Speaker ratings/receiver ratings (1 Viewer)

[Phil Thron]

I'm purchasing a new HT receiver. I live in an apartment and have speakers rated at 25-75W. I'm looking at the Yamaha HTR-5550 (or the 5540 but I like the extra inputs for the minimal extra money), which fits my budget and seems to be generally well-reviewed by the majority of folks who use it.

The specs on this receiver (from the Yamaha site) say:

POWER RATING 1kHz @ 8 OHMS 5 X 80 WATTS
POWER RATING 20Hz - 20kHz @ 8 OHMS 5 X 75 WATTS

I'm not sure of the difference here as relates to my speakers. But in either case, is it safe for my speakers to get this particular receiver, or am I running the risk of topping out what they can take?

Any input, as always, is appreciated...

 

[Michael R Price]

It's safe, don't worry about it. Just don't ask for more output than you can get from your speakers. If you hear distortion, turn it down.

 

[Phil Thron]

Thanks, Michael. Much obliged for the peace of mind.

 

[Arup]

Paul,

It is a bit confusing but Yamaha in this case means that the RMS power is 80x5 and this will be delivered at the rated frequency bandwidth.

Hope this helps. I wouldnt worry about it as the 80x5 rating is very conservative and Yamaha ususaly delivers more that what it rates.

 

[Michael R Price]

The key here is that it doesn't matter what the maximum power of your amplifier is. I have speakers that can take maybe 150 watts, and my amplifiers can produce at least 400 watts; it's no problem at all. Most people don't realize how little power it takes to get to pretty loud levels - watching a movie at reference level (pretty dang loud) with typical speakers takes up to a couple watts per channel average, and it's just the very loud parts that could get near the limits of the system. Even if you do clip your amp momentarily during an explosion or something and the power rating of your speakers is exceeded, it is unlikely that they will be damaged. To be safe though, always turn it down immediately if you hear any significant distortion. Good speakers and amplifiers should never sound "obviously" distorted.

 

[Phil Thron]

Excellent. I wasn't so much worried about getting hefty volume or power out of the system...my current receiver puts out about 50W per channel and I've always been pleased with the fidelity...but the pieces had been matched for me and I just wanted to make sure that a step up in wattage wasn't going to suddenly produce plumes of smoke the moment I turned it on.

Thanks a lot, guys.