Receiver settings and speaker max questions.

[EM3]

Ok I'm not sure how to ask this so here goes. I have got most of my speakers for my little home theater. I have an Onkyo receiver that you can control how much sounf is output the each seperate speaker. Currently I have the receiver set on 43 and each speaker is set on +6. My o;d speakers I had each speaker set to zero with the master volume on 53. With the second setting I hit about 73db. Now on the new setting I hit about the same and if you turn the receiver up to 53 it can get real loud. Now my question is if I boost each speaker to a +12 I hear more detail. What are the chances of blowing a speaker if I listen at 43 with a +12 setting? I don't notice any distortion and the front speakers are Klipsch RB 61's and are rated for 100 watts max and 250 watts peak I think. The rears are rated for 75 watts max.

I just don't want to blow new speakers.

I hope to have photos up next week. Sub should be here tomorrow and center channel either tomorrow or monday.

[Taxi]

What we'd need to know to answer this question is what is the power output on your receiver/amp.

[EM3]

Onkyo HT R500
Equal Power to All 5 Channels. The receiver is designed to deliver 100 watts of power into 8 ohms with no more than 0.08 % THD to each of its five channels (two front, one center and two surrounds).

Does that help?

[PunkMunkey]

Umm...you know those speaker level adjustments are not meant to be used that way. They're for setting speaker output levels relative to each other at a specific "reference" level.

Google the term "speaker level calibration" and you'll come up with a vast array of information on how to optimize your soundfield environment. One of the most significant improvements you can do is to calibrate your speaker levels...it'll provide you with a more seamless, integrated soundfield...and will probably preserve the life of your equipment.

[Taxi]

So, from the Klipsch site they say that the RB 61s will handle 100W RMS / 400W Peak. Since your receiver outputs 100W/channel, you shouldn't have any problems blowing your speakers.

Punkmonkey's advise is correct, however, you may be using these adjustments incorrectly. It doesn't seem likely that you should be hearing more detail simply by adjusting the output volume for a specific speaker to +12. But, if it sounds better to you, then more power to ya.

[PunkMunkey]

Well, the easiest way to harm speakers is not by feeding them more power...it's by feeding them clipped signals. By pumping up the speaker levels on your receiver you run the risk of doing just that. The speaker level settings are not meant to be used as an overall volume control.

Those speakers will more than adequately fill a modest sized room when run with ~100 watts. If you're not going to calibrate then what I'd suggest doing is lowering the speaker levels to 0 and upping the main volume with the volume knob. This will increase your overall "headroom", preserve dynamics and should ensure that you're providing the speakers with the cleanest signal (unclipped).

[EM3]

Well that is what I did with my Onkyo speakers. I left them set at zero and let the master control do the work. Once I get the center channel and Subwoofer I will re-calibrate to ensure that everything is safe.

Thanks for the input!

I just need to find my Rat Shack meter.

[firestorm]

Speakers come in a range of sensitivities, which when tied with varying distances from the listening position, result in varying volume levels from each speaker. That's what those adjustments are meant for. It's merely a volume control for each individual output. A speaker with a sensitivity of 90db will produce 90db of sound at 1 meter with 1 watt of power. If you have another speaker with a sensitivity of 89db, you'll need to increase output from the receiver to that speaker to get equal output.

I wouldn't worry about what the receive indicates the volume is (typically shown as an amount of attenuation). It's going to vary depending on the source anyway. The volume setting for our DVD player (typically -54db) is considerably different from what it is for our CD player (typically -62db). There's no adjustment you can make that will make things safe other than safe listening levels. So long as your amp/receiver isn't undersized, you should be rather safe regardless, although a subwoofer will generally take a load off the receiver and will take "dangerous" low frequencies away from the other speakers.

[EM3]

If I get the sub today that will help me a lot.

RANT

I told this one guy to bill to one address and ship to another one. So what did they do bill and ship to my house where there was nobody to sign for it. Well they left a tag on the door telling me I can come pick up my package between 7pm and 8:30pm. Well see!

Thanks for the input guys! Once I get all the speakers I will set them up and recallibrate them.

[EM3]

It's all HERE!

[chlngr1970]

Congrats...now get off the forum and set up your system Spend the weekend with it and have a blast...give us a report on Monday...

j