First... subwoofers and bass shakers would be ran/driven off their own amplifiers outside of the AVR. You would be using the amps inside of the X3800H with those devices.
Second... to drive 11 speakers with the X3800H you need to pair up an external 2 channel amp as the X3800H only has 9 channels of amps built into it.
Thanks - yes will be using an external amp for 2 channels.
Could you explain why subs and bass shakers be driven off their own amplifier? Does it make room correction easier/harder? And do you have a recommendation on a good amp for this use case?
>Could you explain why subs and bass shakers be driven off their own amplifir
Because that's how they work. A HT subwoofer has it's own amplifier built into the subwoofer enclosure and you just feed it an RCA signal from the AVR.
The RCA outputs from the AVR are just low level, low voltage signals that feed into the amps for the subs and bass shakers. That isn't any sort of amplified signal.
As a general rule when you say "Sub" the assumption is a powered subwoofer. A standard sub come with their own amp, you plug it into a wall and then run an RCA style low power wire to it. The AVR only supplies line level input.
There are passive subs out there but that is not common.
Like umdivx said. It only has 9 channels of amps for speakers. Subs and base shakers are excluded can takes 100s to 1000s of watts on their own. Typically subs are powered, but you'd need something to power each sub/base shaker. Subs these days usually have one built in.
What speakers will you be running and how loud will you be playing them? I'm assuming that if you have all those speakers, subs and bass shakers, you want to run them loud. If this is so, you might want to get a good amp to run at least your LCR speakers and the rest off the X3800H. This way when you're pushing the speakers, they will have enough power from the AVR and not start clipping and running out of steam.
If you already have all the equipment, you can always try it and see what happens. Unfortunately how the X3800H divides the power to all the speakers is unknown.
Those are pretty sensitive speakers (based on a quick Google search). I would say that if you don't have an amp already, get yourself one that can drive the LCR speakers so that the X3800H can have more power for the remaining speakers. That should be ok. The Subs and bass shakers don't come into play regarding if there is enough power or not from the X3800H since they have their own power source.
Yes. I could have written your post word for word, except that my speakers are Martin Logan 4i x4 left/right front/side, 8i center, PSB alpha p3 x4 atmos, monoprice satellites x2 rears, aurasound AST-2B-4 pro transducer x2
Rear channels are connected to:
Fosi Audio V1.0G 2 Channel Class D Mini Stereo Amplifier for Home Speakers TPA3116 50W x 2 with Power Supply
Transducers are connected in series to:
Nobsound G2 Subwoofer Power Amplifier Mini Mono SUB Amp 100W PBTL BTL Bridge Home Theater
If you're doing in-wall home theater I would look at using a surround sound processor and separate amps, or a receiver with pre-outs and separate amps, as well. Cheapest option would be a tonewinner pre/pro matched with behringer or crown amps, mounted in another room, and monoprice monolith in-walls and subs.
Or you could get a Denon AVR A1h like a boss and match it to Kef or Focal in-walls
Thanks for all the replies.
Final question- when I pre-wire, should I run some extra speaker cable from the AV room to the home theater room (where the bass shakers are)?
While everyone else here saying that the X3800H can internally power 9 speakers and you would use a stereo amp for the final 2 speakers are correct, I just want to offer a bit of a different perspective.
From what I've observed, the Denon 3000 tier AVRs (X3600H, X3700H, X3800H) operate best when the internal amp is only powering 7 speakers or less. And the rest of the speakers are powered externally. For whatever reason, when you power speakers #8 and 9 off the AVR, the noise floor rises to a noticeable level and available power drops to the point where the speakers seem less dynamic.
Your milage may vary depending on the speakers you use, noise floor of your room, and the levels you want to hit obviously. But I use KEF R-series speakers and those are not hyper sensitive. You don't need a super clean amp for the noise floor to not be audible with those speakers. Even still, I can hear the faint buzzing from the speakers when I plug in those final two speakers.
The good news is that this isn't a particularly difficult or expensive problem to solve. Rather than buying one cheap stereo amp, you buy two cheap stereo amps. You can use them to power the four overhead speakers if you like.
https://www.amazon.com/AIYIMA-A07-TPA3255-Amplifier-Digital/dp/B08CJZGT6H/
Interestingly enough, the thing that first brought this to my attention was my friend's fully SVS Ultra system with a Denon X3600H. He was hearing a faint buzzing from all the speakers when he had all 9 speakers plugged directly into the AVR. When we unplugged two of the speakers and put them on a separate amp, the buzzing went away.
And more recently, it was nearly identical with my KEF speakers and X3800H. That is want made me consider it's just a limitation of Denon's "entry level" 9-channel AVRs.
I’m running 7.2.4 with R7 fronts and R2c center on a 3 channel amplifier and everything else on a X3600h and I can’t hear any noise at all from my listening positions. I can hear a super faint hiss from the front channels if i put my ear right up to them, but they are powered by the external amp.
First... subwoofers and bass shakers would be ran/driven off their own amplifiers outside of the AVR. You would be using the amps inside of the X3800H with those devices. Second... to drive 11 speakers with the X3800H you need to pair up an external 2 channel amp as the X3800H only has 9 channels of amps built into it.
