Parasound HCA 1500A amp and B&K amp what to do?

[GATOR3000]

Presently I have B&K AV5000 5x105 WPC into 8ohms amp (5.1 configuratiuon). The FL and FR are bi-amped and powered by B&K. The centre is hooked up to the remaining channel on the B&K amp. Surrounds are powered by Denon 3806 pre/pro.

I have Parasound HCA 1500A amp 2x205 WPC into 8ohms coming soon. Bought this amp to drive my fronts. My question is, how to connect the B&K to the rest of my system:

1. Would you bi-amp the surrounds and use the spare channel to power the centre?
2. Would you bi-amp the centre channel and power the surrounds with rest of the B&K channels (1 channel would be unused)?
3. Would you not bi-amp at all and connect centre and surround straight into the B&K amp (2 channels would be unused)?

Note: I can't use 6.1 configuration as there is a wall behind my listening area.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Gator :) :)

[venomclan]

Hi Gator,
You have a few options. I do not think you will need to biamp your surrounds or your center, but that is up to you.

A- Parasound for FR & FL, Denon for surrounds and center. (this will alow you to sell the B&K to fund the Parasound purchase)

B- Parasound for FR & FL, B&K for center and surround, not biamped. You will then have 2 channels free on the B&K and the Denon used only as preamp.

C- Parasound for FR & FL, B&K for center and surround, Center biamped, surrounds not. 1 channel free on B&K.

The Denon 3806 is a decent receiver and should be adequate for center and surround duty for your speakers. I would do option A for your system. I you plan to upgrade the speakers in the future, option C.
Venom

[Early B.]

Bi-amp the fronts and power the center with the B&K, then use the 1500A for the surrounds.

I'd also experiment with the 1500A powering the fronts and the B&K handling the center and rears.

However, I'm not sure if there's much of an advantage gained by bi-amping at all. Can't you simply forego the Parasound altogether and use the B&K for all of your power needs?

[GATOR3000]

Hi Gator,
You have a few options. I do not think you will need to biamp your surrounds or your center, but that is up to you.

A- Parasound for FR & FL, Denon for surrounds and center. (this will alow you to sell the B&K to fund the Parasound purchase)

B- Parasound for FR & FL, B&K for center and surround, not biamped. You will then have 2 channels free on the B&K and the Denon used only as preamp.

C- Parasound for FR & FL, B&K for center and surround, Center biamped, surrounds not. 1 channel free on B&K.

The Denon 3806 is a decent receiver and should be adequate for center and surround duty for your speakers. I would do option A for your system. I you plan to upgrade the speakers in the future, option C.
Venom

Thanks venom. Think I would be incline to go with option 'C'. B&K has volume management for each channel on the back panel. B&K recommends turning volume on unused channel all the way down, thus giving more power supply to the remaining channels in use.

Thanks again

Gator :) :)

[GATOR3000]

Bi-amp the fronts and power the center with the B&K, then use the 1500A for the surrounds.

I'd also experiment with the 1500A powering the fronts and the B&K handling the center and rears.

However, I'm not sure if there's much of an advantage gained by bi-amping at all. Can't you simply forego the Parasound altogether and use the B&K for all of your power needs?

Early,
The reason I bought the Parasound I wanted to power my fronts with more powerful amp. The B&K is rated for 105 WPC and the Parasound is rated at 205 WPC. My room is quite open to other areas and I’m hoping to get more headroom and bigger soundstage by introducing more powerful amp to my front.

Gator:) :)

[mantis]

Sell both amps and get a B&K reference 200.5 or a Rotel RMB1095.

I don't care for mixing amps or the need to bi amp the Rti series. Actually the B&K amp should do you alot of justice already. Remove the bi amping and run them with one channel each. I feel this will give you the best performance for home theater use. Sell the Parasound amp or return it. Buy better cables.

Dan

[Early B.]

Early,
The reason I bought the Parasound I wanted to power my fronts with more powerful amp. The B&K is rated for 105 WPC and the Parasound is rated at 205 WPC. My room is quite open to other areas and I’m hoping to get more headroom and bigger soundstage by introducing more powerful amp to my front.

OK. If the Parasound doesn't boost the soundstage to your liking, you'll need to consider other speakers because you can only squeeze so much juice out of a turnip.

Yeah, you'll need to experiment to see if it works. Ideally, it would be nice to have a 3-channel amp for the entire front soundstage, but it may not make much difference if you have your center channel powered by the B&K. Your ears will tell you.

Try your setup several ways and report back on your results.

[Early B.]

Sell both amps and get a B&K reference 200.5 or a Rotel RMB1095.

I don't care for mixing amps or the need to bi amp the Rti series. Actually the B&K amp should do you alot of justice already. Remove the bi amping and run them with one channel each. I feel this will give you the best performance for home theater use. Sell the Parasound amp or return it. Buy better cables.

Good advice.

[GATOR3000]

Good choices. I guess the trick is to keep it plain and simple.

Gator :) :)