Receiver and Speaker match (1 Viewer)

[Omard.]

I was wondering if my receiver is to powerful for my speakers. I have a Onkyo 601 and my speakers are Bose 301 from about 4 years ago. Is there any problem with this combo?

 

[Yogi]

There is nothing like too much power. The more power you have the safer your speakers are as they will be assured of clean power from a super powered amp rather than distorted power from a low powered amp (pushed to its limit). And its distortion that kills your drivers not too much power. Also the only drawback I see in this combination is that both of them i.e, the receiver and the speaker tend to be bright and so you might get tired of the sound pretty soon so I would suggest mating your speakers with something warmer sounding like Marantz or HK or on the flip side try mating your Onkyo with a more laid back sounding speaker like the ones from Vienna Acoustics (my favourite brand) or Von Schweikert.

My 2 green cents.

 

[JeremyR]

I've yet to hear a "bright" Bose speaker. They all, in fact, sound dull and lacking in the top end to me.

 

[Omard.]

Sorry for being such a neewbie but what do you guys mean by "bright"?

 

[JeremyR]

Bright and warm are words thrown around pretty freely around here. Problem is that it's all opinion. I personally enjoy my Paradigm speakers, but some people accuse them of being bright, whereas many Paradigm owners find them to simply be detailed. Bright would basically mean you have an extended, more detailed high end. (More treble). Some people find these to hurt their ears after some time. So they go after a warmer sound (less high end or treble), such as Boston Acoustics. But Boston's, though a great sounding speaker, are too warm sounding to me. So you have to use your ear to make up that decision.

I've always found Bose to be very warm sounding, with a very strong midrange at the expense of (IMO) any quality high-end. Personally, I would definitely pair those Bose up with something more along the lines of Onkyo or Yamaha which supposedly are brighter sounding receivers. But again, only you can decide that.

 

[Omard.]

So all in all it's an ok match and I won't hurt my speakers?

 

[Yogi]

All I remember from testing my friends Jewel cube speakers' in room response (with an SPL meter and a warble tone CD from 20-20KHz) is that they had accentuated treble and a one note bass hump (@120Hz) and a big hole in the midrange from about 200Hz to 2Khz. So I highly doubt that the Bose's have a strong (AKA forward) midrange. But again the 301's might be completely opposite.

Also Paradigm personally is one of my favourite speaker brands even though I consider it slightly forward to neutral. You should listen to them with tubed electronics they just sound heavenly. One of the truly high value speakers out there in the market.

 

[Omard.]

Thanks for the replys. This is why I love this forum. I have had these Bose for about four years before I had any clue about this forum and Home Theater. I fell into the hype about Bose and thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. After being a member of this forum I have come to realize that Bose is not worthy of the hype. They are not even a choice for future upgrade ideas. Thanks again.

 

[JeremyR]

You're definitely right Yogi.. the cubes don't have any midrange to my ears. Though, again I'm not sure I'd ever define them as "bright" though I hear where you're coming from that the sound is piercing. Yet it really lacks any detailed high end. I'm not exactly sure how I'd define the sound they produce...

The 301's definitely have a totally different sound than the cubes do. It is much warmer, and there's a very decent amount of midrange, but again, like the cubes, they lack any detail.

I tell you what Omard, this is a suggestion I see on this forum from people that know much more than me. Apparently Bose draws alot of interest on ebay, and fetch's a pretty penny. You could certainly always look into selling them and replacing them. It would of course depend on your funds, and if you could get enough for them. But it might be worth a shot. I tell you what.. head over to a Paradigm dealer (if you dare to hear a REAL speaker ) and listen to a pair of Atoms or Titans. But after 4 years of living with Bose, you might not make it out of the store without a pair, or even several for HT use....

 

[Omard.]

Thanks for the advice. I will look at ebay. And I have been to a local HT store and listened a pair of the new Paradigm and WOW they are great. Unfortunately my wife does not think HT is at all worth the money I have spend, and I have not spent much at all. So all upgrades have to be cheap which sucks.

 

[Yogi]

Neither do I. Thats a good way to put it

Omard, Paradigm wont cost you an arm and a leg and still sound excellent compared to some of the exotic high end stuff out there.