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Rf 62 ii distortion


Maineman73

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Hello! 

I just picked up a pair of gently used RF 62 iis...I have them hooked up to my Onkyo tx Sr 444 AV reciever...I was amazed at the sound these speakers put out...and of course wanted to see what they were capable of...I cranked up the volume and got to a point where the speakers got really distorted....I had it set on stereo...listening to pandora thru bluetooth on my phone...did I get ripped off or is it because my receiver isn't powerful enough??? I mean it was loud before it got a lot of distortion. ..

Thanks for any info !

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Welcome to the forum. You may have found the limits of your AVR but first I would use an SPL app or purchase a meter to find out how loud you listen to your favorite material and at what SPL you start to hear distortion. Another thing could be your settings. Also, are you running a sub and do you set a crossover point in your bass mgmt.? 

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1 hour ago, Maineman73 said:

Thanks for the reply....I was wondering if it was my receiver. ...I just looked at the specs it's a 7.1 capable ...w 100 w per channel....looks like I need to find one w 125+ per channel then????

Most receiver specs are grossly overrated.  You might look at an outboard amp if your receiver has pre-outs.

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1 hour ago, Maineman73 said:

Thanks for the reply....I was wondering if it was my receiver. ...I just looked at the specs it's a 7.1 capable ...w 100 w per channel....looks like I need to find one w 125+ per channel then????

Amplifier Output Details

100 Watt - 6 Ohm - at 1 kHz - THD 1% - 1 channels
 
More like
65w (20-20kHz, 0.7%, 8 Ohms, 2ch driven, FTC)
 
Bill
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1 minute ago, adam2434 said:

How loud is "loud" in terms of SPL and distance from the speakers?

 

It should only take about 30 clean w/ch to achieve peaks over 100 dB at 10 feet with your speakers.  That's fairly loud.

 

 

 

 

I dunno....There are different calculators out there but my guess is his speakers would be hard pressed to hit anywhere near 100 dBs cleanly. That said, 100 dBs IS loud and to achieve lower end slam at that level a subwoofer is a must.

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If the OP "upgrades" from 100W/ch. to 125W/ch. they won't see diddly in terms of increased acoustic output.

 

I'd first try using another audio source: CD vs. streaming, for instance. Although I don't think that's the cause, it has to be eliminated as a possibility.

 

I'm inclined to agree with Zen Traveler; most people crank the volume when in fact, they're looking for more low end. A subwoofer is usually a better treatment than more power.

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3 hours ago, Zen Traveler said:

I dunno....There are different calculators out there but my guess is his speakers would be hard pressed to hit anywhere near 100 dBs cleanly. That said, 100 dBs IS loud and to achieve lower end slam at that level a subwoofer is a must.

 

Yeah, there are really 2 questions at play here.

 

1) Does the amp have enough power for the speakers to hit a certain SPL without excessive amplifier distortion?

 

2) Assuming the amp has enough power, are the speakers capable of producing the SPL level without excessive speaker distortion?

 

My comment was related to 1).  Assuming the speakers are capable of producing 100 dB peaks at 10 feet (just through that out there as an arbitrary number), the calculator I use indicates that 30 w/ch should suffice.  If the speakers simply can't handle that SPL with clean power, turn it down, or off-load the high woofer excursion with a sub or subs.

 

I've heard distortion from both scenarios - an amp that could not keep up, and speakers that could not keep up as the SPL increases.

 

Not sure which is the case here.

 

 

 

 

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23 hours ago, Maineman73 said:

Hello! 

I just picked up a pair of gently used RF 62 iis...I have them hooked up to my Onkyo tx Sr 444 AV reciever...I was amazed at the sound these speakers put out...and of course wanted to see what they were capable of...I cranked up the volume and got to a point where the speakers got really distorted....I had it set on stereo...listening to pandora thru bluetooth on my phone...did I get ripped off or is it because my receiver isn't powerful enough??? I mean it was loud before it got a lot of distortion. ..

