Onkyo TX-SR705 output question

silversubaru

Hi guys, hope someone can help....

I have this receiver hooked up to

RTi8 fronts (biamped)
CSi3 centre
RTi8 rears
PSW12 sub

If I play a cd and switch the receiver to stereo mode, just my front 8's plus the sub work- correct?

If I turn off the sub and just run the front 8's, what would be the output per channel in terms of watts? Bear in mind that they are bi-amped but if nobody can give me the output, maybe help me with the output per channel if the two front speakers weren't bi-amped

Why do I ask? Well, I have just hooked up the front 8's to my NAD 80wpc integrated amp and even in non bi-amp mode (amp doesn't have this facility) the NAD is driving the speakers lightyears better than how it sounds via the Onkyo in stereo mode with the sub switched off. The base reproduction from the 8's whilst being driven by the NAD is so noticeably better than when running through the Onkyo.

Dare I ask the question that the outputs quoted by Onkyo are way less that the actuals?

Hope someone can help.

PS- if you think that I may have hooked up the receiver incorrectly somehow, please fire away with the questions!

Thanks
Daniel

AudioGenics

Amplifier Output Details
100 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.08% - 2 channel(s) ( front ) ¦
100 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.08% - 1 channel(s) ( center ) ¦
100 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.08% - 2 channel(s) ( surround ) ¦
100 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.08% - 2 channel(s) ( surround back )

Marty913

silversubaru wrote: »

Hi guys, hope someone can help....

I have this receiver hooked up to

RTi8 fronts (biamped)
CSi3 centre
RTi8 rears
PSW12 sub

If I play a cd and switch the receiver to stereo mode, just my front 8's plus the sub work- correct?

If I turn off the sub and just run the front 8's, what would be the output per channel in terms of watts? Bear in mind that they are bi-amped but if nobody can give me the output, maybe help me with the output per channel if the two front speakers weren't bi-amped

Why do I ask? Well, I have just hooked up the front 8's to my NAD 80wpc integrated amp and even in non bi-amp mode (amp doesn't have this facility) the NAD is driving the speakers lightyears better than how it sounds via the Onkyo in stereo mode with the sub switched off. The bass reproduction from the 8's whilst being driven by the NAD is so noticeably better than when running through the Onkyo.

Dare I ask the question that the outputs quoted by Onkyo are way less that the actuals?

Hope someone can help.

PS- if you think that I may have hooked up the receiver incorrectly somehow, please fire away with the questions!

Thanks
Daniel

I don't have either one but just for clarification, when you say you "turn off the sub" do you literally mean that or do you mean that you reconfigure the 705 to not use the sub? I guess what I'm leading up to is that maybe you have a bass management configuration problem.

silversubaru

I just switched it off at the rear of the sub and got the red light indicator.

@jvc- the rated output power according to the manual say 7ch x 160w at 6 ohms. I do see that my manual talks about three different output ratings

100w min pc, 8 ohm loads, 2 ch, driven from 20hz to 20khz
115w min pc driven at 1khz
125w min pc, 6 ohm loads, 2ch, driven at 1khz

Not sure what that all means really

AudioGenics

I know what you mean.
It can be a challenge to sort out the specifications that the manufacturers provide.

I would suggest to read up first and do a search on
"watts per channel"
"speaker impedance"
"spl" or "sound pressure level"
"db"

in the meantime just enjoy your gear while you pick up some of the specifications
and terminology used.

Marty913

silversubaru wrote: »

I just switched it off at the rear of the sub and got the red light indicator.

@jvc- the rated output power according to the manual say 7ch x 160w at 6 ohms. I do see that my manual talks about three different output ratings

100w min pc, 8 ohm loads, 2 ch, driven from 20hz to 20khz
115w min pc driven at 1khz
125w min pc, 6 ohm loads, 2ch, driven at 1khz

Not sure what that all means really

Different manufacturers choose to represent power specs in different ways, and include more/less specs. Your speakers are 8 Ohm so that is the important impedance ratings for you. The 705 is rated to deliver 100 WPC across the entire frequency spectrum (20hz - 20Khz) in 2 channel mode (stereo) with a given distortion (usually less than 1%).

The output per channel has nothing to do with whether your sub is on or off. The sub does not use any power from the 705.

