Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 That's true. Something to consider for sure 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 One other thing is the heat that Onkyo's are notorious for. An external amp will help in that regard and add some longevity to the AVR. While an amp will help in that matter some, most of the heat is generated from the processor, video and audio. Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 The Onkyo does get pretty warm, even when just turned on with nothing playing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'm flying up tomorrow with wakejunkie. I'll see if he can help me rig up a few computer fans to heL pull the heat out of the unit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) They make cooling fans for audio equipment... I have seen some that look just like a laptop cooler, and you either plug them into the wall or a USB port. I think the biggie for you is you now have such efficient speakers that you will find external amps make little to no difference. In the past external amps were needed to get the sound you wanted but now will not be needed. I think you will find you could get away with way less power than you have in the past. Here is a little test for you... Get a Killawatt meter... Plug it into where you have your Onkyo plugged into and then plug the Onkyo into it. Now turn on the Onkyo and read how much power is being sucked up, then turn the volume up to where you usually listen and look at the power draw. In my setup without monitoring the subs the power draw is the same at idle as my normal listening levels (so this tells me my amps are just idling. If the amps are just idling along you have more power than you need already. In my setup I moved down to 25 wpch T chip amps (for my horns), and the power consumption still never changes. My 1/4 pie bass bins occasionally flash to indicate 1 wpch draw for the bass , and the subs are the same. Edited February 25, 2015 by ellisr63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 26, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 26, 2015 They make cooling fans for audio equipment... I have seen some that look just like a laptop cooler, and you either plug them into the wall or a USB port. Yes, I've seen these for $50 up to around $250. I'm guessing Wakejunkie and I can build one for around $10. I think the biggie for you is you now have such efficient speakers that you will find external amps make little to no difference. In the past external amps were needed to get the sound you wanted but now will not be needed. I think you will find you could get away with way less power than you have in the past. So far, the system sounds excellent with just the receiver. I'm just still curious if the Sherbourn will make much difference. Guess the only way to tell is to get it back from repair and see for myself. In my setup I moved down to 25 wpch T chip amps (for my horns), and the power consumption still never changes. My 1/4 pie bass bins occasionally flash to indicate 1 wpch draw for the bass , and the subs are the same. Still blows my mind that we can get incredible levels with very few watts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeskizzle Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 They make cooling fans for audio equipment... I have seen some that look just like a laptop cooler, and you either plug them into the wall or a USB port. I think the biggie for you is you now have such efficient speakers that you will find external amps make little to no difference. In the past external amps were needed to get the sound you wanted but now will not be needed. I think you will find you could get away with way less power than you have in the past. Here is a little test for you... Get a Killawatt meter... Plug it into where you have your Onkyo plugged into and then plug the Onkyo into it. Now turn on the Onkyo and read how much power is being sucked up, then turn the volume up to where you usually listen and look at the power draw. In my setup without monitoring the subs the power draw is the same at idle as my normal listening levels (so this tells me my amps are just idling. If the amps are just idling along you have more power than you need already. In my setup I moved down to 25 wpch T chip amps (for my horns), and the power consumption still never changes. My 1/4 pie bass bins occasionally flash to indicate 1 wpch draw for the bass , and the subs are the same. Ellisr63 - I've been curious to know how much power I'm using as well. Last night I purchased an "International P4400" from Newegg for $20 with free shipping. I'm not trying to start a whole internal amp vs. external amp debate. I have a brand new in the box Sherbourn 7X150 amp sitting in the original packaging. I'd just have to run some serious extension cords to different outlets that are on different breakers in the house (not my house so hard to modify). Some here swear by external amps while others can use a Denon 4520 and still blow eardrums. If nothing else, it'll be interesting to see what power I consume at idle vs the Hulk is gonna rip me apart. Feel free to comment - I'm still learning a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxr dad Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I like HK. Its been a few years since I had one but I did enjoy the one I had. Cant even remember the model but I remember it was more detailed than whatever I replaced it with. I know in the past, many people would overlook the HK simply due to watts/specs. They would see one rated at 60 or 80 watts and not even think about the HK. I beleive HK rated their AVR's as RMS but dont know if they still do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 27, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 27, 2015 Very nice comparison Youthman, it's always nice to read comparisons like this especially from you, because this is not the first time you have done it which makes it easier for us to judge the differences. