Jump to content

Power handling of speakers and receiver output question


Bmvanthiel

Recommended Posts

If a receiver is rated at 110 WPC x 7 and is connected to a speaker that has a power handling spec of 75W/300W, could the receiver potentially damage the speaker(s) if the volume is too high?  

 

For more specific details, I have a Pioneer VSX-32 receiver.  For speakers, I have 3 Klipsch RP-640D speakers for the fronts, Klipsch CDT-5800 for surrounds, and the Klipsch R-100SW for a sub. 

 

I want to make sure if I really cranked up my system that the speakers could not be potentially damaged but I do not fully understand the power handling spec rating.  

 

Thanks

Edited by Bmvanthiel
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with billybob. To protect your speakers, you can always add a fuse in-line with the speaker wire. Using Ohm's Law, you can calculate the maximum current the speaker can handle and insert a fuse rated for that current rating or slightly lower. You already know the power in watts the speaker is rated for. The speaker likely has its impedance in ohms listed on the back. Divide your 75W by the impedance rating of the speaker. Let's say that impedance is a typical 8 ohms. 75 / 8 = 9.375. Take the square root of 9.375 and the result is a 3A fuse.

 

As a simple experiment, you could fuse your speakers with a 2A fuse and discover one blows well before the speakers reach their max volume.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Bmvanthiel said:

For more specific details, I have a Pioneer VSX-32 receiver. 

 

The maximum output of that AVR with all channels driven is 57WPC, not 110.  It is capable of delivering 110WPC into 2 channels.  It's maximum power output is 400W total, so it's WPC will not exceed the value of 400W.

 

Otherwise, like others have said, you will be hard pressed to damage your speakers with that configuration.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies and information. 

 

On my receiver, I have a setting in place that allows the max volume to be -10DB so it's not completely maxing everything out.   I basically have this in place for those social days when people are over and someone(or me) gets a little over eager with wanting things real loud.

 

Yesterday the volume was cranked up on the system to -10db.  On my center channel speaker, which is the Klipsch RP-640D, a "snapping" sound could be heard at certain points in the song when heavy bass would kick in.   The speakers are set to small and I have a sub in place.   The song is a rap song w/a lot of bass, Juicy J - For Everybody.   

 

I've never heard this issue before although not a lot of rap is usually played on my system.  And I have only had these speakers for about 4 months.  After hearing this, I obviously turned down the volume but was quite surprised it could have happened given the volume limit I have in place, my receiver power, and quality speakers in place.   With the volume a little lower, the issue does not occur.  I'm currently going through my settings to see if there is something else possibly causing it as well. 

Edited by Bmvanthiel
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Bmvanthiel said:

Yesterday the volume was cranked up on the system to -10db.  ...

What you're hearing is the cone reaching the limit of its excursion and to the speaker it looks like it's seeing a very high DC voltage. And that's bad.

 

Setting your center channel speaker up for "Small" is a start. If you can specify the high pass frequency going to your center channel, I would increase it to a higher frequency. If there's a way to reduce the level of only the center channel, that's where I would make an adjustment. Otherwise you may have to find a center channel speaker with a higher power handling capability, or somehow turn the center channel off when playing music.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This seems like a good time to also remind people and learn that there is a difference between power and clean power.  One of the biggest reasons I tried so hard to get away from AVR's was that so few of them delivered good clean power without bleeding into the pre/pro pricepoint - and the ones that did meet the requirement tended to slack in other ways.

 

As for your specific situation, Peter brings up a good point, and it ties in with what I mentioned about 2 channels delivering 110WPC rather than all 7.  You're much better off to drive music into 2 channels than 7 in an AVR configuration if you plan on playing at high levels for long periods of time.  It can help reduce the risk of those issues exponentially. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

As the saying goes, "Keep the drunk away from the volume control."  Sending too much power to speakers is bad, but generally speaking, it's a bad idea to turn the volume very high, with any power source, because a low-powered amplifier, including some in AVRs, can be driven into clipping.  This is a situation in which the amplifier can start to put out a type of distortion that's very damaging to speakers.  This is why most speaker manufacturers recommend that your amplifier has double the power that the speakers are rated for.  This will ensure that the amplifier is working in its clean operating range, producing a minimum of distortion, with very little likelihood of clipping.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...