Newbie to teh forum...Onkyo receiver question (1 Viewer)

[keithl1967]

I am new to the foum, but have a couple of questions I was hoping some folks muight be able to help me with: I have an ONKYO HTR530 that recently bit the dust. A 1 As I was reconnecting the speakers (in wall/ceiling) the other day, the unit shut itself off after playing well for several minutes while I was connecting the speakers to it. When I turned it back on, I got a "PFFFT" sound, and a puff of smoke form the receiver, and now it will not stay turned on. Some background: this receiver had often (since it was new five years ago) taken several attempts to turn it on before it would "stay" on--even before this hook-up, so I am not sure if it is a speaker connection issue this time, or if has always had issues and finally just gave up. It was unplugged for twom months during a basement remodel, and was cleaned with compressed air before re-connecting it. What could have caused this to happen? I am looking for a replacement, but want to make sure this does not happen to the next receiver I buy. 2. I am looking at the Denon AVR1912 as a replacment/upgrade Does anyone have any experience with this receievr? 3. I am using Monster in-wall speaker wire s14-2r. At how many ohms is this wire rated? 4. I am connecting to Bose Virtually invisible 191's for the front channels (left and right), and Polk audit R601 for the rear channels. Will the 875 Watts from the Denon bee too much for these speakers? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to replace the receiver, without causing myself more headaches... Thanks!

 

[gene c]

You should never make any connections to anything with it powered on. This is particularly true for receivers, subwoofers and displays. They should always be connected to a surge protector with an On/Off switch with both the surge protector and the unit turned off when making connections of any kind. After all connections have been made you then flip the surge protector on and then the unit. If the receiver was doing weird things before this happened then it was probably going to happen eventually anyway. Did you do a Factory Reset? Check the manual to see if a Reset is available for your receiver. On of the most common reasons a receiver shuts itself off (goes into Protect Mode) is two or more speker wires touching each other or to Ground. I'd check all the speaker wire to make sure it hasn't been compromised (turn a screw or pound a nail through some in-wall wire while hanging a picture ?). These things can happen. The manual states the 191's are compatible with receivers rated for 4-8 ohms but Bose speakers have been known to dip into dangerous territory. I don't think wire is rated for impendance. We like 12 or 14 gauge wire around here with 16 gauge the smallest depending on run length so your wire is fine. The Denon 1912 is an excellent receiver. The 191's are rated for 50 watts continuous @ 6 ohms. They also have very small drivers so more critical is the crossover chosen. I'd say 120-150. But I'd try and find out why your 530 bit the dust first before slapping a new receiver in it's place. And get that surge protector .

 

[keithl1967]

The receiver was connected to a surge suppressor at the time it burnt up. Based upon how thw wires were trun, I am 100% confident that no wires were pierced in the installation. i will re-check the connections however, to be sure there are no + and - touching that could cause an overload. As for the Denon's power ratings, is the 125 watts per channel too much for the speakers that I have? I apologize, but I am uncertain what you mean when you state the "crossover is more critical, and speak of a 120-15-0 rating?

 

[gene c]

First, I can't find any info on the Polk surrounds you're using. The real critical thing is the impendance rating of your speakers. They need to be 6 ohm or higher for most receivers to safely power them. 4 ohm speakers can cause problems for most receivers. Second, do you have a sub woofer? The crossover setting is the point where the deeper bass notes are sent to the sub woofer instead of the other speakers which aren't designed for those deep notes. So in my example, the frequencies higher then 120hz (or 150hz) will be sent to the speakers and everything lower will go to the sub. Sending the lower notes to a powered sub takes some of the strain off the receiver. In other words, there may have been several things conspiring together to finally send the 530 to the grave. A short in the wiring, speakers with a low impendance rating and trying to power the entire frequency range. But more than likely there was something wrong inside the receiver.

 

[keithl1967]

OK... Polk speakers were rc60i, and are 8 ohm speakers, handling up to 100 Watts... I do have a powered subwoofer in use as well... What is the ideal wattage per channel that Sorry for all the quesitons...still trying to make heads or tails out of this stuff...

 

[gene c]

Is it a powered subwoofer that has it's own internal amplifier or a passive one that's connected to the receiver with regular speaker wire? Actually wattage is about the least important spec to look at when matching a receiver to speakers. Most good quality speakers don't suffer damage from being over powered. It's distortion that causes most problems. With most receivers, 80% volume should be fine but I wouldn't crank it up all the way for very long. If you send the receivers amplifier into what's called "clipping" that's when the speakers are suceptible to damage. The Denon 1912 should be just fine with your speakers. Just use comon sence with the volume knob. The other thing to be concerned about is asking them to produce lower frequencies than they are capable of. That's where the crossover thing comes into play. The crossover in the receiver sends those potentially damaging low frequencies to the subwoofer that's designed to handle them. Your Polks have a listed response of 60-20K hz so I'd set the crossover on them to no lower than 80 with 100-120 even better. Bose doesn't list the specifications of their speakers anymore (too embarrassed probably ) but they have very small 2 3/4" drivers so 150 is probably best for them. Impendance is the most important. Most any receiver will safely power 6 or 8 ohm speakers. 4 ohm speakers should only be used with receivers that are rated for 4 ohms. This is particularly true with low to mid-range receivers. Higher end receivers with very strong amp sections have been used with 4 ohm speakers successfully. I hooked a Pioneer Elite 94txh up to Swan 4 ohm speakers for several months with no ill effect on the receiver. But I was feeling lucky back then.The Polks are 8 ohm so no problems. The Bose are also listed as compatible with with receivers listed as 4-8 ohms so I think you're O.K. there as well. In short, just about any receiver will work with your speakers. regardless of it's stated power output (most are optimistic anyway) if you hear the sound starting to distort then back off on the volume knob a bit.