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) They make cooling fans for audio equipment... I have seen some that look just like a laptop cooler, and you either plug them into the wall or a USB port. I think the biggie for you is you now have such efficient speakers that you will find external amps make little to no difference. In the past external amps were needed to get the sound you wanted but now will not be needed. I think you will find you could get away with way less power than you have in the past. Here is a little test for you... Get a Killawatt meter... Plug it into where you have your Onkyo plugged into and then plug the Onkyo into it. Now turn on the Onkyo and read how much power is being sucked up, then turn the volume up to where you usually listen and look at the power draw. In my setup without monitoring the subs the power draw is the same at idle as my normal listening levels (so this tells me my amps are just idling. If the amps are just idling along you have more power than you need already. In my setup I moved down to 25 wpch T chip amps (for my horns), and the power consumption still never changes. My 1/4 pie bass bins occasionally flash to indicate 1 wpch draw for the bass , and the subs are the same. Ellisr63 - I've been curious to know how much power I'm using as well. Last night I purchased an "International P4400" from Newegg for $20 with free shipping. I'm not trying to start a whole internal amp vs. external amp debate. I have a brand new in the box Sherbourn 7X150 amp sitting in the original packaging. I'd just have to run some serious extension cords to different outlets that are on different breakers in the house (not my house so hard to modify). Some here swear by external amps while others can use a Denon 4520 and still blow eardrums. If nothing else, it'll be interesting to see what power I consume at idle vs the Hulk is gonna rip me apart. Feel free to comment - I'm still learning a lot. I am not trying to start an argument either... I am just voicing my experience with La Scalas (and other high efficiency speakers) for everyone to comment on. Here is my point.... With La Scalas which are rated at 104db with 1 watt, and reference level being 105 on peaks how much power do you think Youthman needs? I say 10wpc is more than enough for him, and that is giving him plenty of headroom even at reference levels for the front 3 channels. If you check the power draw from the wall at idle, and then at your normal listening level and it doesn't go up... How many wpc do you think you are using since the amps are just idling? I think a lot of people are used to the big power needed for low efficiency speakers, and or large room. With La Scalas you don't need much power at all. If you want a separate amp because you can hear a deficiency in what you have then more power to you on getting a new power amp. Myself if I was in Youthmans situation... I would sell the external power amp, and take his family out to dinner with the saved money, or use the money elsewhere. Edited February 27, 2015 by ellisr63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 27, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm hanging out with wakejunkie and we spent 5hrs in the HT. I told him he does not need an amp with his setup. His receiver did an amazing job at powering 7 speakers to very high levels without breaking up. I'll post my thought on his setup in the Hanging Out with Wakejunkie thread tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 27, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted February 27, 2015 MXR DAD, yes, HK has always had low numbers (50-75 wpc) but when I worked at Circuit City, they would run circles around the Sony & Technic receivers that touted 100-120 wpc all day long. Thanks dtel. I really enjoy sharing with the klipsch community comparison threads. I'm not very technical and I'm surely not an audiophile. I just keep it simple 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelandKlipsch Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) I'm hanging out with wakejunkie and we spent 5hrs in the HT. I told him he does not need an amp with his setup. His receiver did an amazing job at powering 7 speakers to very high levels without breaking up. I'll post my thought on his setup in the Hanging Out with Wakejunkie thread tomorrow.There better be a hanging out with michael&klipsch thread one day lol. I'm not surprised by how your comparisons have come along. I wonder how a higher end HK would sound? I have never owned an HK but I really like neutral sounding gear and that is why I love the anthem d2v. I think the onkyo is another great product that I wish I kept with my 83s. I used to own the 808. Have a blast with wake! Edited February 27, 2015 by MichaelandKlipsch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japosey Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) One of my favorite receivers I've owned was an HK AVR-7300. It was wonderful. It was probably the most powerful receiver I ever owned. I believe the magazines reported actual output around 120 with 7 channels simultaneous. It was a great sounding receiver and only replaced it in order to add HDMI. I replaced it with an Onkyo TX-SR876. I had so many issues with this unit. From HDMI handshake to video locking up, that I replaced it within a two years. The Onkyo sounded fine, but I was really disappointed with the reliability. The person I sold it to emailed me six months down the road saying the amplifier failed. Since that time, I've been using a Yamaha RX-V3900 which I've never had an issue. Still miss the HK though. Edited February 28, 2015 by japosey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 6, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 6, 2015 The Onkyo sounded fine, but I was really disappointed with the reliability. Honestly, from what I've read, I don't expect much in the area of reliability. I may get 5 years, 5 weeks or 5 days out of it.....who knows. Like you, I've never had any issues with my HK AVR3600 or my previous Yamaha RX-V1800. Both are great receivers. Hopefully the Onkyo will be good to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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