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Using a receiver as a pre-amp...many questions

I have totem sttaf (8ohm, 88db sensitivity) l+r, a totem tribe II (6ohm,88db sensitivity) as center, and the totem storm sub. I use the system for both movies/tv and l+r and sub for music...music being the most important to me soundwise. My receiver is an integra 40.3. Ok so here come the questions...

In order to have the system sound good for anything (movies/tv or music) I feel like I have to turn the receiver up too high (around 68-75 out of 100)...otherwise the sound is flat/boring. Do people agree that this is a problem, or I should just turn it up and be happy? Keep in mind that once I do turn it up I am very happy with the sound it produces...overall I like what I have.

What I am thinking about doing is buying three red dragon audio m500 monoblock amps and connecting from the receiver to the amps. Should I expect this to improve the sound at lower levels, or the high volume need is just a function of the way my speakers work and nothing different will happen?

Another option I am thinking about is buying a two channel amp (I am thinking of tube hybrid) to connect to receiver, and using it to power just the l+r speakers to get possible improvement there.

Ultimately I would like to get away from the receiver altogether as everything I read says that a real pre-amp and amp improves sound dramatically...however all of my connections are HDMI (computer music, movies, and cable) and until someone starts making an HDMI dac then I think I am stuck with the receiver.

Sorry for so many questions but as you can likely tell I am a rather new audio person and need advise. Any comments on the questions above would be great...also setup suggestions that I may not have thought of would also help.
jpg1975
tonyangel
309 posts
 
I understand that watching movies is important to you, but I noticed that you are only running l+r, a center channel and a sub. Due to limited space and not being able to place surround speakers, I was doing the same thing that you are. Just running a 3.1 system. Although not real surround, it still beats the heck out of the TV speakers.

In the end, I just decided that stereo music quality was the most important thing to me, so I'm now running the C162 preamp, with an Aragon 2004 amp and an REL sub. My speakers are Paradigm Studio 10s. The size of my mains should give you an idea of my space constraints. My wife just insists on having an entertainment center.

Now that all is said and done, I just watch movies using the 2.1 system and to tell you the truth, I don't miss the center channel at all.

Both my TV and Bluray player have digital outs, so I have those hooked up to a DAC which is plugged into the Aux in on my preamp.
bdgregory
1,580 posts
 
Jpg1975 - I took another look at your original post, and if you were thinking of buying those red dragon audio m500's - that's $2400 - far more budget than you will need to get a pretty nice 2 channel music rig to run in parallel with you HT rig. Here's what I suggest - find a really nice *USED* integrated amp. There are probably bunches available that can bought for ~$1000-$1500 (Musical Fidelity makes some nice ones). Set the integrated up to power your Sttaf's in stereo mode. Then connect your integra to the integrated in "passthru" mode, such that when you are listening to HT, your integrated amp powers your mains (Sttafs), and your integra powers your center channel. BTW - I would add some rear speakers if I were you - they can also be powered by your integra. I have a pair of Sttafs and with a good quality 120+/- watt amp they are fantastic for a music only system.

If you look at my system page you will see how my Home theater is set up this way.
bdgregory
1,580 posts
 
Jpg1975 - I took another look at your original post, and if you were thinking of buying those red dragon audio m500's - that's $2400 - far more budget than you will need to get a pretty nice 2 channel music rig to run in parallel with you HT rig. Here's what I suggest - find a really nice *USED* integrated amp. There are probably bunches available that can bought for $1000 (Musical Fidelity makes some nice ones). Set the integrated up to power your Sttaf's in stereo mode. Then connect your integra to the integrated in "passthru" mode, such that when you are listening to HT, your integrated amp powers your mains (Sttafs), and your integra powers your center channel. BTW - I would add some rear speakers if I were you - they can also be powered by your integra. I have a pair of Sttafs and with a good quality 120+/- watt amp they are fantastic for a music only system.

If you look at my system page you will see how my Home theater is set up this way.
tls49's avatar
tls49
1,318 posts
 
Bdgregory, that’s exactly what I have been thinking, to use a nice integrated amp with HT bypass, and the reason I asked for more detail about the source components. For 2 channel music, he will need analog inputs to the integrated amp, unless it happen to be a model with built in DAC.
jpg1975 OP
18 posts
 
@Bdgregory and Tls49. Thanks a lot for this suggestion. I was starting to feel like everyone was just telling what would not work. I need to look at the connections tonight to see what alternatives I have for connecting the computer and apple tv (these are my two music sources) directly to the integrated amp and still be able to get the video from each to the TV (whether through the receiver or not). I will do a little research this evening once I a have them in front of me. I know I will have questions, so I hope you can hang in for a while longer and respond again tomorrow.
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