Everyone knows that, if you want a stereo or home theater system that delivers the absolute ultimate in performance and sound quality, you’re going to want separate components and, when you’re ready to take that step, we’ll be glad to help you figure out just what you need to put together the awesome home theater or stereo system that you’ve always wanted. However, much like a good starter home, many low-cost AVRs offer a reasonable combination of features and sound quality, which is why so many people start their foray into the world of home theater with an AVR. Luckily, when you do feel the urge to upgrade your system, most AVRs offer you an opportunity to do so.

Upgrading To A Separate Power Amp

The most serious compromise in most AVRs is the amplifier section. The amplifiers in many AVRs are underpowered, while others may have reasonable specs, but just plain don’t sound very good. Luckily, most high-quality AVRs offer a set of preamp outputs you can use to connect a separate high quality power amp. Adding a separate amplifier enables you to improve the sound of almost any AVR, and extend the life of the investment it represents.

How Many Channels Do You Need?

If you use your system mostly for movies and surround sound music, and you have similar speakers all around, then it probably makes sense to upgrade all of the channels with a multi-channel amplifier,  If you have a big pair of tower speakers in the front that you use for stereo listening, or big speakers across the front and smaller surrounds in the rear, then you may want to upgrade just the front two or three channels, which are the most important.

How Much Power Do You Need?

How much power you need will depend on several things, including how big your room is, how efficient your speakers are, and how loud you like to listen to music and movies. Often, when you upgrade to a separate power amp, even a small increase in rated power over your current AVR will give you a big boost in sound quality.

Getting The Most Bang For Your Buck Today

If your goal is to make the biggest improvement in the sound of your current system, while having the least impact on your budget, then our BasX line of amplifiers are the obvious choice. Add our BasX A-300 to add power and clarity to your front left and right channels, or to your stereo sound system, or add our BasX A-500 or A-700 to upgrade the sound quality of your 5-channel or 7-channel AVR. For a bit more power, add an A-5175 to your 5-channel system, or an A-300 and an A-5175 to your 7-channel AVR. And, for the ultimate in power and sound quality, you should consider our top-of-the-line XPA and XPA-DR amplifiers. Our XPA amps are fully modular, so you can choose exactly the number and type of channels you need today, and then upgrade them when your needs change down the road.

Making An Investment In Your Future

Once you reach the level of our XPA and XPA-DR amps, you’re looking at not just an upgrade to your current AVR, but an investment in every system you’ll ever own. Our XPA and XPA-DR amps offer superb performance and sound quality, and their modular construction means that you can order one with exactly the number of channels you need today, then add more channels later when you need them. All of our XPA and XPA-DR models also offer both balanced and unbalanced inputs so, even though your current AVR only has unbalanced outputs, you’ll be ready when you eventually upgrade to a new preamp or processor that has fully balanced outputs. The choice is yours, but, if you’re the sort of person who likes to invest in their future, then you should seriously consider a new XPA or XPA-DR amp…

If you have any more questions, or want to discuss this topic in more detail, please reach out! We’d be happy to talk with you!

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