I was recently told that I should mute my AVR by a substantial degree and I don't know if the advice is true; it doesn't seem to make much sense. First, I have a Denon 3805. My living room is roughly 20 ft. square. At 120w X 8, it is true that I barely put a dent in the volume it can crank out. I was told that it would not only improve performance but would be better for the AVR if I decreased the power output and cranked the unit up more. He compared it to this old car I have...an ancient tank of a chrysler with this monster engine and how the engine would be destroyed if it was never driven over 20mph. Does this make sense? Should I decrease the power of the unit? My ears will tell me if it's better performance but is it really better for the AVR if I make it break a bit of a sweat and work it a little harder? Thanks for the input! ... Gerry
LoL :^) Too much power, not using enough - these are problems most folks wish to have, right? But different volume controls open up differently, each attenuator is unique and some are really touchy at low volumes (difficult to adjust volume precisely) so it can be an unfortunate problem. Then there is the age-old debate about speaker efficiency; good or bad? I hold that a speaker need not be too efficient (over 90dB) as long as it presents a solid, stable load to the amplifier without any impedance dips too low, at any frequency. Ideally it should not go below 4ohms at all, or at least only rarely. So a speaker in the 87-88dB efficiency range, but with very good manners, is not a bad speaker; in fact (though it may require more power to drive it) it often offers the potential for the very best sound quality, y'know? Not sure precisely what this means, but top-quality less efficient speakers will allow you to exercise your rig a bit more while offering potential for better sound too. But hey, give me the V8 at low revs anytime, instead of the little 4-banger screaming at redline... I don't think reducing your amplifier is the right way to address the issue. A powerful amp driving very efficient speakers is not a bad thing (it will run very cool) however there is no guarantee it sounds good. Tell me about your speakers Gerry? I know I know; amp's come and go but speakers are bloody expensive... How about these: http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.ranges/label/Range 800 Series Yes please! LoL Best Regards
Hello OGS...I was surprised anyone answered that; it's been there for awhile! This is my system; went to a lot of trouble (and through a lot of salesmen until I found a patient one) to put it together but I'm proud of my baby! I listened to a hell of a lot before I bought these speakers; suited my listening needs perfectly ... the whole thing put me in the poor house anyway! Fronts: <http://www.miragespeakers.com/om5.shtml#> Center: <http://www.miragespeakers.com/omC3.shtml#> Side surrounds / Rear surrounds (X4) <http://www.miragespeakers.com/omR2.shtml#> AVR: <http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/356.asp#> Sub: <http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=55&dmore=True&rmore=False#> I've never even come close to playing it at 0.0dB. But my room is a twenty foot square with an aweful lot of speaker power in that space...hence, the question.
Nice setup Gerry :^) Mirage is nice; good stuff. Yeah, like you need a 12" Klipsch sub in that room! Yeesh. 20x20 is like what, 400 square feet? A good sized room by any standard... However your bass will still be limited by your acoustic coupling to the room, in other words you might achieve more bass from just your front L & R in a different room, maybe larger or more rectangular. You need some more physical distance between the listener(s) and the bass source, more is always better (no matter how big your home is!) But challenging in a fairly square room. The sub will just enhance the bass, the concussions and thuds - it's a different kind of bass isn't it? Your acoustic treatment of the room will be very important, and make the difference between sound that is great and sound that's really excellent :^) All the standing waves and reverberations and phase-cancellations in your room, with all that firepower, are the challenge for you - how to make your room acoustically larger while of course remaining the same physical size. Treble I expect would be plentiful in your theatre, through point-source; meaning anyone there probably has direct line-of-sight to tweeter(s). Mirages are not 'beamy', they spend a lot of attention on wide, even dispersal and that's why you pay $$$ (it's not for the laquer finish they use - well that too, but it's not what's important with eyes closed...) But what I mean is, with tweeters within line-of-sight you can make the room much larger acoustically, without losing highs. Stuff that room with plush; heavy carpet, plush furniture, heavy drapes. Have your room 'scoped' (WTF, treat yourself - you deserve it). Apply commercial tube-traps to any problem areas identified; they are nice looking and presentable these days, and very popular with the modern decor (what I call the 'Scandinavian' style, bare walls, slender furniture, hardwood floors etc.) Hey it's no coincidence movie theatres are still all plush red velvet, cushy and acoustically 'dead' even these days... It creates good sound, enhancing channel-localization and allowing the volume knob to become the bass control - letting the system breathe a little more, work a bit harder. So I say you got good advice! But not much specific about how to achieve it... You've got the goods there; tuning the room, the environmment, are where you will find the full 100% of the experience you desire. The investment would be relatively slight, you've come so far and are almost there... L8R
i'm hurt by that statement........ lol been partying too much i guess.. anyway, the higher the Db on a speakers rating, the less strain the amp needs to deliver a clean signal. muting the amp should not really make ANY difference on your sound. my yammy never goes above 20 on the volume. it start from - and goes to + ans it increases in volume. i know your receiver is higher end then most, so you should be ok. you need to stop by and see my setup one day gerry !!
Howdy guys! I've been away for the last three days; I hope you had nice holidays? @OGS...thanks for the nice words about my equipment; I'm proud of my baby! Actually, I found a square room rather easy to set up. I have heavy carpets and drapes so room acoustics were't my problem, I was told it wasn't good for my receiver to constantly run in in the -dB ranges ... I'm blowing the walls out at -10dB and have never been to zero, let alone the plus side. It sounds good in the room though I do think it would hurt to set the walls with like decorative quilts or something (you can get neat ones from the amish here for peanuts...real works of art too). The Mirages do indeed have a wide and even dispersal which is unbelievable for the listeners ... I won't say there isn't a "sweet spot" but you can still hear each and every speaker very distinctly no matter where you're seated in the room though I must admit, sometime the effects are coming from the entirely wrong direction if seated somewhere to the side or something. Can be a bit amusing. @gear...I wish I could go check out your system! As much as there is to do and see in Philly, if you weren't raised in the city, you've got to get out once in a while or you start to get claustrophobic! (Don't know if you live in the city or not...the grass is always greener I guess...my friend in the farm country sometimes tell me they got to come to the city because he's tired of watching the grass grow! You know, I do have to give myself a pat on the back when it comes to having put my system together...I didn't know a damned thing about home theater and just used my ears and read reviews ...and it must have been a real laugh to watch me set it up but after a few screw ups, things began to fall into place and I learnt a lot just doing it and then a lot more here at aD. Well, hope you guys are o.k. Thanks for the advice.
