Need help ..new to the Home Theater show (1 Viewer)

[natestarsfan]

Hello all..I'm a newbie to the whole Home Theater game and I had a couple questions...
First of all...I had a HTIB and am making the jump to a real system...I just purchased a Denon AVR-791 7.1 receiver..The speakers that I have currently are from a Panasonic 7.1 Sc-BT300 system....They are small satellites that read 3 ohm..I've been researching this matter and are getting mixed opinions....How important is the impedance? The Denon states its rated for 6-16 ohm.....Will these pannys damage my unit? Can they work at lower volumes? and when replaced...should I go with 6ohm or 8ohm.....I am looking at the Pioneer Andrew Jones model speakers they state that they are 6ohm at only 90 watts .. The Denon says its pushing 125 watts at 6 ohms.....Needing some major input on this....I have the receiver and sub (Velodyne VRP-1200) that I want...just need to build around it....Looking to not break the bank either.....what is your input?
Thanks!

 

[schan1269]

Ok...the "real deal"...

Ignore power ratings. There are only two specs, on speakers, you care about(technically 3...but the third is of less concequence than the first two)

1. Impedance.
2. Efficiency.

The third is overall frequency range...and typically, the bass end. But that is mitigated by the .1 anyway.

Now, to your situation.

Your Panny 3ohm HTiB speakers won't handle the power* the 791 has. They are based on a meaningless PMPO standard of(I'm going to guess) 1000watts total. IF this 791 were based the same way as that HTiB these speakers are from...it would probably have 10,000 watts.

If, because of "funds" you can't replace all the speakers at once...buy two of the Pio-AJ now and, for a while, you can use the center and surrounds from the HTiB. Just be forewarned...the HTiB speakers will not last long.

*and yes, I know that belies when I said "ignore power ratings." You are going from Unicorns, pixie dust and skittles poop fantasy land...to real honest to God power.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Welcome to the Forum!

Now, a word of warning: do NOT connect the existing speakers from your Panasonic HTIB to your new Denon receiver. You will likely damage both the speakers and the new receiver.

Since you already have a subwoofer, here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Energy Take Classic 5.0 $249.99
Polk TL150 5.0 $219.07
Polk RM85 5.0 $199.89
Klipsch Quintet 5.0 $359.99
Klipsch Quintet 5.0 (older model) $279.99

If you want real quality, you could also slowly build out your 7.1 system by starting out with a a pair of decent bookshelves with a timber-matched center, and add the surrounds (preferably timber-matched to the fronts, but not as important) at a later date. The Pioneer's you mentioned are not bad, and you should be able to find a matching center for around the same price.

 

[schan1269]

The only reason I "disagree" with Todd above is...

1. In your Denon you are going to have to set the crossover of your center/surrounds at 200hz. If those HTiB sats will even handle 200hz.
2. Provided they can work on 200hz, the Deon, should...for a while, be able to withstand the 3ohm load...because it isn't 3ohm on all 5.

Also, keeping in mind what I said prior about PMPO power. Those speakers(no I haven't tried to find them online...and I'm not going to bother) probably only handle a "real" 15 watts.

15 watts is probably not all that loud, considering how low the efficiency is of them. Put it another way...

Those AJ(last I checked and if memory serves) are 87db efficient. I would be shocked if those Panny HTiB speakers are any higher than 75db efficient.

Meaning, if you are feeding 1 watt to those AJ, the center/surround need 15-18 watts.

In other words, you won't be able to turn it up much.

 

[natestarsfan]

So I should be able to go into the Denon and manually adjust the crossover? I guess I will have to just get my hands on it and play around....really if there is any chance of damaging the receiver..I guess I really do not want to take that chance....do you think I should go 6ohm of 8ohm? and does that just matter depending on the brand of speaker? The Pioneers do sound like a good starting point...also heard the BIC speakers are fairly good...whats your take on that?

 

[schan1269]

To be "safe". Throw those Panny speakers in the nearest trash can...

6ohm is fine, really.

Ohm load is not a "constant" anyway. Few manufacturers show an "ohm graph". Depending on what you are listening to, and the volume...the AJ will present anywhere from 4ohm to 16ohm.

 

[natestarsfan]

Thanks!! and Thanks for those links Todd!!! I may go with those Polk's!