Studio 100's + 200WPC....a must? (1 Viewer)

[Mike_T_]

I have the Studio 100's v2 and am powering them with a Yamaha RX-v795 85wpc Receiver. They sound fantastic no question about it, but it seems EVERYONE understands that they need 150-200wpc to really get your money's worth. My question is, has anyone gone from a receiver's MINUTE power such as 85wpc to a seperate amp in the suggested power range? I'm constantly worried about sending unclean power and sound to them at higher bass and volume settings and causing damage. Also, how can you really tell when your pushing them too much? I like to turn down my PS-100 sub and direct all of the bass to the mains when listening to music. Even with 85wpc I can get some incredible bass, but...the paranoia trumps the enjoyment
Thanks for any advice/info!!!
P.S. I'm dying to get a nice amp, but I'm going to be paying off the mains and center for a while! I've heard Parasound amps are a good match.. I can get a 5 channel 150wpc Ultra THX Marantz 9000 for $750...it's a store demo.

 

[Tony Meconiates]

HT is addictive man... I say the hell with it and get the amp Maybe you should not listen to me because I just spent 3K in the last week:
Studio 40's w/rosewood veneer + premier stands
Studio CC's
PW 2200
Denon 3300
Component AV rack (Studio Tech Model A-4)
Air Purifier: Bionaire 1300 (I have a dust problem)
With regards to bass, 85 pwc is definitely not enough to realize the bass potential of the 100's.. If I were you and was buying an amp, I would not settle for less than 200 WPC for the 100's.

 

[KeithR]

You could run 100s with a 50 watt tube amp, and make them more musical at the same time.

Watts are all different...

 

[Mike_T_]

Oh I think I've spent my share already in HT! But you're right, I need MORE! The ONLY way I'll be completely satisfied is when I upgrade to seperates from my yamaha.

Now, you say all watts are different, but would that 50wpc tube drive the Paradigms with as much bass, authority? Or would they just sound nice at low to medium volumes?

 

[Mike Thomas]

Mike,

I to just recently purchased the Paradigm Ref.100's cc and 20's with servo 15. I am using a Denon 5700 to run everything at 140w x 5. This is still nowhere enough fro the 100's but still sound great.

Wednesday I ordered the ATI 2505 amp 250 w x 5 for my first step into seperates. I will be using the Denon 5700 as a pre/pro for now. They called this morning and told me my amp was shipped in today and I could pick it up. Mike at ATI told me he would overnight ship and he did, no cost to me. I will let you know on Monday what happens after I hook it up and listen this weekend.

The Paradigms need power!

Mike Thomas

 

[Mike_T_]

Wow, the Denon is still close to twice as much as the rated power of my Yammy, which I'm sure makes a difference, especially considering your Receiver puts out better sound regardless. It will be great to hear how that BEAST of an amp sounds. I've thought about purchasing an Amp knowing full well I won't keep it, just to hook it up for a week and see how it sounds, and then return it..but I was raised Catholic and I have a stupid conscious.

I just don't like having killer speakers like these and not the ability to hear their full potential. It's like having a progressive scan dvd player connected to a 17" black and white tv in your kitchen. Well, not that bad but, my point was made I'm sure!

Thanks again!

 

[Louis D]

On that note, what about the studio 80's? Seperate amp for them, if I am running a max 125pc from my denon (more like 105). Any ideas anyone.

 

[Joe Bauman]

Here is one for ya. I have a pair of studio 60' powered by a 100 watt receiver. It sounded good but I felt it was missing something so I purchased a Rotel 1080 ($850 - $950, 200 watts x 2). I am impressed with this upgrade and I do not have buyers remorse. Gave the sound a whole new dimesion. I bet you would be surprized at the difference you would experiance going from your 85 watts per channel receiver to 200 watts from a power amp.

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

Since you're planning to buy a subwoofer with those RS100s, what are you going to use as the crossover? If the crossover is at 80Hz, then your current receiver will be adequate. If you are going to do music w/o subwoofer with the 100s set to Large (i.e. full range) then you'll want a dedicated high power amp.
If you're planning to run the mains as large AND use the sub then, well, you've got bigger problems
--steve

 

[RicP]

Watts are all different... .

Well, no they're not, watts are all the same. That's why they're a standard measure of electrical property. Would you say that Kilometers are all different? Volts are all different? Pounds are all different? No. That's why they're standard units of measure.
The Studio 100s really need a lot of power to drive them properly. They are not superefficient and they dip down close to 2 ohms during some passages. Anything less than a 200w amp isn't using everything that the 100s are capable of.

 

[Mike_T_]

One last question....

IS there going to be a HUGE difference between a Parasound with 140 wpc and one with 200+ watts? There are two models I like and one of them puts out 220 wpc which is A LOT. I'm just wondering if I would eventually wish I went for the big dog instead of settling with 140wpc. We're only talking 80 watts here, but that might be huge!

 

[Thomas_Berg]

see if you can test them out for yourself. wattage is REALLY overrated, so you need to see what happens when both of them drive your towers. ~140 clean wpc from a good company like Parasound should do you just fine, but i'd go ahead and try the 220 wpc amp if you can.

 

[Daniel_M]

I've got Studio 100's running off a

5ch Bryston HT amp @ 120 watts per.

With movies the Bryston is ok although

the red overdrive lights (not enough

power to the speakers) go on during some EFX

scenes. Music is a whole different story though.

I'm constantly getting red light warnings

from the Bryston. The 100's are always starved for

power.

About a year ago I tried out a Cinepro 3k6III

@ 400 watts per ch. The difference was almost beyond

description. My friend, who is very knowlegeable

about speakers (he used to build them) had chided

me about going with Paradigm but he was blown away by the

quality of the speakers when they were driven with

a decent amount of power.

For music at least, I.M.O. the Studio 100's

need AT LEAST 200 watts.

I've been saving up for a new amp since that day

we did our little "test" and I'm almost there.

Paradigms are a fantastic speaker for the money.