sir MAtz, would you still recommend this even if one would just use BS speakers for the fronts?
ummm let's say B&W's 685 BS?
Lets answer through an experiment I did. I am using THX BS speakers now & before I connected it to my Yamaha
7x130w THX receiver. Ok naman, cant complain.
One day I tried hooking up the BS speakers to my
5x100w Rotel power amp. There was still a considerable improvement (though not huge as the difference w/ FS IMhO), even though the rotel had a
lower power rating. Probably its bec. good quality power amps, with their own robust power supplies, can still tend to outperform their receiver counterparts w/c share everything (preamp, amp, etc,) w/ one power supply (squeezed into one small casing). Maybe cuz Rotel uses torroidal transformers (duno the technical side of this) blah blah blah x10 ... LOL
So in short it kinda depends on your pursuit for perfection or level of satisfaction... and budget of course. In my level of addiction to the hobby
, only a power amp will do. But if you are not very particular in this hobby, then you dont need power amps.
I heard that B&W's shine with Rotels. Its a match made in heaven they say. I read somewhere that the B&W's dip to below 4ohms (puts a big strain on the power supply) w/c is no problem for power amps. But I am not sure if its still the same case w/ the new 6 series speakers.
I would recommend that you try using a good receiver first, then when budget allows, get a power amp after some time. Stereo will do, let the receiver handle the other channels.This way you can appreciate the difference instead of buying it all at once.
Better yet... BORROW one from a fellow member.