Quote Originally Posted by engineerjoe View Post
I thought I could ask here instead of a brand new duplicate type post.
I just got some of the JBL 500 series speakers to add to my house system. They seem to like better power than my Yamaha RX685 puts out. I connected them to my older Kenwood system and they rock but there's no HDMI inputs on that one.
I'm looking at the Denon line of 7.2 surround sound receivers. I noticed they have a preamp in their line. I also found a Marantz preamp. Both have Balanced XLR outputs and rack mounting. That seems exciting to me as I have many amps laying around for PA use.
Does anyone here use either of these preamps in their system? Do you like them?
How about the newer Denon integrated receivers?
I think the Yamaha lineup sounds great. I just feel their power output is limited. One day for no apparent reason my Yamaha seemed twice as loud? Never again though. I replaced cables and tried different settings. I believe it has some type of limiter or protection kicking in?
Thanks for any helpful opinions.
A few questions.

1. Why does HDMI matter? Will this be part of a video system?

2. A separate preamp or Pre/pro if you need video and surround modes will definitely be better, which Marantz were you looking at?

3. What is your approximate budget?


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