rjohn79395 wrote: Hi Buddy

My first Goldenear set up way back was a 5.1 with T2 fronts, SuperSat 50C center and Invisa 525 surrounds driven by a NAD T 757 receiver rated at 60 wpc ((NAD is is the only receiver maker I know of that rates their receivers with all channels driven). The 100 wpc Integra you ordered with 100 wpc rated with 2 channels driven would probably also be in the 60-70, maybe even 80, wpc, or so range all channels driven. That NAD drove those Goldenear speakers just fine. Goldenear speakers are pretty darn efficient, and your's would be crossed to the SuperSub you’ll be using, so the heavy bass work, which is the most power hungry, would be done by the SuperSub’s amp. I would venture that the DRX 4.3 would do fine also even with the external amp used to drive the un amped 10th and 11th channels rather than the fronts.

Re what amp power reserves do, yes, they can raise the upper ceiling of what loudness levels you want to play at without clipping, but they also can give some more oomph to dynamic peaks, and sound quality of the amp's output is a factor also.

Did you discuss with the Integra rep your intended use of the 5.2.4 rated DRX 4.3 in 7.2.4 mode? I ask because my Marantz SR 7010, also a 9 channel surround receive with 2 extra zone 2 un amped channels, only offered 5.2.4 or 7.2.2 options for surround set ups. The zone 2 channels could be set as stereo or mono out only. I called Marantz tech at the time I was setting it up for the addition of 2 more height speakers to verify, and the tech told me that zone 2 was not assignable to surround uses. I was thinking of using Zone 2 to drive the 2 extra height speakers with an external amp to take some additional load off the Marantz, but couldn't do it. Integra may well offer more assign options for the 4.3’s zone 2 pre outs, or maybe I missed seeing some option in the set up process.

BTW, the Marantz SR 8010 receiver, a new model, is also 140 wpc rated and 11 amped surround channels available, like the apparently currently unavailable DRX R1.1 you were considering. Food for thought.

Have fun with your project! The end result will be worth it!

Rick

Hi Rick,

The Integra rep said that the amp had to be used to power the extra 2 speakers and could not be assigned to the front so sounds like the same situation where the amp could not be used to take off any load from the receiver.

I looked on the Marantz website for the SSR 8010 but could only find the SR8012, which says 205 wpc on the website but a review says 140w. It is priced at $3000 MSRP, which is where the DRX R1.1 was. So that sounds like a pretty good deal. I am going to see if its not too late to get one of the Marantzs instead. It sounds like for the extra $1200 or so with the Marantz, I would probably ensure that I'm set up for a long time into the future.

Thanks again for all the help Rick. It really is great to have advice on this stuff --- I tried to read about some of it on my own yesterday and ended up even more confused

Buddy

Oops! Typo, meant the Marantz 8012.

No problem re sharing what we all learn from this forum. No one has all the answers, and we all learn from each other. Love this forum for giving us all resources to learn as we go.
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It's a fun hobby, this audio and home theater stuff, and the listenIng pleasure reward makes it all worth it.

Have fun, and learn along with rest of us!

Rick

I looked on the Marantz website for the SSR 8010 but could only find the SR8012, which says 205 wpc on the website but a review says 140w. It is priced at $3000 MSRP, which is where the DRX R1.1 was. So that sounds like a pretty good deal. I am going to see if its not too late to get one of the Marantzs instead. It sounds like for the extra $1200 or so with the Marantz, I would probably ensure that I'm set up for a long time into the future.

Buddy[/quote]

Hi Buddy

I looked at the Marantz literature on the SR 8012 when it was first introduced as a possible future replacement for my SR 7010, I'm pretty sure it was it was listed at 140 wpc, and the reviews then said the same. Now Marantz lists it as 205 wpc. Maybe they upgraded the transfomer and/or amp circuitry after it was first introduced? Don't know.

Rick

Hi Rick. Yeah the reviewer mentioned that it's really a 140 wpc even though they are listing it as 205. Well, I ended up bumping up to an Anthem MRX1120. Geez, I've gotta stop spending cash now!!!

Thanks again for all the help. It is very much appreciated.

Buddy

The MRX 1120 is another great receiver! That was on my short list of possible future replacements for my Marantz also.. A bit pricier than the Marantz SR 8012, but has Anthem's room correction, ARC, widely regarded as one of the best.

Good.choice!!!! That will serve you well for a long time. You're really heading for a first class speaker and gear system!

Rick

I just purchased a pair of the Triton 2+'s with the Reference Center. I was debating whether or not to get an MRX520 (demo model for $800), or a new Denon 3600h for $600 or a refurbished Marantz for $1,200. Denon and Marantz have tons of more features than the Anthem, but ARC is much better than Audyssey (so I've heard). Which one would you guys get? Thanks for the help!