Receiver power (1 Viewer)

[Travis_R]

how powerful of a reciever should i get, I am probably going to get a Harmon Kardon, the room my theater will be in is approx 16x28 it will be a 7.1 system whatever I get, just wanted to know about how powerful I want each channel to be, I will most likely be going with Paradigm speakers or Klipsch

 

[JohnSmith]

Hard to say- but this should help..

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html

 

[John Garcia]

The difference between Paradigm speakers and Klipsch will be pretty big, as nearly all the Klipsch will be more sensitive than the 'digms and require less power to hit the same SPLs in this room. For a room that size, you are probably going to want to look for something with at least an honest 100wpc, all channels driven, in the $700-$1000 (MSRP) range. If you go Klipsch, you might be able to step down a bit in price range. IMO, the 'digms with a little lower sensitivity and a more powerful amp will sound better, but then I am also not a fan of the Klipsch sound.

 

[Drew_W]

The difference is going to be nearly 10dB with the same wattage input between the Paradigms and the Klipsch. And they have very different sonic signatures as well. Sound quality is much more important than wattage, which is all rated using some tool that automatically rounds everything to nice numbers that are 99% of the time divisible by 5 (sometimes even 10 too!).

And there is no formula. I'm sure your dealer could offer more specific advice when you buy your speakers. Besides, you'll be auditioning them as driven with some receiver/amp anyways...the amps coutn towards sonic quality as well...

 

[Travis_R]

Thanks guys

 

[Tim O...]

Bear in mind too Travis, that HK underrates their receivers. There are comparative websites that list real world measurements of all the popular brands which you may have seen (I tried to insert a link to one here but this Draconian message board software won't let me; do a search on Area51 AND receivers and you'll get it. It's a geocities site). Although HK doesn't have a lot of models on that site, they're all accurately or under- rated.

I have an AVR 525 in a 18x22x8' room with huge openings to other large rooms, and it was a monumental jump from my previous entry level Sony in terms of both SPLs and quality. I'm running Athena Audition Series, whose sensitivities range from 89-92, and it has no trouble driving them even though it's "only" rated at 70wpc in 7.1 mode. Even with those large openings to other rooms, I'm never able to watch movies at reference, except for perhaps 2-3 minutes at a time.

Obviously if you can afford a 7200 or the newer 7300 (about which I admittedly know little, but I believe it's at least 100 wpc), then go for it. But for the price difference, I doubt you'd ever run out of gas with a 630 or 525, maybe even a 430 or 325. This is definitely so if you opt for the Klipsch's. On that note, do a search here and in AVS Forum and Home Theater Spot, and you'll find that several HK/Klipsch owners report that these receivers are a terrific match for Klipsch's, with the former's warmth taming the latter's purported brightness.

 

[Drew_W]

I run the Audition series as well in my theatre, and I tried running them with my H/K 225 to no avail. Not enough oomph. The 525 is probably a good match for it, the 7200 even better. I went for a Pioneer Elite 53TX though, and the THX feature smooths those speakers out even more which is nice.

There is no doubt in my mind that Klipsch and H/K will work well together. I doubt though that the H/K will be enough for the Studios. Those are power hungry little buggers, especially if you're running them all the way around.

What's your budget?