Mikel.S

Newbie questions about buying the right receiver

Ok, I just ordered a pair of Klipsch RB-35 bookshelf speakers. The specs are:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
45Hz-20kHz±3dB SENSITIVITY:
96dB @ 2.83 volts/1 meter POWER HANDLING:
125 watts maximum continuous (500 watts peak) NOMINAL IMPEDANCE:
8 ohms compatible

I figured this meant I needed to find a receiver with 125 watts per channel. But do I really need one that powerful? I don't see how you match the speakers with the receiver. The receiver I'm looking at is the Onkyo TX8211


Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC)
50 W/Ch
Dynamic Power*
105 W/Ch/70 W/Ch
THD (Rated Power)
0.08 %
Frequency Response
20 Hz-30 kHz (+/- 1 dB)

Would this work well with my speakers? I hope so because it's pretty inexpensive.

I really appreciate your advice

Thanks,
Mike

Kevin McCurdy

Mike,

That receiver will drive your speakers just fine. It's not really a question on matching the receiver to your speakers. It's more of a question of supplying ample wattage to your speakers for the volumes you normally listen at, plus having additional headroom for dynamic peaks.

The Klipsch have a high sensitivity rating, so essentially with one watt of power at one meter away they will output 96 db. That's pretty loud. To increase the volume by 3db's you would need double the wattage so therefore to reach 99db you would need 2 watts, 102db's would require 4 watts and so on.

I also have Klipsch speakers and have used tube gear as low as 8 watts with great results. That's one of the benefits with having such a sensitive speaker.

One piece of advice though is to listen to the receiver with your speakers. Because they (Klipsch) are so sensitive they tend to amplify any issues with electronics more so than other speakers with lower sensitivity ratings.

Ian C

To further clarify, all that "125 watts max continuous" means is you don't want to go above that, but certainly the Klipsch will be fine with anything below that.