a few questions i havent been able to get straight answers to...
dodger82
Posts: 3
howdy, im new here, so sorry if i get all my terminology wrong...
i just bought myself a wee system, consisting of a Denon ud-m31, with a pair of Polk rt-15's.
i used to have a much bigger sony home-cinema, ut the size was a real problem for me, moving around a fair bit, the odd realy small bedroom etc, but i got REALLY used to that 'big stereo' sound. but i must say, for such a tiny stereo, this new once really has some punch, but i'd love to get the most out of it i can.
1) i was talking to the guy in the store, the reciever is stated as 22W per channel, so i asked him if that would be reasonable, considering my old stereo was 80W per channel, but he insisted that 22W at 20-20khz at 0.05%thd was quality power. i then discovered (once i got it out of its box at home) that this reciever was rated 22W @ 1khz, at 10%thd!!!! needless to say i wasnt pleased, but before i go tear a chunk out of him, will this amount of power be reasonable running those speakers? i mean, to me it sounds great anyway, but i do feel somewhat hard done by... and its not like its running huge drivers....
2)he also told me these speakers would "break in" over about 3 weeks, and sound significantly deeper and softer, now i think for such small drivers they pack a lot of punch being 2 days old, is it true that they will sound better over time, or is that just a pipe dream?
3)this is just something i heard from a friend, that stuffing sponge in the speaker port will make the bass a lot smoother and a touch deeper, im somewhat apprehensive to try this, i dont wanna hurt my precious new little speakers, but is there any truth to this?
4)ive heard heaps of talk about about speaker placement... my room is about 7m long, by 3.5 wide, my speakers are about 2m from the end, and against the side walls, and about 30cm from the ground (on piles of cd's....), is this is a reasonable setup, and will putting them in the 'right' place really make an audible difference?
5)last one i promise, when i really get this little stereo going for it, i can get the drivers moving a good 10-15mm, from right in to right out, whilst still sounding perfectly clear, ie no clipping. now im not used to having quality gear, but stereos ive had in the past, that would have royally rooted them, is this sort of punishment going to damage my speakers any? and is it normal to get this sort of movement out of such a piss weak 22W reciever?
thank you guys SO much in advance, being prtty poor myself, but loving my music, id love to get the most out of this that i can.
i just bought myself a wee system, consisting of a Denon ud-m31, with a pair of Polk rt-15's.
i used to have a much bigger sony home-cinema, ut the size was a real problem for me, moving around a fair bit, the odd realy small bedroom etc, but i got REALLY used to that 'big stereo' sound. but i must say, for such a tiny stereo, this new once really has some punch, but i'd love to get the most out of it i can.
1) i was talking to the guy in the store, the reciever is stated as 22W per channel, so i asked him if that would be reasonable, considering my old stereo was 80W per channel, but he insisted that 22W at 20-20khz at 0.05%thd was quality power. i then discovered (once i got it out of its box at home) that this reciever was rated 22W @ 1khz, at 10%thd!!!! needless to say i wasnt pleased, but before i go tear a chunk out of him, will this amount of power be reasonable running those speakers? i mean, to me it sounds great anyway, but i do feel somewhat hard done by... and its not like its running huge drivers....
2)he also told me these speakers would "break in" over about 3 weeks, and sound significantly deeper and softer, now i think for such small drivers they pack a lot of punch being 2 days old, is it true that they will sound better over time, or is that just a pipe dream?
3)this is just something i heard from a friend, that stuffing sponge in the speaker port will make the bass a lot smoother and a touch deeper, im somewhat apprehensive to try this, i dont wanna hurt my precious new little speakers, but is there any truth to this?
4)ive heard heaps of talk about about speaker placement... my room is about 7m long, by 3.5 wide, my speakers are about 2m from the end, and against the side walls, and about 30cm from the ground (on piles of cd's....), is this is a reasonable setup, and will putting them in the 'right' place really make an audible difference?
5)last one i promise, when i really get this little stereo going for it, i can get the drivers moving a good 10-15mm, from right in to right out, whilst still sounding perfectly clear, ie no clipping. now im not used to having quality gear, but stereos ive had in the past, that would have royally rooted them, is this sort of punishment going to damage my speakers any? and is it normal to get this sort of movement out of such a piss weak 22W reciever?
thank you guys SO much in advance, being prtty poor myself, but loving my music, id love to get the most out of this that i can.
Post edited by dodger82 on
Comments
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I'll take a stab at it, answers below...Originally posted by dodger82
howdy, im new here, so sorry if i get all my terminology wrong...
i just bought myself a wee system, consisting of a Denon ud-m31, with a pair of Polk rt-15's.
I assume you're talking about the RT15i?
1) i was talking to the guy in the store, the reciever is stated as 22W per channel, so i asked him if that would be reasonable, considering my old stereo was 80W per channel, but he insisted that 22W at 20-20khz at 0.05%thd was quality power. i then discovered (once i got it out of its box at home) that this reciever was rated 22W @ 1khz, at 10%thd!!!! needless to say i wasnt pleased, but before i go tear a chunk out of him, will this amount of power be reasonable running those speakers? i mean, to me it sounds great anyway, but i do feel somewhat hard done by... and its not like its running huge drivers....
I'd say it will drive them, but not to anywhere near their full capability. Denon makes good stuff, but if it's rated the way you say, that worries me a little. I'd say 50 watts per channel would be just about right for those speakers.
