Speaker Damage?
bobman1235
Posts: 10,822
Hi All.
I have a question about the "damage" you can do to speakers with an underpowered receiver.
I bought a pair of RTi70s about a year ago. I was using a Pioneer receiver at the time, and while they sounded pretty good when watching a movie, I definitely could tell they needed more power when I played any loud music - just a muddy sound, not the crisp clear sounds I would have expected from such good speakers.
About 3 months ago I started reading these forums and realizing that just because the Pioneer touted 100W x 5 channels didn't mean that it was really putting that out. I'm looking into separates right now, or at the very least a good HK or Denon receiver with preouts until I can afford an amp to go with it.
My question is, using a lower-powered receiver on the RTi70s for 9 months or so, is it possible I have damaged them at all? What kind of "damage" does an underpowered receiver do to a good speaker?
I have a question about the "damage" you can do to speakers with an underpowered receiver.
I bought a pair of RTi70s about a year ago. I was using a Pioneer receiver at the time, and while they sounded pretty good when watching a movie, I definitely could tell they needed more power when I played any loud music - just a muddy sound, not the crisp clear sounds I would have expected from such good speakers.
About 3 months ago I started reading these forums and realizing that just because the Pioneer touted 100W x 5 channels didn't mean that it was really putting that out. I'm looking into separates right now, or at the very least a good HK or Denon receiver with preouts until I can afford an amp to go with it.
My question is, using a lower-powered receiver on the RTi70s for 9 months or so, is it possible I have damaged them at all? What kind of "damage" does an underpowered receiver do to a good speaker?
If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
Post edited by bobman1235 on
Comments
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If they were damaged, it would be readily apparent. The problem is the amplifier section. Amps are capable of putting out raw wattage in exces of their rated output; the problem is, once your "clean power" is exhausted, the signal is clipped. This clipping introduces enormous amounts of distortion, which unfortunately targets tweeters first.
The cure? A good quality amplifier with plenty of headroom, OR judicious use of your volume knob. It sounds like you like to jam, so i would recommend something at or around 200watts/rms for an amplifier. This kind of power linked to the highly efficient Rti70's should give you plenty of breathing room and distortion free dynamics.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 -
About 3 months ago I started reading these forums and realizing that just because the Pioneer touted 100W x 5 channels didn't mean that it was really putting that out.
Pioneer's lower end stuff usually is rated at 1khz, one channel driven. To get a good estimate of actual ratings at full bandwith is usually to deduct around 15% of stated 1khz power.
100w - 15%= ~85w
The Elite line is rated at full bandwith.
I was told that underpowering speakers will often result in a blown tweeter before anything else. Driving an amp too hard can cause clipping which is where the sine wave is clipped on both ends and sends direct current to the speakers instead of alternating current. The sine wave which looks like an "S" begins to look like a "Z" instead.Receiver: harmankardon AVR235
Mains: polk R30
Center: polk CSi3
Rear Surrounds: polk R20
Subwoofer: polk PSW404
DVD: Panasonic DVD-S29 -
how could it be? I thought it would demage the speaker with overpowered receiver and it would demage the receiver with underpowered reciever when listening with high volume.
My onkyo is 65WPC and drives RTi70 fronts (5.1). Usually I set volume at 30 (maximal is 80 ). Only a good amp is the solution? Unfortunately onkyo does not have pre-outs:(
