Hello, this is my first post! I am a long time car audio fiend, and I just purchased my first addition to my home theater yesterday. They are 2 Cerwin Vega MX-400 towers, each with a siren/tweeter, woofer, and a 15in sub. They are rated (as far as I can gather without a manual) at 400 rms.

I have some questions:
1) Should match the rms rating per channel exactly to the speakers like I have always done, or should I under/over power them some (Ive heard it referred to as headroom)?

2)If the receiver I am buying has a preamp I hook it up to a receiver?

3) Am I correct in assuming power does not add together from my receiver and external amp (only the external will power).

4)Which power rating is better to go by- power rating at 1khz or the range of 20hz-20khz?

5) Stereo or mono? I will just be running the two towers with the amp and a receiver, but eventually I would like to upgrade to 7.1 DD

I have been shopping for an external power amp all day, and I have narrowed it down to a few models. I have a budget of around 300 dollars, preferably less. The vega's left a dent in my wallet. Which of these are unreliable, and which have a good reputation? I included a variety of prices and power ranges( I want the best bang for my buck)

-Behringer Europower EPQ900 2 x 390 Watts into 4 Ohms
-Seismic Audio - LE-2000- 2 x 500 Watts at 4 Ohms
-Crown XLS1000- 350 watts per channel at 4 ohms
-Samson SX1200- 2 x 450 watts at 4 ohms
-Gemini DJ xga-4000- 2 X 350W Rms At 4 Ohms
-Cerwin Vega Pro Cv-900- 4 ohms @ 320W
-Mr DJ AMP6800- 4 ohms: 400 watts x 2 chan.
-QSC GX3- Watts/Side @ 4 ohms 350W
-Pyle Pro PTA1000- 4 ohms: 500 watts x 2
-Pyramid ZPA10- 4 ohms: 500 watts x 2 chan.

I would also love recommendations not listed
Thanks for reading- I'm excited to get into home audio!

The preamp section of the AVR drives the amplifiers, but MAKE SURE it has Pre-Outs for external amplifiers..
[quote]



20Hz-20kHz is the more crucial specification, also make sure its THD % is respectible such as <0.1%


Stereo to drive the front L/Rs, then add more channels and loudspeakers as you want to.


Beside each brand/model listed below I have made my ranking and comments..

-Behringer Europower EPQ900 2 x 390 Watts into 4 Ohms
2. Good value
-Seismic Audio - LE-2000- 2 x 500 Watts at 4 Ohms
No comment or experience
-Crown XLS1000- 350 watts per channel at 4 ohms
1. Great product, proven performance
-Samson SX1200- 2 x 450 watts at 4 ohms
No comment or experience
-Gemini DJ xga-4000- 2 X 350W Rms At 4 Ohms
No comment or experience
-Cerwin Vega Pro Cv-900- 4 ohms @ 320W
2. Good value
-Mr DJ AMP6800- 4 ohms: 400 watts x 2 chan
No comment or experience
-QSC GX3- Watts/Side @ 4 ohms 350W
1. Great product, proven performance
-Pyle Pro PTA1000- 4 ohms: 500 watts x 2
Stay clear, low end
-Pyramid ZPA10- 4 ohms: 500 watts x 2 chan.
Stay clear, low end


Thanks for reading- I'm excited to get into home audio!

Just my $0.02..

Pyle looks like junk to me. If you do get Pyle, you can assume their specs are fiction.

Crown is totally respected. I own an XLS amp myself. Except for a bit of hiss, it's great. Good price, more power than most people would need for home theater use. Or for music. And SO light. Easy to work with when installing it. Fans never come on in normal operation. Few complaints here.

QSC is also totally respected.

Behringer is, IMO, the kind of the bottom rung of respectable pro amps. In other words, not as respected as Crown, QSC, Peavey, et al. But good value, and few customer complaints in this forum. By bottom of the rung, I just mean they are cheaper, and not quite as respected as some other pro brands. May cut a few more corners...or not. Maybe they just know how to make their gear cheaper.

Cerwin Vega seems to be one of the kings of 'rock and roll' speakers. I never liked the sound of them. As for their electronics, it's possible they outsource them. The brand name itself is respectible.

Are you seriously considering buying an amp called 'Mr DJ' ?

Samson is sold by big name pro audio internet dealers like Zzounds. I know nothing else about them. Probably not junk. If I were to guess, I would guess they are like Behringer...cheap, but respectable, but that's a guess.

I know I have seen Pyramid. I know nothing about them. Do they sell mainly off Amazon, with fictitious specs? If so, I would steee clear. You might want to google them.

The rest I don't know about. I would go with Behringer, Crown or QSC personally.

A guy a few months on here said that he would see if pyle home amps were any good and he would let the forum know. He said that it really sucks. He returned it to amazon. A long time ago I heard pyle car subwoofers in a former friends house. His dad owned a car stereo shop. The son thought that the subs sucked, but I was impressed with them. They sounded good for a cheap speaker. his other friend thought they sounded good enough to buy them from him. I would go for those brands that Michael suggested. I also heard that they were good. Be careful with how loud you play Cerwin Vegas. I have heard stories of people messing up the foundation of the house because of all the bass. Some people on youtube have shown cerwin vegas knocking stuff off shelves and the wall. I have seen videos of Cerwin Vega ve15 rattling the windows pretty bad. A long time ago a guy wrote on a review to be careful having Cerwin Vegas by glass. He used a 3 or 400 watt amp and broke the glass in his fish tank. I don't know why he wanted to turn it up that loud. I hear that the surround sound cerwin vegas don't have as much bass as the ve 15. Are you going to play rock music techno r&b rap? I think Cerwin vegas sound good for that kind of music. People say that they don't sound good for classical music.

Another vote here for the Crown XLS drivecore. I have an XLS 2000. Very powerful, very affordable and, most importantly to me, very quiet (my fan never comes on).