Rti A7 vs. Elac fs 58.2

Kaje

Hey guys,

Did an audio stereo sound test of the rti A7 that I heard so much about side by side with the elac fs 58.2 and was surprised. To me the elacs sounded tighter crisper and with better low-end output. The elacs even seemed to be louder at the same volume.
The amp was a denon 80 watt Rms ( so maybe underpowered for the rti's?) also I was surprised to see both speakers Lose clarity at 3/4th the amp volume ( could that be clipping so early?) since both speakers are 100rms atleast.

Any clarification for observations would be great!!


Thanks

falconcry72

Preface: I've never heard either speaker in question.

Kaje wrote: »

...The elacs even seemed to be louder at the same volume.

I'm imagining that they didn't just seem to be louder at the same volume, but that they were louder at the same volume. This would mean that they are more sensitive, meaning that they make more noise with the same amount of power. Speakers vary greatly in sensitivity, and louder always sounds better but does not indicate a superior speaker. Their greater sensitivity may account for your perceived difference in dynamics.

Yes, you were clipping. Turn it down before you fry your speakers.

What do you mean by "3/4th the amp volume"? You didn't say what amp you're using, but I would be VERY careful before running ANY amp at 3/4 of its total output, especially an 80 watt receiver, if that's what you've got.

Those RTi's need real power.

Kaje

@falconcry72: Sorry, I meant an integrated stereo amp by denon of about 80 watt Rms per channel .and by 3/4th volume I meant the knob turned about 3/4th of max. So could it clip at that level of the volume knob?

I'm assuming an integrated amp of 80watt Rms per channel should produce decent sound from the rti's .

About the db sensitivity I think it's about 90 on both,but I could be wrong.

falconcry72

Kaje wrote: »

@falconcry72:... the knob turned about 3/4th of max. So could it clip at that level of the volume knob?

Uh, yes. 75% up is, like, super high. It could clip well before that. It'll clip at whatever level is too much for it. It could clip at 10% on a hard enough to drive speaker. I'm not comfortable turning my preamp past 50%, and most of the time it's at 25%.

As far as sensitivity goes, if they play at different loudnesses with the volume control at the same level then they have different sensitivities. Period.

falconcry72

Kaje wrote: »

...about 90 on both,but I could be wrong.

"about" is not exactly, and exactly is never perfect.

Kaje

Oh wow , possible at 10% with some speakers?? That's nuts.
So to really get some juice from ur speakers u need almost twice the Rms rating from the amp than ur speaker and keep the amp vol low?
And what if u push ur speakers too hard with an overpowered amp? In that case will sound distort before speakers get ruined?

Thanks

Kaje

In other words is sound distortion different when an amp clips cos its underpowered compared to when the amp is overpowered??

falconcry72

You will rarely damage a speaker by "overpowering it". You'd have to have it playing at volumes that the speaker was not capable of producing. The point of having a powerful amp is that it will NOT distort at high volumes.

You will damage a speaker by under-powering it, and it can happen well before the speaker reaches its limits.

Kaje

Thanks, that is valuable info! So in the rare case a speaker is damaged by overpowering it, it'll happen w/o sound distortion?? What would the giveaway be?

Sorry for the tutorial this thread has turned into.

falconcry72

Kaje wrote: »

Thanks, that is valuable info! So in the rare case a speaker is damaged by overpowering it, it'll happen w/o sound distortion?? What would the giveaway be?

Sorry for the tutorial this thread has turned into.

The giveaway would be that the drivers are ripping out of their enclosures and your ears are bleeding.

jk.

You'll never drive a speaker to fail because the amp is too powerful. You'll drive a speaker to fail because the volume is too high. At any given volume, a more powerful amp will be less likely to make a speaker fail than a less powerful amp will because a more powerful amp is less likely to clip because it's less stressed and has more power in reserve, ie. headroom.

If you don't understand, feel free to use google or wikipedia. I'm going to bed now. Sweet dreams.

Kaje

Haha.. Makes sense.

Thanks