Hey I am new to the world of home audio.At Christmas time I purchased a pair of rf-82 fronts,an rc-62 centre,a pair of rs-45 surrounds and a Martin Logan sub.I also had a Yamaha HTR-5063 receiver bought for me.The sound is great but at high volume the receiver is overheating and shutting off.I  have left lots of space above the receiver but it didnt help.Do you think the receiver is not powerfull enough for the system and will the shutting off damage the speakers.Please advise ...thanks

Check for stray wires that may cause a short in your system.

derrickdj1:

Check for stray wires that may cause a short in your system.

 

+1

Better yet, get banana plugs from monoprice and never worry about stray/loose wires again.

I am not familiar with that receiver, but I think the Yamaha HTR line is the lesser quality line, so if could be that the receiver just isn't up to putting out high volume for continuous periods.  That is my guess. The receiver shutting down shouldn't hurt the speakers, but continually overstressing the receiver will cook the receiver, and using inadequate amps underpowering speakers can hurt them.

If you did not find any stray wires, then it is most likely the avr.  The RF 82's and your other speakers need a little juice; and in a HT setup the amp power drop off at higher volume is just not keeping up.You may try another avr or add a separated amp for one or two pair of speakers to give you more reserve power.  Good luck!:

RF82 have pretty demanding impedance dips down low.  You could need a receiver/amp with more balls to get to the desired spl. 

If the Yamaha has an impedance select switch set in the low impedance position, consider moving it to the "8 ohm" setting.  The low impedance setting will cause clipping at much lower output and severely hamstring the amp from delivering the goods, and may even be responsible for triggering the receiver's thermal protection.   

That receiver is rated at 90w and .09% THD. But Yamaha's site only said that was with 1 channel driven. I really hope that it's not dividing 90w between all 7.1 channels. That would be absurd.

Here's the LINK.

FWIW - I have a Pioneer ELITE VSX-49TXI that is pretty beefy (160 wpc @ 6 ohm) and it get's a bit warm-ish too even at lower levels.

I have a Yamaha RX-V665 and when I really pushed the avr it clipped ,shut down then came back.This is their protection curcuit feature that really does it's job.What's so disappointing is that thinking 90 wpc would be enough to push to any level.I was wrong and then went to a 2-chl system where I can go to the extremes if I want to.You will not damage the speakers as I said it's for your sytems' protection.As many have done here you might want to look at an external amp to power those speakers if your model has pre-outs and use the avr as a pre/amp

If that receiver is being used to drive more than two channels, it likely puts out about 25-35 watts with minimal current.

This is not a good match for demanding speakers or using more than two channels.  Yamaha typically states their output (particularly this unit since it is rated at 1Khz) very optimistically.  If you read Hometheater you will see typically their better receivers put out about 1/2 driving multi-channel.

Most likely the receiver is being pushed too hard for it's capability

 the power supply is rated for 630 watts continuous with 7 channels at 90 watts per channel.  Plenty of power.  I would check your speakers to determine what and where their impedance dip is.  My bet, is that the speakers dip below 4 ohms and your receiver can not handle impedance's below 4 ohms.

 

irishian:

Hey I am new to the world of home audio.At Christmas time I purchased a pair of rf-82 fronts,an rc-62 centre,a pair of rs-45 surrounds and a Martin Logan sub.I also had a Yamaha HTR-5063 receiver bought for me.The sound is great but at high volume the receiver is overheating and shutting off.I  have left lots of space above the receiver but it didnt help.Do you think the receiver is not powerfull enough for the system and will the shutting off damage the speakers.Please advise ...thanks

After checking to make sure there are no stray wires, the cheapest way is to have a friend bring over a high end AVR (since you are doing an ht 7.1 setup) and try it out. If your problem disappears, you know the yummy you have just can't drive the speakers. If there is still a problem, there is a speaker fault . . . Just unplug a pair of speakers at a time to isolate the single or pair overloading. Make sure to Power off the AVR when hooking and unhooking speakers. Cost? Free. If it is the AVR, then you would have to move to a separate amp . . . My guess would be on the RF82s . . . Or, look for a good used high end receiver if you can't buy new and sell the hammy to someone else. Cost? Finding a good buy takes time. But for nearly half off MSRP, then Denon 4311 is amazing for HT. there are better options for just music . . . Others can chime in, and we don't want to turn your thread into a "which receiver to buy"--there are other great forums for that. My answer is just to help with a quick, unsophisticated way to check if you have an AVR problem or a speaker problem. Hope it works out for you....nothing worse than when great equipment isn't operating right.

speakerfritz:

 the power supply is rated for 630 watts continuous with 7 channels at 90 watts per channel.  Plenty of power.  I would check your speakers to determine what and where their impedance dip is.  My bet, is that the speakers dip below 4 ohms and your receiver can not handle impedance's below 4 ohms.

 

 

You are right with the impedance though power will only be 90 watts (1Khz) with two channels driven.  That said in 2 channel, there should be plenty of power if current is available.

I have not been very impressed with Yamaha's power ratings as of late likely due to the power supply.  Test results show a lack of drive especially in multi-channel (also will likely equate to current) otherwise I would have bought one by now.  

Adding the subwoofer into the mix and not having the phase and location correct can rob precious power because the woofes in the towers and sub will fight each other in the frequency area where the speakers eat the current.  Size of room and location will also play factors but unless there is a short in the wiring, the receiver can't take the load for the loudness being asked of it.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice.It is looking as if my receiver just cant handle the job.It is a drag as it is only three months old.Looks like I had better start saving again..

How is a sub taking power from the mains?  There can be phase issues if the mains are set to large and plus the sub.  Subs will generally enhance a system.  Since the the mains and other speakers can't be moved around very much, that is why room placement of the sub is so important.  The powered sub only receive a line input from the avr so the sub is running of of it's own amp.  Setting all speakers to small will give you simpler and in most cases better bass management.  A good sub should handel the bass better than tower speakers set to large.

How is a sub taking power from the mains?  There can be phase issues if the mains are set to large or large plus the sub.  Subs will generally enhance a system.  Since the the mains and other speakers can't be moved around very much, that is why room placement of the sub is so important.  The powered sub only receive a line input signal from the avr so the sub is running off of it's own amp and not draining the avr..  Setting all speakers to small will give you simpler and in most cases better bass management.  A good sub should handel the bass better than tower speakers set to large.