A question of Power? Line level vs Speaker level (1 Viewer)

[Steve_Ma]

How much power will I be giving up by switching from Line level to speaker level connections for my sub/mains? I want to run the sub/mains via speaker level to use the lower x-over.

Someone tried to explain the process, but I'm not sure I understand. Is my AVR's power somehow wasted because I will be running my mains off of a powered sub instead of the AVR? WIll my sub now be unable to go as low with the same authority because it now has to power my mains as well as itself?

Here's my equipment:

Marantz SR7000 (100x5 wpc)

B&W ASW1000 powered sub(120w)

B&W 603S2 mains (8ohm)

* I have a small room and have not had problems getting to reference, though I never listen there. I have yet to bottom the sub.

 

[ColinM]

Your mains will NOT be powered by the sub amp.

Your mains will still get their juice from the AVR, but the waste comes from the AVR's amps making bass that gets 'thrown out' by the crossover in the sub, which in turn makes the bass all over again....

- C

 

[Steve_Ma]

So, the AVR is now running my mains at full range. But everything below the x-over is handled by the sub's amp? So the wasted portion would be the AVR's power below the x-over? Do I have that right?

Any idea how big of a deal this is? I mean the lost power.

 

[ColinM]

You are correct.

How big of a deal?

You may not NOTICE any real difference in the sound of the mains, but the deal is this -

Using full range mains / sub crossover, the AVR has to do more amp work, the speaker wires have to go through the sub, all of which is eliminated when you go small with the mains...but you DO get fully adjustable crossover control.

Depending on the quality of the equipment, the diff is nil.

- No real world experience of more than 4 - 6 hours myself, though, of crossing with the sub...just an observation.

 

[Steve_Ma]

Thanks Colin. You rock!
I'll report back in a week or so. I won't have the software (stryke disk) to really get sub and mains blended in and nailed down till next week, but I'll follow up at that point. Worse case scenario: I go back to the line level, which I was not unhappy with. I suspect the 80hz vs 100hz crossover debate is overblown anyway, but I want to find out for myself how big the perceptible difference is.
Thanks again,
--Steve

 

[ColinM]

Right! I was doing the same thing - - my AVR crosses at 100, and I was a line level kind of guy, small all around - So I did the speaker level thing, mains large, and tweaked the crossover...no biggie, but all of the extra wires / tweaking wasn't really worth something that wasn't really helping.

My mains (NHT Ones) go down to 52Hz (-3) in my room. The SV was doing fine at 100, so what the hell. I like simple things, and line level was the 'cleanest' way to do the job. You never know till you try!