Budget Receiver and Speakers (1 Viewer)

[Trogdor796]

My friend has recently purchased a few speakers along with a sub and needs a receiver to go with them. The speakers he got were very cheap, they are RAC Sp9950 bookshelf speakers and an RCA sp9950 sub. I can't find like any info on these things, but he says they were only like $20 for all of them at goodwill. I'm a bit hesitant as to if they will work, but we will see. These are the speakers: http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/ele/3517479534.html So he needs a receiver for these to work of course, and he didn't wanna spend like more than $50-$70 on one. I pretty much talked him into spending more on a factory refurb otherwise he won't get anything decent. So I found this: http://www.accessories4less.com//make-a-store/item/ONKHTRC330/Onkyo-HT-RC330-5.1-CHANNEL-HOME-THEATER-RECEIVER/1.html?c=t5#!reviews I've heard of but never used this website. It legit and everything? From what I can tell, that receiver should be plenty for him. It also says it has a manufacture warranty of 1 year. So that is even with refurbs? He will be using this with an Xbox 360 and 720p HDTV from like 2006. I told him everything should work, but just checking with you guys. Any other advice? I know the speakers he got probably aren't too good, but I figure if he gets this receiver he can always get more/better ones later.

 

[Jason Charlton]

If those speakers are, indeed, 8 ohms then they will work just fine with that Onkyo receiver. They are likely to be rather inefficient, so will draw some power from the Onkyo, but they'll work. For the subwoofer, do you know if it's a passive or active sub? That is, does it have an RCA input (active) or just speaker terminals/clips (passive)? If it's passive, then it will have to be connected "in series" with the two front speakers using regular speaker wire. In the Onkyo setup, be sure that subwoofer is turned "off" and that the main speakers are set to "large" or "full range" so that the subwoofer gets the full frequency range. A4L is "legit" and the warranty is offered for the refurb units. A4L is an authorized Onkyo dealer, so they can offer the warranty. They are the only place I've seen recommended here for buying refurb. gear.

 

[Trogdor796]

Thanks for the reply! It's a passive sub, as it has no RCA input or power cable of its own. There any promo codes floating around for A4L? Just wondering before he orders.

 

[schan1269]

You'll need an amp for that sub, or forget it and get a BIC V80 or the Dayton SUB800(I think that is what they call their 8 inch).

 

[Trogdor796]

I thought passives just had the speaker wire run through them then out to the other speakers...?

 

[schan1269]

Depends on this sub(i'm coming up blank on an internet search)... Does it hava two pairs of speaker terminals marked in and out? Or a single input?

 

[Trogdor796]

I have only seen pics of what my friend sent me but it looked like in and out and he said there were red and black inputs and outputs.

 

[schan1269]

Then he'll set the AVR as no subwoofer, meaning as 5.0.

 

[Trogdor796]

So does the sub still function then? It's just not recognized as a sub due to no rca connector?

 

[Jason Charlton]

It will function - this is what I was referring to in setting up the Onkyo receiver properly.
You will tell the receiver that you have no subwoofer - this will prevent the internal crossover on the AVR from automatically stripping the low frequencies out and sending them to the subwoofer pre-out (which your friend won't be using because it's a passive subwoofer).
Instead, by turning the subwoofer to "off" and setting the front speakers to "full range" you will ensure that the full frequency spectrum is sent out via the L/R speaker terminals into the input terminals on the subwoofer.
The subwoofer then uses its internal crossover to strip out the low frequencies and then send only the mids and upper frequencies to the main speakers via the subwoofers output speaker terminals.
Admittedly, the low frequencies will tax the AVR much more than anything else, so using these inefficient speakers as well as a passive subwoofer will work, just don't expect to be able to rock the house down until you get a powered sub and some better speakers.
Again - the key point being that you asked if it will work, not if it will work well...

 

[Trogdor796]

I see. Thank you all for the help.