Thanks for any info !

 

Since you have a entry level Onkyo, I'd replace it.

Also watch the loudness, when it starts to distort, you ran out of power

and could burn your speakers up.

If you're on the cheap try Accessories4less for a refub unit or buy new for full price.

I have a Denon, not a big room, but mine can get very very loud without distortion.

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/receivers-amps/home-theater-receivers/1.html

follow this link.

Try a different brand.

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2 minutes ago, Maineman73 said:

Should I look for one that has 125w per channel? 

You need to read through all of the "fluff" in the specs and determine real world power.

 

Make sure that the AVR specs you go by are wattage/channel with a minimum 2 channels driven at 8ohms, 20Hz to 20kHz, at .1%THD or less. 

None of this ***watts/channel at 6ohms with 1 channel driven at 1Khz at 1%THD.

 

For example with a higher end AVR

 

NAD T787 power specs

Number of Amp Channels: 7
Rated Power (Watts per Channel): 150 into 8 ohms, two channels driven @<0.08%THD
120 into 8 ohms, seven channels driven
Specified Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.8 dB
 
Bill
 

 

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12 hours ago, Peter P. said:

If the OP "upgrades" from 100W/ch. to 125W/ch. they won't see diddly in terms of increased acoustic output.

 

I'd first try using another audio source: CD vs. streaming, for instance. Although I don't think that's the cause, it has to be eliminated as a possibility.

Agree with your assessment on power,  100 watts is plenty and you would have to double the watts to 200 wpc to get another 3 db.

 

I don't think the AVR is the problem, and I certainly don't think the speakers are the problem.  They are known for low distortion.

 

When I saw the original post and the source was Pandora through Bluetooth I immediately thought "there's your distortion."  Pandora is not a high quality source and transmitting through Bluetooth is worse.  Those are convenient and they sound OK at lower listening levels but you can find their limits very quickly.

 

@Maineman73 you can test that theory as Peter suggested, try a wired connection using high quality source, such as a good CD (most CD's are compressed IMO so used a known good one) and see if the distortion is gone. 

 

Or if you want to determine the exact cause of the distortion, use Pandora directly wired, by-passing Bluetooth.  I think you will hear the big clean sound Klipsch is known for.

 

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Also I notice this with different sources, the input line volume can vary greatly, the Bluetooth connection could be sending a very low signal not letting the receiver act normally and need to be turned very high to get any decent output ? 

 

I would try other things not Bluetooth but wired as WVU80 said before thinking about replacing anything, there is no reason even a receiver with 50 real wpc wouldn't make it play louder then needed in most cases.

 

 

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On ‎9‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 9:26 AM, Maineman73 said:

Should I look for one that has 125w per channel? 

 

No.  It won't make any difference.  It isn't like a car engine with 100 horsepower being modified to add an additional 25 horsepower.  Obviously in that case there would be a significant performance increase.  It would be more like having a car speedometer that displays a max speed of 100mph and replacing it with one that displays a max speed of 125mph.

 

Upgrade your speakers or get a separate dedicated amplifier if you have pre-amp outputs on your receiver for one.

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3 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

Upgrade your speakers or get a separate dedicated amplifier if you have pre-amp outputs on your receiver for one.

I've never heard of anybody with RF-63's  RF-62 II's complain of distortion, they are thought of very highly.  Every speaker has its limit but the RF-63's should be able to get deafening loud with a 100 watt AVR without distortion.

 

I am thinking the RF-63's are playing the distorted source signal they're being given.  @Maineman73 is going to have to isolate his source material to find out for sure.  It will take some work but I think the source of the distortion can be identified.

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2 hours ago, willland said:

Not RF-63's but RF-62II's

 

Even then if the OP is powering them with "less than ideal" power and at high levels, distortion may be on the menu. 

Thanks for the correction.  👍

 

You might be right.  I've heard of people really liking the 63's but I don't think I've heard much if anything about the 62 II's.

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