Will Denon 5803 blow my Atlantic Tech System 370 speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Triad Caniac]

I currently have a Denon AVR 4800 receiver that drives my Atlantic Technology System 370THX 7.1 setup. The recommended power listed on the back of each speaker is between 10-150 watts. In Atl's literature it says 100-200WRMS. The 4800 delivers 125wpc to the 5.1 setup while the Denon 2 ch amp sends 120wpc to the back surrounds.

I am interested in upgrading to the Denon AVR 5803 to eliminate the Denon amp, and also to get rid of the DD demod I have since I could use the 5803 for that. Plus the DPLII, etc. is nice.

The 5803 is rated at 170 WPC. Would I damage my speakers if I bought the 5803? I don't go above -5 on the 4800 for listening, and I average around -10 to -15.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jarrett

 

[Sean M]

The short answer is no. Clipping presents the greatest danger to your speakers and it should be even less likely to occur with the 5803 than the 4802 + amp.

 

[Tony Meconiates]

blown speakers usually are the result of driving them with in inadequate source rather than driving them with too much juice.

 

[Jason P. Brett]

You'll only blow them if you play them too loud. The speakers will give you plenty of warning before something really bad happens. If it starts to sound nasty, you're either driving the amp into clipping or pushing the speakers past their excursion limits (or both). If this happens, back off on the volume. If everything sounds ok, it probably is. As one of the other guys mentioned, clipping is more likely to kill the speakers then too much power, so the bigger receiver's higher power rating is actually safer.

Jason

 

[Triad Caniac]

This is the reply I received from Atlantic Technology. So I assume from what everyone says that I'm ok with 5803 driving the System 370 because the 5803 is pretty clean for the system I'm using and I don't play it to the point of distortion. Does that sound right to you guys?

Thanks again for the help!

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Jarrett:

You can use the 5803 with the 370 System without a problem as long as you are operating the Denon within the limitations of amplifier. If you are playing the system too loud, the speakers are your first clue to the onset of distortion. The movie or music will become raspy and you may hear mechanical noise coming from the drivers.

Speakers are a slave device, that is they play whatever you send them. Unfortunately speakers can't distinguish between a clean signal and a distorted signal. If you drive the 5803 into distortion, the speakers will play the distortion resulting in damage to the voice coil and possibly to the amp. If you hear any sounds of distortion coming from the speakers turn down the system to avoid damage.

Dan Rosenberg

Atlantic Technology

 

[Aslam Imran]

You may only touch 170W for brief periods of time and most of the time be within 10-20 watts even at reference levels. Speakers can take more than 150% of their rated power for those brief periods without damaging themselves. So in short the answer is, no. You should be absolutely fine with the 5803.

 

[Michael Lee]

I have a 5803 hooked up to Atlantic Tech 450's. I have had no problems playing loud and clear stuff with no hint of distortion. I added external amps of 300 watts and that is not a problem either. I also had a 5800 hooked up to my older Atlantic Tech 350 system with no problems.

Beware the clipping of the smaller amps--that is the true problem.