2)he also told me these speakers would "break in" over about 3 weeks, and sound significantly deeper and softer, now i think for such small drivers they pack a lot of punch being 2 days old, is it true that they will sound better over time, or is that just a pipe dream?
Some people believe in break in, some don't so you'll get varying opinions on that.
3)this is just something i heard from a friend, that stuffing sponge in the speaker port will make the bass a lot smoother and a touch deeper, im somewhat apprehensive to try this, i dont wanna hurt my precious new little speakers, but is there any truth to this?
I don't know for sure. I tend to believe that things are designed a way for a reason. I think that if this would yeild a better bass response, Polk would have done it at the factory. Chances are that it may help the bass a little, but at the expense of the overall sound quality.
4)ive heard heaps of talk about about speaker placement... my room is about 7m long, by 3.5 wide, my speakers are about 2m from the end, and against the side walls, and about 30cm from the ground (on piles of cd's....), is this is a reasonable setup, and will putting them in the 'right' place really make an audible difference?
Yes, speaker placement is important. It's also pretty much common sense. Just start with something that you think would work, and make small adjustments from there based on your listening.
5)last one i promise, when i really get this little stereo going for it, i can get the drivers moving a good 3cm, from right in to right out, whilst still sounding perfectly clear, ie no clipping. now im not used to having quality gear, but stereos ive had in the past, that would have royally rooted them, is this sort of punishment going to damage my speakers any? and is it normal to get this sort of movement out of such a piss weak 22W reciever?
thank you guys SO much in advance, being prtty poor myself, but loving my music, id love to get the most out of this that i can. -
Welcome to the forum.
My .02, are you sure it says 10% THD or is it 0.10% THD? 10% THD is alot and would be very audible.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
thnks heaps for the replies guys, i felt kinda dum posting in the first place when my stereo isnt even in the same league as any that ive seen here...
f1nut, its odd, coz it definitely says 10% thd in the manual, but my old sony was 0.2%, and this stereo is audibly better... i dunno, mght be time for an e-mail to denon, i cant figure this one -
Originally posted by dodger82
i felt kinda dum posting in the first place when my stereo isnt even in the same league as any that ive seen here...
Who cares? You like it, thats all that matters.
"to me it sounds great anyway"
Dont worry about the specs too much. They seem to be way off. Plugging the ports will reduce low frequency extension, I say unless you hear port noise leave them alone.
You wont hear a significant change as they break in but placement will help with the stereo image.Graham -
First off, I agree that if it sounds good to you that is all that really matters. I also agree that you might want to check with Denon about the specs, it is possible that it's a typo.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I think that's the receiver portion of a Denon mini-system. It's actually pretty common for mini-systems to be rated at 10%THD. I don't remember seeing a Denon rated that way, but a lot of the mass market brands do it.
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I have NEVER seen a product from Denon that would have THAT much distortion. No way would they promote a product with such inferior performance, EVER.
I cannot believe that, I'd have to see it for myself and Hear it in person.
GOTTA be a typo... -
i dont know who i should e-mail, theres no new-zealand division for denon (and it goes without saying im from new zealand)
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Dodger,
Polk makes both an RT15 and an RT15i, no matter these speakers are both 8ohm speakers, I see from your specs that the denon is rated 22w @ 6 ohm. The LOWEST recommended power amp rating for either speaker you have is 20 watts @ 8 ohm, I doubt the little Denon can really power your speakers to this recommendation, if it were me I would get something with more power per channel, but that is me, if you like what you have, well it is your system and your money.
BTW, I would like to Thank You and all of the people in New Zealand for letting Peter Jackson prod all over your country in making the Lord Of the Rings.
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Originally posted by dodger82
i dont know who i should e-mail, theres no new-zealand division for denon (and it goes without saying im from new zealand)
Okay, sothis is NOT a typo...this thing is rated at 22 wpc into 6 ohms only at one frequency (1Khz), with 10% THD. That is a pretty common rating for mass-produced Denon stuff market in tbe Mass amrket electronics stores...I actually know all about this because I've been researching Denon stuff all day..
They rate their stuff in the mass stores like that to compete with other companies like Sony, etc who do the same. They know that most people just read the number of watts (22 in this case) and don't bother with anything that follows. They don't do this to trick people, it's just the only way they can compete in the low to mid end audio in large electronics stores...So the power ratings you are looking at are INFLATED becuase they're at 6 OHMS etc...
That stereo probably gives out more like 15 watts per channel when driving 8 OHMS within a reasonable frequency range and reasonable THD...
Hope that makes sense. To answer your question, I don't see how that stereo can power your Polks to anywhere near their ideal sound... -
dodger82
First welcome to the Club... We all have love of Polks in common so you're among friends...
I think PM and others have overed most of your questions except "sponging" the port. Would necver think to do it myself, but should be akin to pluggin ports on a sub. If I remember correctly pluggin does result in lower bass, but also lowers spl produced.
As for the rest, pretty much agrre with the others. I don't think you'll find enough power in a mini system. They are more akin to car audio than they are home...
I suggest looking for a decent used 2 ch receiver on ebay. Seems to be a fair amount of NZ/ Australia listings. You may not be able to afford nice sources for while, but with the receiver you'll have FM and if you have a Discman or other CD portable for the cost of a mini-plug adapter you've got CD's playing on your rig...More later,
Tour...
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