'Magical sounding AVR' for $300.ca (refurbished or second hand ebay)

[skytra7]

TLDR: Looking to upgrade on Yamaha RX V-475 AVR, must be HD capable soundwise and have 'better acoustic signature' than the Yamaha. Price $300.ca second hand/eBay etc


Okay, so 2 years ago I randomly bought some inexpensive tower speakers (Precision Audio CT26) $149 Canadian dollars and a cheap AVR from eBay (Sherwood RD 705i) $199 Canadian dollars.

I wasn't expecting much, just an upgrade from the TV speakers, that's all. So when I first started playing around I was pleasantly surprized and blown away... I have dabbled a little bit in Hifi kits, AVRs and so have a reasonable and average (not excellent) knowledge of HiFi setups and sounds and I've had more expensive setups but this was simply amazing!!!

How can I describe it? The acoustics were amazing, but even more satisfying that that was a sense that the music was coming to my ears, rather than I was having to strain and listen to the music (if that makes sense to the reader lol !?).

This to me is one of the holy grails of HI-FI, when you don't have to strain to listen to the dynamics/acoustics, its as if it's coming to your ears served on a plate lol. I thought it was a fluke, but no matter what I threw at the Sherwood AVR regardless of whether I was playing 2 channel/surround/radio/DTS/Dolby/mp3 everything sounded great!

Then the unthinkable happened...The HDMI board died. I was heartbroken and so was my wife. We ended up selling it for spares/parts on eBay as Sherwood stopped supporting their HIFIs in 2012 even with warranty...


So after the Sherwood died and sold I got what I thought would be a no brainer and 'superior AVR' the Yamaha RX V-475. It won a load of awards was more expensive and more features... But no matter what I tried settings wise this Yamaha AVR sounded inferior to the Sherwood AVR. I got listening fatigue very quickly with the Yamaha AVR and it didn't have that magical quality that the Sherwood RD705i AVR had. I found this very surprizing considering the Yamaha RX V-475 AVR had won a lot of awards and whilst the Sherwood was considered budget and cheap.

I never got to the bottom of why the Sherwood AVR sounded better than the Yamaha AVR, maybe it was just better matched with to the Precision Audio Speakers? Or had the better internal hardware. I tried looking at the specs of both amp but wasn't able to see from the specs why this was...?


Anyways ultimately, I know 'great sound' is very subjective that's why I felt I needed to explain with a long story.... I'm looking to buy a HI-FI that can bring back that magical 'come to my ears' sound that the Sherwood RD 705i AVR produced. The reason I felt like I needed to write this long post was to get across that sometimes newer/more expensive/well known doesn't always mean 'better' sound. I was nearly going to pull the trigger on buying the Sherwood again but after reading a lot of forum posts realized that Sherwood has MASSIVE problems with their HDMI boards and are prone to eventually blowing.

Getting to the point, would anyone know of any relatively cheap AVR which is DOLBY/DTS HDcapable (second hand eBay - $300 Canadian dollar range ) and is known for having great dynamic sound come to your ears sound? As I said earlier I picked up the Sherwood RD705i AVR for $199.ca on eBay so hopefully, there should be something just as tantalizing for $300.ca..or I would have thought


Well phew... thank you for taking the time and patience to read my post/request I look forward to any suggestions.

 

[rojo]

@skytra7: Hmm. Not familiar with Precision Audio (or Precision Acoustics as my web searches suggest). Either way, it sounds like a white van speaker company to me. But if you dig them, who'm I to argue?

My guess is that you grew accustomed to the Sherwood's sound, however its tone controls were set, without any correction to tame your room interaction. But when you got your Yamaha and ran YPAO, its room correction might've flattened a room mode. You expected to hear a fuller sound at that frequency where the mode lived, but suddenly it was the same volume as the rest of the range. And now you hear your speakers in their full white van glory without the mask of room modes.

I know you'll find this hard to believe, and I apologize if this advice seems like I didn't read your tl;dr explanation. I promise I did.

Good sound comes from good speakers, not from fancy electronics. The most profound improvement to your sound will come from better speakers. You say you're in Canada? Maybe try a pair of the Fluance Signature Series bookshelf speakers. They're in your price range, and Fluance offers a 30-day in-home trial -- even picking up the tab for return shipping if the speakers fail the audition.

If you insist on different amplification, then you might consider a pair of powered monitors rather than a different AVR. The Monoprice 605500 look pretty interesting, offering a selectable tweeter tuning switch to tame or boost highs according to your room. If you can save another $140 the JBL LSR305 would be a definite win.

Or if you wouldn't mind something from the used market, maybe you could let us know where in Canada you live, and we'll see whether there are any Canuck Audio Mart or eBay ads of particular interest.

You've got a very difficult budget to work with.

 

[Pogre]

I found this. It's a whole system. You can see one of the speakers on the left 20 seconds or so in. Let us know if that's it.

Rojo makes a very good point, though I didn't see anywhere in your post that you did anything with room correction. Did you run ypao? That Yamaha should best the Sherwood in almost every way. You very likely won't be happy with another avr or amp.

Aside from room correction and dsp settings they should all sound the same. There may have been an issue with the Sherwood (you mention MASSIVE problems) you got used to or like rojo said, preset tone controls and no room correction is what you grew accustomed to.