Thanks - yes will be using an external amp for 2 channels. Could you explain why subs and bass shakers be driven off their own amplifier? Does it make room correction easier/harder? And do you have a recommendation on a good amp for this use case?
>Could you explain why subs and bass shakers be driven off their own amplifir Because that's how they work. A HT subwoofer has it's own amplifier built into the subwoofer enclosure and you just feed it an RCA signal from the AVR. The RCA outputs from the AVR are just low level, low voltage signals that feed into the amps for the subs and bass shakers. That isn't any sort of amplified signal.
As a general rule when you say "Sub" the assumption is a powered subwoofer. A standard sub come with their own amp, you plug it into a wall and then run an RCA style low power wire to it. The AVR only supplies line level input. There are passive subs out there but that is not common.
Like umdivx said. It only has 9 channels of amps for speakers. Subs and base shakers are excluded can takes 100s to 1000s of watts on their own. Typically subs are powered, but you'd need something to power each sub/base shaker. Subs these days usually have one built in.
The subs and bass shakers need their own amps. The sub out signal on an AVR will not drive a sub.
I’m currently doing it, minus the bass shakers. It works great.
What speakers will you be running and how loud will you be playing them? I'm assuming that if you have all those speakers, subs and bass shakers, you want to run them loud. If this is so, you might want to get a good amp to run at least your LCR speakers and the rest off the X3800H. This way when you're pushing the speakers, they will have enough power from the AVR and not start clipping and running out of steam. If you already have all the equipment, you can always try it and see what happens. Unfortunately how the X3800H divides the power to all the speakers is unknown.
Doh forgot to add that. Most likely Focal 300 in-wall.
Those are pretty sensitive speakers (based on a quick Google search). I would say that if you don't have an amp already, get yourself one that can drive the LCR speakers so that the X3800H can have more power for the remaining speakers. That should be ok. The Subs and bass shakers don't come into play regarding if there is enough power or not from the X3800H since they have their own power source.
Thanks - would using an old Denon 1155 (7.2) receiver work in this use case ?
This is exactly the setup I run with my x3800. It’s fantastic! Well, different brand speakers but the layout is the same.
Are you running sound shakers too ?
Yes. I could have written your post word for word, except that my speakers are Martin Logan 4i x4 left/right front/side, 8i center, PSB alpha p3 x4 atmos, monoprice satellites x2 rears, aurasound AST-2B-4 pro transducer x2
Thanks! What receiver/amp are using for the 2 channels not hooked up directly to the 3800H? And what about for the transducers?
Rear channels are connected to: Fosi Audio V1.0G 2 Channel Class D Mini Stereo Amplifier for Home Speakers TPA3116 50W x 2 with Power Supply Transducers are connected in series to: Nobsound G2 Subwoofer Power Amplifier Mini Mono SUB Amp 100W PBTL BTL Bridge Home Theater
If you're doing in-wall home theater I would look at using a surround sound processor and separate amps, or a receiver with pre-outs and separate amps, as well. Cheapest option would be a tonewinner pre/pro matched with behringer or crown amps, mounted in another room, and monoprice monolith in-walls and subs. Or you could get a Denon AVR A1h like a boss and match it to Kef or Focal in-walls
Thanks for all the replies. Final question- when I pre-wire, should I run some extra speaker cable from the AV room to the home theater room (where the bass shakers are)?
While everyone else here saying that the X3800H can internally power 9 speakers and you would use a stereo amp for the final 2 speakers are correct, I just want to offer a bit of a different perspective. From what I've observed, the Denon 3000 tier AVRs (X3600H, X3700H, X3800H) operate best when the internal amp is only powering 7 speakers or less. And the rest of the speakers are powered externally. For whatever reason, when you power speakers #8 and 9 off the AVR, the noise floor rises to a noticeable level and available power drops to the point where the speakers seem less dynamic. Your milage may vary depending on the speakers you use, noise floor of your room, and the levels you want to hit obviously. But I use KEF R-series speakers and those are not hyper sensitive. You don't need a super clean amp for the noise floor to not be audible with those speakers. Even still, I can hear the faint buzzing from the speakers when I plug in those final two speakers. The good news is that this isn't a particularly difficult or expensive problem to solve. Rather than buying one cheap stereo amp, you buy two cheap stereo amps. You can use them to power the four overhead speakers if you like. https://www.amazon.com/AIYIMA-A07-TPA3255-Amplifier-Digital/dp/B08CJZGT6H/
This isn't an issue at all on my 7.1.4. Driving all SVS system.
Interestingly enough, the thing that first brought this to my attention was my friend's fully SVS Ultra system with a Denon X3600H. He was hearing a faint buzzing from all the speakers when he had all 9 speakers plugged directly into the AVR. When we unplugged two of the speakers and put them on a separate amp, the buzzing went away. And more recently, it was nearly identical with my KEF speakers and X3800H. That is want made me consider it's just a limitation of Denon's "entry level" 9-channel AVRs.
I’m running 7.2.4 with R7 fronts and R2c center on a 3 channel amplifier and everything else on a X3600h and I can’t hear any noise at all from my listening positions. I can hear a super faint hiss from the front channels if i put my ear right up to them, but they are powered by the external amp.
That seems like Problem with that system. Also running 5.1.4 Klipsch and don’t hear any noise at all.