Receiver Specs Question (1 Viewer)

[raptorspike]

So, I'm in the process of replacing my aging equipment. The new stuff is gear I can actually afford and get my hands on. The receiver, Sony's STR-DN1030, seems like the clear shot. But there is something the specs that confuses me as to whether this receiver pushes too much power to safely run the speakers i picked, a pair of Polk TSI100s. The official specs are:
8Ohms 1kHz : 110W + 110W
8Ohms 20-20kHz : 100W + 100W
Total : 1015W (145/ch x 7 (8 ?, 1kHz, 0.9% THD 1ch)
Now, for the smarter-than-me people: can this receiver run the speakers, which are rated up to 100W, without risk of blowout?

 

[Kevin Collins]

The reason you would blow out your speakers will be from having an amp that does NOT have enough power vs having an amp that has too much power. Speakers are going to blow faster when an underpowered amp starts clipping. So, you can never go wrong with too much power.

 

[gene c]

The Sony 1030 consumes 240 watts of power. Alowing for some of it to power the processing section and for in-effeciency/heat loss that leaves maybe 175 watts left to power the speakers (??). In order for it to be a true 100 X 7 it would need to pull way over 900 watts from the wall (again, ??).
As Kevin said, not enough power is worse than too much. This is because when you push an amplifer too hard it starts to clip which causes distortion. It's this distortion that causes damage most of the time. My guess is the amp section in that Sony isn't the greatest so be carefull with that volume control knob. Don't go more than 80% on the dial.
If you plan on using the Ts100's in stereo then set the speakers to Small in the setup menu and choose a crossover point of at least 40-50. Running them Full-Range might also damage The Ts100's by asking them to produce deep bass notes that they aren't capable of.
If you haven't already bought the Sony, give us a firm budget and any features you can't live without and maybe we can recommend some others to think about.

 

[raptorspike]

Well, I'm looking in the $400-600 range. Some of the features I'm looking for: 7.1 audio, component to HDMI, ipod playback, network connectivity and pandora playback. The ones that have really caught my eye are the Sony STR-DN1030, Pioneer VSX-1022, Onkyo TXNR-616 and the Yamaha RX-V673. Any pros or cons to these would be great.

 

[gene c]

The problems with Pioneer is they only allow one crossover setting for all speaker groups, they don't have on-screen text display for volume and other things like dsp changes and it's MCACC doesn't eq the subwoofer (or any frequencies below 63hz. The good things are good power output, many, many features and adjustments, a Pure Direct mode for analog lovers and it's MCACC has 6 presets. It's like having 6 seperate equilizers. These presets also remember speaker and subwoofer volumes. Pioneers are also the coolest running receivers I know of. They hardly work up a sweat. The 1022 consumes 520 watts.
The Onkyo 616 is a very nice and full featured receiver. I'm pretty sure it has OSD for volume adjustments but it's hard to say by reading the manual. Only bad things are it has the lesser Audyssey 2EQ instead of MultEQ XT and Onkyo's QC has been suspect lately with problems with the HDMI board. According to Sam they have 35% of the receiver market so there should be more problems reported. They used to run VERY hot a couple of yers ago but I think they run a bit cooler now. They also have a Direct mode but it doesn't seem as good as Pioneers (and Marantz's) Pure Direct. The 616 consumes 620 watts. Onkyo's also have very strong amp sections but I doubt you would notice the difference between the 1022, 616 and 673.
Yamaha is the only consumer level receiver I haven't owned yet so I can't comment on the 673 but other owners seem to be quite happy with them. They also only allow one crossover setting for all speaker groups. The 673 consumes 330 watts.
I suggest you down-load the manuals for all three and give them a quick going over. The Spec sheets or Brochures are also filled with good information.
Check Ac4l.com for excellent prices on Onkyo (and Denon/Marantz) factory refurbished receivers. They come with a one year warranty but extended warranties are available. Products under $500 3 years is $35 and 5 years is $50. A refurbed 616 is $299 + shipping. JR.com has new 616's for $399.
I'd take the 1022 for it's flexible MCACC and Pure Direct mode but most others would probably say the 616.

 

[derrickdj1]

Pioneer has one xo for all speakers due to their empahsis on phase control which has a lot to do with the synergy of the system. They are also big on bass management and the universal xo works well. Setting individual xo's is a consumer demand thing and dose not necessarily relate to better sound. Pioneer uses filters for the sub, standing wave control and reverb. This is another way to get good SQ from the sub vs separate sub EQ. I have had two Denon's and the Pioneer made the system SQ better than the Denon's. This worked for me and is not a bash of Denon. The room plays a major factor is good SQ and I like the system synergy. Last but not least can you hear a difference in a xo of 70 vs 80 or 60 vs 50 ?

 

[gene c]

I always try and set the crossover to the same settings for all speakers, even if the receiver allows for different settings. I only mention the single crossover setting for those who have large speakers for fronts and small satellite speakers for surrounds.
I also like the way my subs sound with a Pioneer receiver, even withh MCACC turned off. But as you said, consumer demand expects subwoofer eq and quadruple crossover settings. They're disappointed to find they are not available. And depending on the quality, size and location of the front speakers and the subwoofer(s), yes, I feel I can hear a difference between the various crossover settings, which is why I wish Pioneer would offer more choices. If you're only going to allow one crossover setting for all speaker groups then they should at least offer more choices. My 4 year old vsx-23 only offers 50, 80, 100, 150 and 200. I'd like to at least have have 60, and 120 as options as well. The more options you have the better you can dial in the correct setting.
As I've said many times in the past, there is no perfect receiver. But Pioneer comes the closest for me, They're "usability" just works better for me. Other brands may work better for other members.

 

[derrickdj1]

I have Klipsch RF 7, RC 64 and their surronds in a 9.2 setup. I set all the speakers to small. The RF 7 (90 lb ea.) and the RC 64 (61 lb) both benefit from bass mangement from the Pioneer avr. These speakers are rate up to 1000 watts and 800 watts respectively. I have ran these speakers set on Large in the avr and, the sound quality is better with them set to small. The RF 7's have 10in. woofers that cannot produce better bass than my subs. Using a xo of 80 or 100 should work for most people unless they have an unusal setup. THX also favors a single xo due to some ot the reasons I have alread eluded to.