Watts per channel?

TPB

I read that a min of 20 watts per channel is recommended for foreground music in a whole home audio system. How many watts are needed if I am using volume controls in each room? I am wanting more than just good background music. I want to be able to entertain guests and still be able to hear the music playing. I know that you can go to the max rating of the speaker but I have 5 rooms of music and I dont want to buy a 500 watt amp. Will a 120 watts per channel receiver give me enough? Thats like 25 per channel.

disneyjoe7

You should be ok, keep in mind many volume control I seen are rated for 100w or less. I think your 125w per channel receiver should be just find, if not you haven't lost anything for trying.


BTW Welcome

SuperDave

A quote from your post:
"Will a 120 watts per channel receiver give me enough? Thats like 25 per channel."

120 watts per channel is just that(120 watts per channel). If you have many rooms to power there are a few different ways to go. You can get a multi channel setup and control it centrally. Many companies make multi(up to 12) channel amps that vary from 30 to 75 or more watts per channel. If you buy from a good manufacturer that amount of power would be plenty(reputable manuf. rate power across full spectrum 20 to 20k).
Another alternative would be to have multiple setups in different rooms that meet each room's needs.
Good luck,
SD

unc2701

Originally posted by SuperDave


120 watts per channel is just that(120 watts per channel).

He's talking about using a 2 channel amp to drive 6-8 speakers w/ impedence matching volume controls... in that case 120 watts works out to around 25 watts going to each speaker.

To answer the question, yeah, a 125 watt amp will probably give you enough power- most people don't end up going much past 1 watt 90% of the time. If you notice that your amp is hot or you're cranking the volume way up, then you should think about a multichannel house amp or a beefier power amp.

SuperDave

I guess you could do that(use a two channel for multiple rooms) but I would not go that direction, I think it would be looking for trouble with the two channel amp.
Just my two cents, do it right with a multi channel amp set up for this.

disneyjoe7

SuperDave,

You can do it with a single source as you know, and this is fine for many people who do so. I don't think most people wish too add the expense of a multi source multi channel setup.

My future plans are to 2nd channel my family room HT / Stereo setup to another 2 channel amp which in turn will run 3 or 4 sets of speakers throughout house. All being a single source 100w x2 channel amp, I didn't see the need for multi source as all my sources are in the family room setup.

mantis

TPB

What are using for volume controls? Impedence matching volume controls still show the amp an 8 ohm load. they don't help in any way when using multible rooms. What they are designed to do is run multible speakers off one volume control. Not how I like to do it.

If you already bought a receiver, then a speaker selector box is what you need. 5 rooms means a 6 way box. Buy one from Niles or Pro Solutions. there built well and will allow for enough power to each room. If your planning on outdoor speakers, then a seperate amp you should invest in. For that matter , you should really consider a preamp and a muiltchannel amp like Niles 1230. This amp is rated at 30 watts per channel and has plenty of current for driving inwalls and such. It does a fair job at running outdoor speakers.
If more power is needed then look no further then Elan. They make killer multiroom amps and you can daisy chain them together to give you exacly what you need. I like this option better then most.
B&K also makes a multichannel amp but the model number slipped my mind. This amp has the best sound quality over all other s I suggested but cost the most as well. You could pick up a nice PT5 preamp to go with it.

Niles makes a awesome receiver called the ZR4630. This is 6 zones of 30 watts per channel. I love this thing. You also can play different music in every zone. It's independant zone control in keypads. you must have the keypads per zone.

My last bit of advise is to visit your local Tweeter and talk to a good salesman.See ehat he has to offer and take advantage of Install. Let them do it for yeah.

Dan

unc2701

Originally posted by mantis
they don't help in any way when using multible rooms. What they are designed to do is run multible speakers off one volume control.

Actually, what he's talking about is EXACTLY what impedence matching volume controls are for- you can have one volume control on each pair of speakers, then wire all the volume control inputs in parallel and hook them to a 2 channel amp. Now, he could also do what you're talking about, but with 1 volume control, but as you point out, not a good idea.

Those volume controls are a cheap substitue for dropping $1000+ on a multichannel amp.