, but, if I take it away after two weeks of listening you will not want to go back to your old system. Your hearing is quite perceptive to the changes even though you may not realize the changes as they arrive. It normally only took a few minutes to let the client listen to two systems of differing cost and quality before they were interested enough to venture into the separates. The lack of distortion, noise and "hi fi" quality was the most evident to many. The ease of presentation was the more obvious to some - at first. If you have ever turned off your system because you were just tired of listening, then separates can be the best answer. Take a few discs you are familiar with to a good shop (let them play a few they think show off their systems) and ask to listen first to their best system even if you could never afford that equipment. Then listen to a budget system, then start working with the price range you think you can afford. Do this on a slow afternoon or evening where neither you or the salesperson will feel rushed and others will not intrude on your audition. Most salespeople like to talk about their equipment and should be happy to acommodate your request. If the Adcom is a bit more than you want to spend ask about alternatives or about designing an upgrade route that will allow you to build the system as your finances allow. This was a common job for me as not everyone interested in good sound had more money than they needed for all luxuries. There are less expensive pieces of good equipment than the Adcom, but remember, Adcom has been around for twenty years now as a high value line. Longevity counts. Part of the reason the Macs and Dynas are worth the money today is they not only still sound quite good but they can still be serviced and parts are available. Try that with a Yamaha reciever from just ten years ago. You might want to check "Twilight of the compact disc" under the "DVD-A/SACD" portion of this forum to see what Kegger's experience has been with a new pre amp.
kegger, Thanks for the answer> How is that connected? To the other response. SAY WHAT? Thanks for taking the time to answer at all but it did not answer my question. Thanks Mike
"kegger, Thanks for the answer> How is that connected?"
it's really straight forward and couldn't be much easier.
on the back of your reciever you should have preamp outputs for your left and right front speakers. you just plug in a pair of rca patchcords "like you would use on a cd player" and those would go to the rca inputs of a 2channel amp. then from there your 2 front speakers now go on the amp instead of on your reciever.
I have a Sharp Mini stereo system and all of suden it went into "protect mode", what can I do?
BLAKE
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I have a cd-ba500 system as well.. IT WENT INTO PROTECT MODE TOO!!! pissed me off... I couldnt reset it, and lately its been gathering dust... I miss my tunes can anyone help me with this *(#*$* problem??