 

[keithl1967]

awesome--starting to become clearer--thank you so much for your help. It is an active subwoofer...has it's own power supply and connects via RCA cable. How would I set the crossover ont he speakers--is that a Receiver setting that I will be able to adjust?

 

[gene c]

Yes, it's a receiver setting in the Speaker setup menu. Most new receivers, except the very entry-level models like the Denon 1312 and Onkyo 308, also have an automatic speaker setup and eq program like Audyssey but it usually sets the crossover too low. But you can go into the Setup menu after running the program and re-adjust things as necessary. Just a warning. Bose speakers aren't very well thought of on these types of forums. They used to make pretty good speakers a few years ago, and they pretty much pioneered the subwoofer/satillite speaker systems that are popular today, but most of them nowdays are a bit over-priced and under-performing compared to what else is available. Some people have very strong opinions about them. Be forwarned .

 

[keithl1967]

Thanks for the wanring on the Bose speakers, and for all the help...I know some of my questions are rudimentary. On the Bose, I did buy them based upon reviews I had read, and admittedly by brand-recognition--I got a GREAT deal on them, so i do not have a ton of $$$ into them. Quite frankly, I wold likely not have bought them for the suggested retail price, as it did seem quite high...Hopefully they will suit my needs. - As you can tell, while I would like a quality sounding system, I am also not looking at the "high-end" audiophile stuff...Mid-range is really where I am today. Anyway--thanks for letting me bend your ear (eyes, anyway)and for your quick responsiveness...stay tuned--there may be more questions to come! LOL

 

[gene c]

You haven't mentioned a center speaker yet. Have one? Gonna get one? Happy with just the two up front?

 

[keithl1967]

I am just going to re-use the Onkyo center speaker that I had (at least for the time being ...8 ohms, rated to 110 watts... It is the speaker that had come with above mentioned Onkyo receiver...

 

[keithl1967]

Hello again...Opinions: how does the Pioneer VSX40 stack up to the Denon AVR1912?

 

[gene c]

I think the vsx 40 is closely related to the standard Pioneer 821 so I would think 1912 would be quite a bit better. You would have to move up to the VSX 51 or the 1021 to have a comparable receiver.

 

[keithl1967]

as far as brand name, what is consensus "hierarchy," if you will (not that I buy on brand name, but reputation cold be the difference between similar machines!

 

[gene c]

It depends on who you ask. I have two Pioneer Elites but that's just because they work better for me. Something else might work better for you. Having said that, most people much prefer Audyssey, which comes on Marantz Denon and Onkyo receivers, over the other proprietary setup routines by Yamaha, Pioneer and Harman Kardon. I like to make a few eq adjustments after running the program so Pioneer was my choice. Here's my take: Harman Kardon: Very strong amp sections, EZSetEQ can be very effective if you give it a chance, good value when heavily discounted (2600 @ $389), good remotes, manuals and easy to setup and operate. Also, a few less features, QC was a little iffy for a while, usually a day late with the new features. EZSetEQ not user-adjustable. Excellent custome service. Most eunique looking receivers out there (I like them!). Denon: Excellent all-around receiver with solid performance. Good value and full featured, usually pretty reliable. Terrible manuals, a little more difficult for me to setup and operate, remotes better than they used to be. Marantz: Nearly the same as Denon. Almost inter-changable. Attractive and classy looking. Onkyo: Value leader. Always first to the party with the latest features. Good performance and easy to use. Not the best looking but who cares, right? Heat issues solved? worst customer service of the bunch. Pioneer: Solid receivers, easy to setup and operate, very clear and detailed sound, excellent reliability, 6 MCACC presets which memorize both eq and speaker volume settings for each preset (brilliant!), Dialog Enchancement pretty effective, a tweakers dream, Elites the best looking of the bunch (IMO). Only one crossover setting for all speaker groups, Not quite as strong as specs suggest (but strong enough for most anyone), MCACC doesn't eq the sub and not quite as effective as Audessey to most, No video processing through hdmi. Yamaha: Don't really know much about them. Pretty reliable and seems to be a great value. All brands have their fans but in reality, they're all good. Look for features and price. If you have 4 ohm speakers then you need to think about the amp section. Otherwise most any of them will drive 8 ohm speakers to ear-bleeding levels.

 

[keithl1967]

Thanks again for all of your help...just trying to figure the best out for me... I will likely stay away from Onkyo--my last one was under 5 years old when it quit...it wa snever quite right out of the box, having to turn it on at least twice (to get it to stay on) ever since brand new. I am researching the Pioneer, but am leaning toward the Denon because of teh Pandora funtionality...