Speaker /receiver power ratings

[JetJockey]

Hello ladies and gents,

I am ready to take the plunge and buy my new Klipsch floortanders. After reading the power amplification speaker matching segment on the Klipsch website i would like to make sure i am ok with my receiver. They refer to possible clipping and speaker damage. I am not a newbie at HT but I thought i would be able to hear this as distortion?

I have a Yamaha RX-v2500 rated at 130 watts RMS, dedicated HT @ 25x15.5' and studio like soundproofing..almost anyway..).

Will the Rf83,63,82,62 be the best bet? I listen to alot of music(concerts) and movies, 50/50 at moderate to loud settings. I don't have an spl meter, yet! but depending on the DVD recording levels anywhere from -14 to -06 on the volume setting with bass/treble set at 0 or midrange.

Subwoofage from paradigm pw2200 400 RMS. RC62 center, not concerned with timber matching, will upgrade to RC64 if required>

Thanks a bunch guys and gals, please help, I want to buy these babies on Thursday 26th!!

[colterphoto1]

You should be just fine with any of those Klipsch speakers and your Yamaha receiver.

Are you worried that you have too much power or too little?

Reviewing your post, that setting on your receiver sounds a bit high by my standards. Remember that all music and movies have peaks, which take additional power. By having your receiver at -6 on it's volume scale, you aren't allowing much 'headroom' for those peaks. The danger to speakers comes in when the amp sends DISTORTED power to the speakers, which tends to blow up the tweeter drivers first.

Klipsch speakers tend to be more efficient than most on the market, so perhaps buying any of the Reference series may allow you to turn the receiver downa bit. Having the sub will help also. I'd recommend if you listen very loudly much of the time to set your speakers to SMALL, which will filter out a lot of the musical energy (the very lows) and send to the sub. THis will give your receiver effectively more headroom.

Remember the wattage numbers are pretty rough, for instance your receiver rated at 130 and the RF62 rated at 125 does not give immediate cause for alarm. But it seems you listen pretty loudly, so I'd recommend the 82 or 83 if your budget allows for it.

Michael

[Fish]

What Michael said and,you really do need an spl meter.The Yamaha should be fine,if it's really 130 watts x5 20-20khz.

[oldbuckster]

The Yamaha should, will be, fine.........hookem' up and run with it............

[PhilMays]

I have the Yamaha RX-Z1 which claims 130 watts per channel. It was a good start but I wanted more. I then used it as a pre/pro and got a 150 watt 5 channel amp. I now want more and am in the process of placing 250 watt 2 channel amps into the system. I did this for music as I like it on the loud side and it seemed to me that the 130 watts driven was a little "shallow". Of course most manufactures ratings are off somewhat.

When you get there, the Yammy will make a good pre/pro.

[Coytee]

Phil, you are my kinda guy!!!

[JohnA]

You *should* be concerned about timbre matching, especially across the

front. Even the rears matter. I found out when I bought a

second pair of La Scalas and put them on the rear channels.

It sounds like you should have enough power. Always turn it down

if the sould begins to sound brittle or strained. That's the

beginning of audible clipping.

You will need an SPL meter to setup the system, go to Rat Shack and get

one. It will help later when you need to estimate power

consumption.

[JetSnake]

Where did you find this "power amplification speaker matching guide"? Can't seem to locate it.

[JetJockey]

Jetsnake, its under "how to buy audio".

Invest in Enough Power

While Klipsch speakers are highly efficient and dont need a whole lot of power to drive them, you still need to purchase an amplifier/receiver thats relevant to the system you choose. After all, one of the most common causes of speaker damage is not having the right electronics to support it.

One of the most common causes of speaker damage is not having the right electronics.
Be sure to buy at least as much power as your speakers are rated to handle.

A good rule of thumb when trying to pair your speakers up with the right amplifier is to buy at least as much power as your speakers are rated to handle. For example, if a speaker is rated at 75 watts maximum power, then you should buy an amplifier that can deliver at least 75 watts per channel. However, you dont need to limit yourself. You can buy a 100-watt per channel amplifier for a 75-watt speaker because more speaker failure occurs from being under powered rather than over powered. It is safer to go slightly higher with your amplifier wattage because youll never be in danger of clipping.

When an amplifier is expected to deliver more current to a speaker than its capable of doing, clipping occurs. When an amplifier clips, it literally cuts off the tops and bottoms of the sound waveforms that its trying to produce. This, in turn, sends a lot of distortion into your speakers, which is bad. Distortion puts a lot of stress on your speakers, typically the tweeter, and will eventually cause them to fail. In fact, your speakers will fail before your amplifier does.

[JetJockey]

Just to let you know, the Yamaha RX-v2500 seems to work really well so far. Tons of db and lots of headroom. Also, i know I will get pickier as time goes on and start tweaking but right now the RC62 seems to match very nicely with the 83'. The Yamaha YPAO auto setup does a great job but will get an SPL meter asap. Down the road I will be adding a nice beefy 3channel amp with at least 225 RMS, most likely an Anthem MCA30 or similar.

[wuzzzer]

JetSnake, hello from a fellow Minnesotan!