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February 4, 2001 |
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Upgrading to Separate Amplifiers
I realize that when I asked for opinions about upgrading my amplifiers on the Home Theater Forum the replies covered the gamut from "You won't hear any difference at all," to "The difference will be astounding!" and everything in between so I was anxious to find out where my observations fell on that scale. Now that I've had some time to listen critically to my new equipment I can state, from experience, that the upgrade was definitely worth the investment to me. As far as I'm concerned, the overall sound is better, and in some cases, much better. Let me try to explain a bit, within the limitations of trying to describe audible sensations with the written word. Better? How? For one thing, soft sounds are now clearer, more distinct. On those songs where the vocal fades out at the end you hear the notes longer and more distinctly into the fade. For example, the ending on Diana Krall's "All or Nothing at All" on her DTS. And the finger snapping by Ms. Krall on "My Love is…" is eye (ear?) awakening. In addition, when I used to turn up the volume on my Denon 5700 it made the sound louder (duh!). Still a very clean sound, but just louder. With the MA700s added into the mix, now when I turn up the volume the sound gets louder by making the soundstage appear to come closer to the listener. The effect is the same as if a singer or musician were to leave the stage and approach you rather than simply singing or playing louder. And this is something that I've never experienced before - at least nothing that I ever noticed before. Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing the sound of the Denon 5700 receiver. It's still very, very good. It's just that the separate amps seem to lend more clarity and dimensionality to the sound with a few other side benefits. Piano notes sound more defined, more "anchored," for example. Yes, there are those who will wonder what all the fuss is about and question my upgrade. And, no, I didn't do a true A/B test but did switch the wires several times to make sure I wasn't succumbing to placebo or "Hawthorne" effects. The previously mentioned volume experience is one such case where I did this. And I would not term the upgrade revolutionary but evolutionary. Acquiring these monoblock amps is obviously the first step on my way to giving in eventually to "6.1 and beyond" fever. Rather than upgrading to another receiver such as the Denon 5800 I'm going to sit back and wait for some of the new processors coming out (like the new Outlaw pre/pros, for example) while reaping the benefits of separate amps and not buying something that will be obsolete. This is about as close as we get to having our cake and eating it, too, in this business. Of course, I am treading into an area that is highly subjective and opinions differ greatly. (I got this same argument from some friends years ago when I opted to purchase S-VHS rather than regular VHS VCRS. Yes, S-VHS is better, but sometimes the source material fuels the fires of the non-believers). But even if there are questions of real versus perceived sonic differences by installing separate amps, the future use of the amps is assured and justifies their purchase on that basis alone if you are fence-sitting. And what about improvement in listening to SACDs? Surprisingly, the difference, while there, was certainly not as great as one might think. In other words, listen to a CD or a DTS CD, or watch a movie with and without the MA700s in place and you will agree that the sound is definitely improved with the monoblocks. But when running the same comparisons with SACDs and you might find yourself asking yourself, as I did, how much better it is. A little more dynamic range with the MA700s but not a striking difference. But I believe I understand why. SACDs are tremendous source materials, carefully mastered (at least at this point) and are played in DIRECT ANALOG mode, bypassing any digital circuitry of the Denon 5700 and directly into the amps, whether it is the Denon's internal amps or the MA700s. In other words, SACD has a lot going for it (and the sound reflected this) even without my exchanging the amps. (A recent discussion on the Home Theater Forum regarding the real vs. perceived benefits of SACDs vs. Redbook CDs points out that maybe some of the "better" sound is due to the more careful mastering of SACDs at this point rather than any technological reason - but that's another crusade for another time.) Assuming that the "weakest" link in my current equipment is the digital circuitry of the 5700's pre/pro then this link is not present when playing SACDs. A look at the specifications of the Denon and the Marantz units appears to bear this out (in theory at least). The dynamic range of the Denon pre/pro is 95dB and of its amp section is 105dB. The dynamic range of the MA700 monoblocks is listed as 110dB. In other words, listening to SACDs with the Denon amps in direct mode doesn't leave as much room for improvement as is the case when having to deal with any digital processing (as with CDs, DVDs, et. al.) Yes, there is a slight theoretical advantage to the MA700s according to the specs when dealing with SACDs. But sometimes specs don't translate into perceivable differences to everybody. There are many other things that I learned about separate amps and, in particular, integrating the MA700s into my system. For example, I realized that my Monster HTS3500 power center has two high current switched outlets for amplifiers, which solved my immediate need to plug in and control the MA700s. My receiver controls the HTS3500 and when I turn it on the amps are powered on after a suitable delay to prevent any power surges and/or speaker noises. Very elegant. But these and any other concerns are better addressed if anyone out there has any questions relating to this entire topic. Well, there are some of my initial impressions. Obviously, I'm keeping these amplifiers and am turning my sights down the road to look at the upcoming pre/pros and some more amps (maybe even amp packages like the Outlaw 750 and that genre for the surrounds) when I'm ready for that next upgrade. Interestingly, I now realize that there might be one design disadvantage to the Denon 5700 (and I assume the 5800, although I could be wrong). My old Pioneer VSX-9900S that served me well for many years before the Denon had separate pre/pro and amp sections like the Denon. However, it also had amp inputs. This would allow you to use the receiver's amps separately, if so inclined. The Denon has EXT. IN. jacks, but I don't think this is the same since it requires MUSE 3-1 format input from an external decoder. I might be wrong about this, but I don't see me using the 5700 as an amp source in any event. It takes up much too much shelf space in that way and would better serve as a receiver (a great receiver) at another site. It looks as though the Denon 5700 is my last receiver and the MA700s is the first step forward from that mode. And where will those steps take me? Who's to say? I'm approaching that Twilight Zone of HT and audio where further improvements will be minimal (at least to me) when compared to the costs involved to achieve them. And that's where you have to consider the law of diminishing returns (and pocketbook.) With the arrival of my SVS 16-46PC subwoofer I had to pull out all my favorite bass passages and listen to them again. With the arrival of the SONY DVP-S9000ES progressive DVD and SACD player I found myself watching movies over again, not to mention the introduction of SACD into my life. And now with the arrival of the 3 Marantz MA700 amplifiers I have to listen to everything again! Does it ever end? (I hope not!) Like I've said before, this is an "E" ride - and it's not even Disney's California Adventure.
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