GR Research A/V owners (1 Viewer)

[ChrisArmour]

Hi, I have recently decided to purchase 3 A/V-2's and 2 A/V-1's for use in a 5.1 set-up. However, I need/want to purchase new components before I purchase new speakers(I feel it would be a crime to hook such fine speakers up to a sony receiver). I'm curious as to what other owners are using to power their A/V's. I would like to stay within the recommended power ratings and thats where I am having a problem with choosing a pre/pro and amp(or receiver), the A/V-2's are rated at 100 watts/ch @ 4ohms and the A/V-1's are rated at 100watts/ch @ 8ohms. I have already emailed GR research and asked for power and equipment recommendations and while I am waiting to hear back from them, I thought I would find out what other owners are using. Thanks to all who reply, this forum has been a great help in determining the upgrade path of my HT and it is much appreciated.

 

[george king]

chris,

I have a Rotel 1075 amp (120 X 5) and a Yamaha 995 as a preamp. The AV-1s sound wonderful with the amp. I will eventually replace the Yamaha.

Hope this helps.

 

[ChrisArmour]

Before I decided on getting the A/V's I originally wanted an RSP-1066 and an RMB-1075, but, the 1075 puts out 200wpc @ 4ohms. I suspect that the GR website has a typo in the specs for the A/V-2, 100watts @ 4ohms seems low to me. If I wanted an amp to match the power handling of the A/V-2(according to the listed specs) it would have to put out around 50watts at 8ohms and be able to double it's power into a 4ohm load. Hopefully the response I get from GR sheds some light on the power handling abilities of the A/V-2. Thanks for the reply.

 

[ChrisArmour]

I just realized that I was thinking about the power handling of the A/V-2's incorrectly, 100wpc @ 4ohms for the A/V-2 opposed to 100wpc @ 8ohms for the A/V-1 just in fact means that the A/V-2 can pull twice as much current from the amp, so it's power handling is higher. Thats if I correctly remembered the electrical theory formulas. I better stop with the math, I'm starting to hurt my head

 

[John Garcia]

I recently got my A/V-2s (still waiting for the center, another 2) and I am driving them with a Marantz SR-8300 (120x6). The 2s produce a noticably greater amount of sound compared to the 1s. While the 2s will pull more current than the 1s, they are also more efficient in using that power, thanks to their higher sensitivity. Danny will almost certainly recommend tube amplification, but these speakers work quite well with SS also.

100w @ 4 Ohms seems like plenty.

These speakers give me that silly grin every time I listen to them.

 

[Shawn Solar]

The av2's are a little more difficult load but most higherend recievers and of course seperate amps can handle them. If you run them at say 80hz and up that will also greatly reduce the amount of power needed. I've used a rotel amp and now I use a B&K on my av2's.

I also just upgraded the crossover with the sonicaps in the av2's(fronts) I still have to complete the centre and surrounds that at this time sit in box in the corner. I have to say the caps upgrade is actually quite noticable if your familiar with the sound. the left to right imaging widened a bit, with the tonal balance slightly shifting a bit from laid back to more nuetral with more sparkle and air on the treble. Now thats what I thought my fiancee said she didn't here a difference of course

 

[george king]

John,

I know how you feel. I feel the same when I fire up an SACD on my AV-1s.

 

[John Garcia]

The Sonicaps are definitely worth it. My mains don't have them, but the caps are sitting there waiting to go in, I just have not had the time to do it. My center will have them already installed.

SACDs sound amazing, but I've found that even movies sound better with these speakers too. I bought them to improve music performance, but the depth and clarity really adds to movies as well.

 

[Danny Richie]

Just a quick word or two regarding power handling.

Ratings given are conservative.

If you don't clip or overdrive an amp or receiver on them then you can throw quite a bit of power at them with no problems.

You are far more likely to damage them by over driving a small amp than using an overly large amp that will have plenty of good clean power with room to spare.

I have driven a pair of A/V-2's with 400 watt, Melos, tube, mono-blocks continuously at insane levels with no problems at all.

Your ears will likely give out first especially when driving five speakers at a time.

In all the years I have been selling these I have not had a single driver come back due to power handling failure.

As for blending them with a sub.

I recommend playng them full range and allowing the sub to cover from about 50Hz and down. This will give you a seamless blend and the best integration.

Putting a high pass filter in the signal path will always degrade the signal quality to some degree. I would avoid using them, especially the high pass speaker outputs on cheap sub-woofer amps. Never run your main speakers through those.

As for impedance loads goes...

I specifically designed the new A/V-3's for this reason. It takes up no more floor space as a floor standing speaker than our smaller stand mounted models.

The transmission line design gives lower end extension with good bass control and still presents an 8 ohm load to the source.

A smaller sealed box version is also now available too.

 

[ChrisArmour]

Thank you Danny, your post helped me more than all of our emails, I am going to run the A/V-2's and A/V-1's on a Rotel RMB-1075. As soon as I can get my new components I will be giving you a call for some speakers, thanks for all your help, Chris

 

[george king]

Chris,

You will love the combo of GR and Rotel, I love mine. I have never had a problem driving the AV-1s with the 1075, and the 1075 amp is highly regarded. Unless you have a huge room, it should be more than you will need in a long time.

 

[george king]

Danny,

Do you have any additional information on the small sealed version of the AV-3.

TIA

 

[Danny Richie]

Do you have any additional information on the small sealed version of the AV-3.

I'll try to get some info on it up on the web site as soon as I have time.

It is basically the same size cabinet as the A/V-2 but not quite as deep. It uses the same front baffle and grill and looks the same from the front too.

It can be used in applications where placement is limited and/or does not allow for a rear ported design.

It can be used as a center channel also (side laying MTM) and has a very good, (very smooth) response off axis to about 20 to 25 degrees. After that (30 degrees or more off axis) the physical alignment of the drivers will cause a dip in the response just like any side laying MTM.

It is available fully shielded and is 8 ohms.

The sealed box design produces a -3db of 90Hz.

Kit price is $300. for a pair or $159. for a single shielded unit.

I can e-mail enclosure plans to anyone that wants them.