Quick amp/receiver questions

[lhbrennan]

I just bought a pair of LSi9's. For now I will just be using them in stereo but I plan on upgrading to a 5.1 system sometime down the line. I'm trying to power them, and I'm very new at this, and I have read through many previous threads, but I still have a couple questions...

If I buy a receiver, for example the Onkyo 805 that seems to be popular, do I want to buy a pre-amp, or a power amp, or integrated amp, or what?

Also, if people say I want at least 200wpc@8ohms to drive these speakers, does that equate to 400wpc@4ohm, or 100wpc@4ohms, or does it not even work that way?

I have a Marantz SR5002 receiver, 90wpc@8ohms (which I may return or sell to my dad.) If I picked up one of the inexpensive emotiva amps (LPA-1 or IPS-1), and used it with the Marantz, would that be good for the LSi9's?

Also, if I have a receiver with say 90wpc, and I get an amp, does the amp wattage add on to the 90 watts from the amp, or does the power from the receiver get bypassed or something. Thank you so much for any and all responses/advice!

[cfrizz]

Welcome IhBrennan.

Congrats on the purchase of the 9's. You would want to buy a separate power amp to plug into your Onkyo. Using the amp it would bypass the amp section that is in your receiver.

If you buy an amp with 200wpc @8ohm you will get around 300wpc @4ohms The more power you buy at 8ohms is the more you will get when pushing a 4ohm load.

You can get more bang for your buck if you buy a used amp from Audiogon. The more power you feed the LSI's the better they will sound, the less strain you will place on your speakers & gear. Thus minimizing damage to said gear.

[tonyb]

The search button is your friend.

[apphd]

lhbrennan, Welcome

Keep in mind if you plan on running a separate amp through a receiver, you are then using the receiver as a preamp/surround processor. So you will need a receiver with Pre-Out connections for what ever channels you want to externally amplify. You mentioned the Onk 805 which does have Preouts for all channels, and the Marantz SR5002 which may have them I do not know. Both are receivers, which is the amp and pre-amp housed in the same package. Has it's benefits and its limitations compared to using separates. Keep asking questions and reading related material and you should be able to make a decision you're happy with.