Acoustimass power amp?

Question

i have bose acoustimass 15 that currently connected to older receiver. since the subwoofer already have built-in power amp that feed all 5 satellite speakers, do i need to get high end receiver?

im not sure if receiver will make any different in power handling since the sub feed the speakers with its own power (i assume the sub only need the signal for left, right, etc rather than the rms from receiver)

does anyone have any idea/suggestion?

Answer 1

I kicked my Bose system to the curb several years ago, but that doesn't mean you should do the same. If you are satisfied with the output from the Acoustimass, it's amps and the sound from the satellites, you could do exactly what you suggest.

The reason you might want to upgrade the surround processor is to get some of the up-to-date features. HDMI switching is quite useful, for example. If you are buying a Bluray player, then you will want the ability to play the incredible "uncompressed" sound encoded in Dolby True HD and HDDTS. You might want XM radio, an Ipod dock, digital local radio, etc... There's a host of features available now, that might interest you. My Yamaha RX-V3800 has an ethernet port that connects me to thousands of radio stations around the world over my home network. Sometimes I spend the entire evening channel hoping around the globe on the built-in Internet radio.

If you keep your Bose system, the amplifiers inside the surround processor won't help you since you will need to bypass them. Look for a unit that has preamp (line level) outputs. That's what the Bose system will connect to.