Will My Receiver Handle Monitor 60s?

jstergis

Hi Everyone,

I presently have two Monitor 50s, which I adore. A friend needs new speakers and loves my 50s, so mostly as a favor to him, I'm going to sell them to him for around $100 for the pair.

To justify this, I'm ordering some 60s (thought about 70s, but I can't justify the extra cost, and the 50s were already more than enough speaker for my "office"--also, I'm sure my current receiver wouldn't drive them, meaning another expense!).

I've been driving the 50s with an Onkyo TX-902 Receiver, and it seems to have just enough power for them. It tends to cut out at around 2/3 to 3/4 of full volume due to lack of power, but even at half volume, they are MUCH louder than I would ever want to use them at.

The 50s had more than enough bass for me (I use them strictly for music listening). I've heard the 60s are anything from "slightly better" to "significantly better" on the low end. How much of a difference will there really be?

I believe this receiver is a 50 WPC. Will it probably handle the 60s as well? I really like the receiver, despite the fact that it's pretty old...the sound quality out of it is outstanding.

Thanks!

Joe

tonyb

You'll be fine as long as you keep the volume down. Wouldn't go any higher up the food chain with that old girl though.

jstergis

tonyb wrote: »

You'll be fine as long as you keep the volume down. Wouldn't go any higher up the food chain with that old girl though.

Thanks,

You confirmed my guesses. I was thinking I'll still be okay with 60s, but that there was no way I'd get away with 70s.

Joe

jstergis

xcapri79 wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk. You will be happy with the Monitor 60's.
You will notice the improvement over the Monitor 50's.
They are nice speakers for both music and HT.

Thanks for the input, and for the welcome.

I was originally thinking: "How much difference can one more 5.25" driver really make?" and the more I read, the more I see that the answer seems to be "quite a bit"

Of course, I'll know for sure when I get them.

jstergis

Also, is what they say about a "break-in" period at all true?

I've had my 50s for about a year, and to me they sound the same as the day I bought them, and I've probably put hundreds of hours of use into them by now. Not that that's a bad thing, of course--they sounded awesome as soon as they came out of the box. It's also possible that I just haven't noticed any difference.

ohskigod

break in is real, though not a much as it used to be. be gentle with a new speaker to start.

that reciever will drive the 60's fine, though they will reward you if you get something better on them down the road. (i.e. when you have the 60's, upgrade the reciever before you upgrade to new speaks)

jstergis

I just ordered a pair of 70s, yes, 70s. Newegg has them for $150/each right now. I placed the order this morning and they're already in Hartford, so I think they'll be here either tomorrow or Monday.

I also ordered a low-end Sherwood receiver @ 105 WPC for something with a bit more power to drive them. It had mixed reviews--the bad ones seemed to be because it died. At $70, I'll take a chance. If I need a better one down the road, I'll get it.

I'll let you all know how I like them!

jstergis

My old Onkyo actually drove these 70s a lot better than expected, but they really light up on this Sherwood--the power definitely helps them out!

I love them so far.

jstergis

After switching back and forth quite a few times, I decided to drive these 70s with my old Onkyo TX-902. It seems to have just as much power as the Sherwood, but the sound quality is infinitely better...the Sherwood well, stinks, as far as sound quality is concerned.

I haven't really pushed it past about 1/2 volume, but there it's crystal clear with no distortion and much louder than I'd ever really listen to anything at.

Still loving these 70s!

...and according to the service manual on this onkyo, it says "min 55 WPC @ 8 ohm, but has plenty of other ratings, the "musical dynamic power" or something to that affect was rated at 120 WPC. The amps on the back are about the same as what the amps on the Sherwood was listed as...so I'm thinking this has more power than I originally said.

rru2s

jstergis wrote: »

After switching back and forth quite a few times, I decided to drive these 70s with my old Onkyo TX-902. It seems to have just as much power as the Sherwood, but the sound quality is infinitely better...the Sherwood well, stinks, as far as sound quality is concerned.

I use an Outlaw RR2150 with 4 x monitor 70s and there is ample power for quality at higher volumes in a large room.
I use a HK3490 with 2 x monitor 60s and the power is adequate for a smaller room (bedroom) with good sound quality.
My son uses a Sherwood 100wpc for basement and college to drive Technics 3-way speakers (15"/2.5"/1"), which is fairly low-end sound quality but plenty of volume.

I think each of these configurations is well-matched, amplification vs. speakers. I wouldn't go separates with monitor 70s -- I feel it would be more worth the money to upgrade speakers as well if I was going to invest in separates.

Lietuvis91

jstergis wrote: »

Thanks for the input, and for the welcome.

I was originally thinking: "How much difference can one more 5.25" driver really make?" and the more I read, the more I see that the answer seems to be "quite a bit"

Of course, I'll know for sure when I get them.

yes the difference is quiet substantial. I picked up the 60s on sale and then the 70s the last time they were on sale... the sound from the 70s is just so much more FULL! They fill the room better.

Now i need a sub!

jstergis

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

yes the difference is quiet substantial. I picked up the 60s on sale and then the 70s the last time they were on sale... the sound from the 70s is just so much more FULL! They fill the room better.

Now i need a sub!

I love how these look with the covers off...four 6.5" cones and a tweeter in each speaker are definitely "show off" material. I don't leave the cover's off, though, because I'd be afraid of doing something to damage the cones.

The friend I gave the 50s to is very impressed, mainly at the fact that they have a pretty good amount of bass for a relatively small floorstanding speaker. Of course, the 70s have much more low-end...so much that for my use, I have absolutely no need for a sub.

I'm running them in a 14X16 foot office, so they're a lot of speaker for a relatively small room. I don't usually turn them up that loud--just enough so I can hear them pretty well over the relatively noisy air conditioner. They do go pretty loud on this Onkyo, though. I haven't tried them too much yet (still sort of breaking them in), but I can get them loud enough so that it's just too loud to stay in the same room with them.

Eventually, I may look for a new receiver (I was thinking an Onkyo TX-8555), but for now, this old guy is very sufficient.