Integrated Amplifier with HT Bypass or Power Amp with AVR for Stereo listening

[gurujee]

I have an old Marantz SR 6008 which has Pre-out. I want to add either an IA such as PM8006 or power amp such as mm7025 to improve stereo listening. Currently I have Pioneer Fs52 towers but will upgrade to Elac Debut f5.2 in near future.

I will stream vi airplay to AVR most of the time. My doubt is if I add Pm8006, then can the AVR act as a pre-amp/dac/streamer/? Will the subwoofer connected to AVR work? Will the Pm8006 be utilized aptly in this way ?

Or just a power amp like mm7025 will do?

Which would be best for me?

Currently, the sound for Stereo listening is decent but want to have more clarity, separation and depth. My only aim for this plan is to get good stereo listening experience. (Not looking to enhance the HT sound output).

I don't want have separate setup and want to utilize the front two towers for both HT and Stereo.

 

[adblaze]

I have an old Marantz SR 6008 which has Pre-out. I want to add either an IA such as PM8006 or power amp such as mm7025 to improve stereo listening. Currently I have Pioneer Fs52 towers but will upgrade to Elac Debut f5.2 in near future.

I will stream vi airplay to AVR most of the time. My doubt is if I add Pm8006, then can the AVR act as a pre-amp/dac/streamer/? Will the subwoofer connected to AVR work? Will the Pm8006 be utilized aptly in this way ?

Or just a power amp like mm7025 will do?

Which would be best for me?

Currently, the sound for Stereo listening is decent but want to have more clarity, separation and depth. My only aim for this plan is to get good stereo listening experience. (Not looking to enhance the HT sound output).

I don't want have separate setup and want to utilize the front two towers for both HT and Stereo.

hello
i would suggest you to take a look at the Crown XLS1002 on amazon.
It is a Class D Amplifier with 215 Ohms Per Channel.
the driveCore 2 tech in it makes you forget its a Class D Amp.
Just Make sure that you dont dial up the gain too high, which isnt neccessary in my opinion for home use.
And use the 0.774 V Switch for home listening

 

[aljojohn]

Adding integrated to avr is waste, in my opinion adding dedicated power amp will be better in all parameters. Avr act as preamp im not sure. Integrated can be used as PRE amp.

 

[mbhangui]

I have an old Marantz SR 6008 which has Pre-out. I want to add either an IA such as PM8006 or power amp such as mm7025 to improve stereo listening. Currently I have Pioneer Fs52 towers but will upgrade to Elac Debut f5.2 in near future.

I will stream vi airplay to AVR most of the time. My doubt is if I add Pm8006, then can the AVR act as a pre-amp/dac/streamer/? Will the subwoofer connected to AVR work? Will the Pm8006 be utilized aptly in this way ?

Or just a power amp like mm7025 will do?

You have asked 3 questions

1. Will avr act as pre-amp/dac/streamer. I'm assuming by streamer you mean the airplay and the basic function of the avr to take input and supply it to the preout. Yes it will work
2. WIll the subwoofer connected to AVR work. Yes it will work
3. Or just a power amp will do? If you are not going to use the integrated functions of PM8006, why buy it. Just a simple power amp will do.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

@gurujee Even I was in the same dilemma, I had crown XLS2002 it did enhance music listening experience but not to the extent which a Class A/B amplifier did and I am really happy the way this sounds.

I have added O&B power amplifier now, 110 quality watts. Trust me this will open up new world, you will end up listening more music.
I have tried the PM8006 in my setup too, both as a IA alone and as a power amplifier connected to my Denon x3700. Below are some of my observations:

• PM8006 is warm and lush only if you use it as a IA. Too addictive, so much that I was tempted to get it.
• O&B power amplifier is neutral and has lot of power, can drive almost anything.
• O&B is 1/3rd of the cost of PM8006, with 3 yrs warranty.

If you have the budget of PM8006 but won't be using it as a IA, all the good reasons why it is so great won't be utilized at all.
Go for a power amplifier, you will be able to use the subwoofer out too. But don't get the Crown, for the same money you can get a DD or a O&B amplifier which will be a lot better.

There are people on the forum who have tried the DD and the O&B power amps, they are super VFM. There are lot of users who recently acquired the amps and have posted their views on the forum. Not trying to sell the product but for a fraction of money you can get O&B or DD which is a lot better.

This is my Chain:
Denon x3700 AVR > O&B power amp > 3050i
NAD 165BEE pre amp >SMSL SU 9 > O&B power amp > 3050i
FX Audio Tube 03 > SMSL SU 9 > O&B power amp > 3050i

Though the Class A NAD pre amp sounds crazyily good and go to for Music, I love the way Denon sounds now. Pure direct and Spotify / Tidal, I enjoy it.

 

[Shinto]

I have an old Marantz SR 6008 which has Pre-out. I want to add either an IA such as PM8006 or power amp such as mm7025 to improve stereo listening. Currently I have Pioneer Fs52 towers but will upgrade to Elac Debut f5.2 in near future.

I will stream vi airplay to AVR most of the time. My doubt is if I add Pm8006, then can the AVR act as a pre-amp/dac/streamer/? Will the subwoofer connected to AVR work? Will the Pm8006 be utilized aptly in this way ?

Or just a power amp like mm7025 will do?

Which would be best for me?

Currently, the sound for Stereo listening is decent but want to have more clarity, separation and depth. My only aim for this plan is to get good stereo listening experience. (Not looking to enhance the HT sound output).

I don't want have separate setup and want to utilize the front two towers for both HT and Stereo.

If the aim is to improve stereo listening and provided you have separate 2 channel sources/streamer (other than inbuilt AVR streamer), I would suggest use PM8006 or any other integrated amplifier with HT Bypass. The reason is, AVR pre outs may not be great for 2 channel music. So even if you add a power amp, the preamp section of the AVR is still influencing the 2 channel sound. However with this option, movies will be a compromise. Movies certainly benefit from a power amplifier. With this arrangement, All 2 channel sources will be connected to different inputs of the integrated amplifier. The pre out of the AVR will be connected to the mains in of the Integrated amplifier. Now all you do is switch inputs on the integrated amplifier. This arrangement lets you share the front speakers for 2 channel and home theatre with dedicated integrated amplifier taking care of all 2 channel duties. Assuming your sub allows High level and LFE inputs at the same time, the AVR sub out is connected to the LFE input of the sub and the high level speaker out from the integrated is connected to the high level inputs. I know REL subs allow this. I use REL T7. This is how I have set up in my living room.

 

[Murlidher]

@gurujee which route you took and how is your experience so far?