IF your bass management system in the 705 is set to deliver bass frequencies to the sub, and you simply turn the sub off at the power switch then those bass frequencies will be lost. That may be why the NAD appears to deliver more bass than the 705.

billbillw

Silver Subie,

If you want to run the RTI8 from the Onkyo in full range and hear the Onkyo at it's best, you need to set the CD input to Pure Direct mode (that button below the power button). This automatically turns off the sub and disables the Audyssey equalization. Turning the sub off while in stereo mode leaves you without any low bass. (that is, unless you have the receiver setup for 'double bass' which is usually not recommended).

That said, you might still find the NAD to sound better but it shouldn't be "lightyears" difference. For the most part, that Onkyo is known to have pretty decent power that easily meets the rated numbers.

Purely from a power perspective, you won't hear a difference between 80wpc and 100wpc if both are accurately rated. That's not to say that an 80watt amp from one company won't sound better (or worse) than a 100w amp from another company. They all do things a little different and the end result can vary greatly.

nguyendot

You might just like the sound of NAD amplification over Onkyo.

I noticed the same thing when I switched from Yamaha power amplification to NAD (both separate amps). The NAD had significantly more bass.

comfortablycurt

External amps are just way better than AVR's.

That Onkyo isn't putting out anywhere near it's rated power. IIRC it's rated for 100 watts per channel...it's probably putting out more like 55-60 watts per channel with two channels driven.

Using the bi-amp connection method isn't going to increase the power output at all anyway. A more accurate term for it would be bi-wiring. Unless your AVR is a design that uses individual mono-blocks on each channel(the Onk' isn't), you're not really going to be using any more power. The power for all the channels comes from the same common power block. Hooking the speakers up to multiple pairs of outputs isn't going to drive them with any more power.

It's not necessarily about the number of watts...it's about the quality of the watts being used. External amps are nearly always going to sound way better than an AVR.

FWIW, I've never found Onkyo's to be very pleasing musically.

cnh

I agree with Curt....not sure, though, if the Onkyo can't put out more than that in two channel....as the higher models...the 805, 875/6, 905/6 actually put out at LEAST their rated wattage or more in 2-channel in Home Audio Bench tests...for 8 ohms.

I suspect the 60x is putting out close to its 90 watts in simple 2 channel and the lower wattage Curt suggests for Dolby Digital and DTS and HD-surround formats with 5.1-7.1?

Also, I don't know if this has been addressed but the wattage is NOT affected by running a POWERED sub ON or OFF..since the sub has it's own amp...no real power is passing to it from the Onkyo!
Oh, I see Marty got that above....sorry for the repeat!

cnh

comfortablycurt

Whoops...cnh is right. When I estimated the power output at 55-60 watts per channel, I meant with all channels driven, not just two. My mistake.

I would guess that it's two channel output is pretty close to it's rated output of around 100 watts per channel x 2. Regardless though, the quality of the watts from your Onkyo are nowhere near as good as the power from the NAD.

As I said before, it's not necessarily about the number of watts, but the quality of the watts. The vast majority of the time, the speakers aren't even drawing anywhere near the max output of an amp. Most of the time, the speakers are barely drawing more than 5-10 watts anyway.

cnh

Got to go with Curt again,

The veterans on this site know well, that 5-20 REAL QUALITY watts can sound quite impressive--especially if those are Tube or even class A watts! But that's too much info....

And I stand correct...I don't know why I was referring to the 606 when you have a 706...that is 100W/channel into 2!

cnh

billbillw

Actually, all of the recent Onkyos exceed their rated power when only driving two channels.

If we were talking a Sony or Yamaha receiver, then I'd agree with Curt's statement, but not with Onkyo.

I studied these things inside and out before I bought my SR805 a few years back. They have some of the best amp sections found in any mainstream line of receivers.

I can't seem to find a detailed review (that includes a test bench) of the SR705, but here is one of the SR706, which is just one model year later. Most say the only difference between years is the amount of HDMI inputs.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/receivers/3016/onkyo-tx-sr706-av-receiver-test-bench-page3.html

As I said before, the key to getting good sound out of that Onkyo is to use the Pure Direct.

silversubaru

Thanks for the replies everyone. Just to clear things up, I have a 705 and not a 706, not sure if that makes a major difference to the comments?

I will try the pure direct setting tonight and see how it sounds....

cnh

They still apply....not much changed between the 2 units...some video (inputs/processing) and set up stuff mostly. The settings discussed above remain the same.

Good luck,

cnh