I have a 5 channel amp and an anthem avm 50 as my preamp. currently I have a 5.1 setup through balanced interconnects but I have a couple of extra B & W 303 speakers and a receiver ( yamaha RX 795 ) which I would like to integrate into a 7.1 setup. could somebody tell me if I can use my receiver as an amp for my rear B & W speakers ( It has to be unbalanced as my receiver doesnt have balanced inputs ) and if so please tell me the connections and most important will I see a step up in my audio experience ( I forgot to mention I have a 20 X 15 room- front projection JVC RS1 with revel performas F32, C32 , revel B 15 subwoofer Surr- B & W 602's )
thanks
ankita

I have a 5 channel amp and an anthem avm 50 as my preamp. currently I have a 5.1 setup through balanced interconnects but I have a couple of extra B & W 303 speakers and a receiver ( yamaha RX 795 ) which I would like to integrate into a 7.1 setup. could somebody tell me if I can use my receiver as an amp for my rear B & W speakers ( It has to be unbalanced as my receiver doesnt have balanced inputs ) and if so please tell me the connections and most important will I see a step up in my audio experience ( I forgot to mention I have a 20 X 15 room- front projection JVC RS1 with revel performas F32, C32 , revel B 15 subwoofer Surr- B & W 602's )
thanks
ankita

IMO, the biggest factor is whether or not you can position the back speakers properly. "Properly" being defined as similarly to the Dolby recommendations for speaker placement (found on the Dolby website). If you can position the back speakers properly I think it's worth it.

The connection would be from the AVM 50 back/rear L/R outputs to L/R inputs on the receiver such as those for CD (just don't use the phono inputs)

Connect the rear/back speakers to the receiver's main/front terminals and set the receiver to plain old stereo mode.

Next, you will need to run the AVM 50 calibration to set the rear speaker levels. When the calibration tone is playing through one of the rear speakers, use the volume control on the receiver to get close as you can to the cal level. Then, use the trim levels in the AVM to get it precise. The goal is to get the rear speakers calibrated with AVM 50 trim levels as close to "0" as possible, but at the same time, have the receiver's volume control a low as possible to achieve the calibrated level.

Once you get the system calibrated, be sure to make a note of the position/setting of the receiver's volume control in case it get's accidentally moved.

EDIT: Be sure that all processing modes in the receiver are turned off (again, plain old stereo configuration is set), and that any calibration/trim levels in the receiver are reset to "0".