[floresjc]

I have 2 quick questions, although they are probably fairly subjective. Thinking about powering a 5.1 setup that will have 2 channel uses as well. Now, is there any negative impact to have a higher power feeding the Front L/R than the center and rears. Like say using a 240/3 for those 3 and then a 440 for the front L/R? I guess in my mind, I always theorized that you'd want the same amount of power going into each channel, but for 2-channel mode, you'd want as much reserve power as available.

And the follow up, does it make too much a difference when you start mixing brands? Say using a 240/3 with a Parasound 2channel amp or ATI/Bryston etc..? I figured that for 2 channel, you wouldn't notice since you'd only be using that amp. And for movie tracks, I'm not certain there's enough to really warrant all channels being identical assuming they were all at least a certain quality level.

[Lefty052347]

The 120 watt perchannel AVA 240/3 and the AVA 220 watt per channel 440 have the same gain.  As long as you are not clipping the 240/3 the sound should be identical (with reasonably matched speakers).

If different branded amps have the same gain and are sonically similar they should work together.  If the gain is different you would need a second pre-amp (or an amp with variable gain) to match the gain of the two amps.

I hope this make sense.

Regards,
Dean

[srb]

If you are talking about a 5.1 setup, then I assume you will be using a 5.1 surround processor/preamp or receiver in front of the amplifiers.  All surround processors have an internal speaker setup for matching the levels between channels to acommodate for the differences between speaker efficiency and amplifier gain.
 
Many people who are using a system for both 2 channel and home theatre, use a more powerful amplifier for the left and right speakers, and a lower powered 3 channel amplifier (or 3 channels of a 5.1 receiver, if using one for the front end) for the center and surround speakers.
 
Steve

[Wayner]

Just to expand on Dean's comment, all the speakers should have very similar efficiencies between front and rears as well. For example, if the fronts are 90db, it would be adventagous to have the other 3 speakers exact, if not close to the same efficiency.

Wayner

[floresjc]

Thanks for the replies guys, that makes alot more sense. I was perhaps over complicating the issue in my mind. One question, how do you know what the gain is for amps? I don't regularly see it published, is it something that you would have to email the manufacturer? Although with the volume leveling in processors as mentioned, its probably not as important.

In my case, I have SongTowers all the way around, so the identicalness of the load is about as good as its going to get. My father is looking at a similar system, and he may put more power into the front L/R, whereas mine is evenly distributed (240's all the way around).

[srb]

Although with the volume leveling in processors as mentioned, its probably not as important.

Exactly.  In a perfect world, I guess all the speakers and amps would be the same, but it's just not a big concern with a multi-channel processor.
 
I have a different and more powerful amp for the front L/R channels than I do for the center and surrounds.  My front L/R speakers are 91dB, the center 87dB and the surrounds 86dB.
 
The levels are adjusted properly and it sounds great.
 
Steve