I'm not finding anything very encouraging (or definitive) about those speakers. I think a new pair would knock your socks off.. not new electronics. The Fluance suggestion is a very good, risk free option.

 

[skytra7]

Pogre and Rojo thank you for your replies and suggestions I did write a long post so I made a big error, YES you are right ROJO the company name is "Precision Acoustics" NOT "Audio" (sorry)

Here is my speaker:

Precision Acoustics CT26: http://www.precision-acoustics.com/classic_ct26.php


Also, I forgot to mention about Room Setups. However, even without room setup wizard thingy on both AVRs, the supposedly inferior Sherwood RD 705i was still easier 'to the ears' than the Yamaha RX V475. My wife who isn't an audiophile in any way/sense even noticed the difference and said the same thing that the Yamaha wasn't as good as the Sherwood. The Sherwood was easier to listen to and more engaging.

When I first got the Sherwood it sounded amazing without Room Correction and then when I did the Sherwood Room Correction it STILL sounded good. I have had a few AVRs so I had a general reference point. Conversely, when I got the Yamaha it sounded terrible without Room Correction and STILL terrible with Room Correction. So I messed about with Yamaha RC on and off and could never get that 'come to my ears' easy sound the Sherwood delivered with the SAME pair of tower speakers. Whilst I agree better speakers is a different angle to think about for improving my audio experience the difference between the Yamaha/Sherwood was night and day, which makes me think different AVRs can also influence sound drastically too.

No matter what level of tweaking or setting, EQ etc The Yamaha doesn't sound as engaging and gives listening fatigue pretty quickly compared to the Sherwood. I will have another play with the Yamaha Ypoa settings again this weekend I haven't done it for a while to see If I can get an improvement, but I don't hold up much hope as I mentioned the Sherwood just was perfect even with messing around with settings.

Rojo - I know you mentioned that I may have become accustomed to the Sherwood sound and I know that can happen but I have to say no to that idea. It was definitely better, music sounded more dynamic, instruments popped out the way you would want them to, dialogue on TV and movie was clearer and less muddled, the Yamaha was the complete opposite of the Sherwood.

Also, Rojo when you mentioned 'Room mode" did you mean those fancy named EQ settings that some manufactures have? I know the Sherwood had some fancy EQ but to be honest I had all the EQ modes off, even when both AVRs were in 'DIRECT mode' the Sherwood AVR was still better sounding.

I will definitely look into the Fluance Signature Series speakers that you suggested Rojo - maybe these speakers will match the Yamaha more than the Precision Acoustics one as they may be better quality as you suggested I think logically this a more sensible step than buying another Sherwood AVR again as I mentioned there seems to be a design flaw in those models and would be an expensive mistake as Sherwood has removed all support for parts. However, I'm also still willing to listen to offers for decent AVRs that could better the Yamaha Thanks for reading again and replies have a enjoy the begining of your weekends!

 

[Pogre]

Pogre and Rojo thank you for your replies and suggestions I did write a long post so I made a big error, YES you are right ROJO the company name is "Precision Acoustics" NOT "Audio" (sorry)

Here is my speaker:

Precision Acoustics CT26: http://www.precision-acoustics.com/classic_ct26.php


Also, I forgot to mention about Room Setups. However, even without room setup wizard thingy on both AVRs, the supposedly inferior Sherwood RD 705i was still easier 'to the ears' than the Yamaha RX V475. My wife who isn't an audiophile in any way/sense even noticed the difference and said the same thing that the Yamaha wasn't as good as the Sherwood. The Sherwood was easier to listen to and more engaging.

When I first got the Sherwood it sounded amazing without Room Correction and then when I did the Sherwood Room Correction it STILL sounded good. I have had a few AVRs so I had a general reference point. Conversely, when I got the Yamaha it sounded terrible without Room Correction and STILL terrible with Room Correction. So I messed about with Yamaha RC on and off and could never get that 'come to my ears' easy sound the Sherwood delivered with the SAME pair of tower speakers. Whilst I agree better speakers is a different angle to think about for improving my audio experience the difference between the Yamaha/Sherwood was night and day, which makes me think different AVRs can also influence sound drastically too.

No matter what level of tweaking or setting, EQ etc The Yamaha doesn't sound as engaging and gives listening fatigue pretty quickly compared to the Sherwood. I will have another play with the Yamaha Ypoa settings again this weekend I haven't done it for a while to see If I can get an improvement, but I don't hold up much hope as I mentioned the Sherwood just was perfect even with messing around with settings.

Rojo - I know you mentioned that I may have become accustomed to the Sherwood sound and I know that can happen but I have to say no to that idea. It was definitely better, music sounded more dynamic, instruments popped out the way you would want them to, dialogue on TV and movie was clearer and less muddled, the Yamaha was the complete opposite of the Sherwood.

Also, Rojo when you mentioned 'Room mode" did you mean those fancy named EQ settings that some manufactures have? I know the Sherwood had some fancy EQ but to be honest I had all the EQ modes off, even when both AVRs were in 'DIRECT mode' the Sherwood AVR was still better sounding.

I will definitely look into the Fluance Signature Series speakers that you suggested Rojo - maybe these speakers will match the Yamaha more than the Precision Acoustics one as they may be better quality as you suggested I think logically this a more sensible step than buying another Sherwood AVR again as I mentioned there seems to be a design flaw in those models and would be an expensive mistake as Sherwood has removed all support for parts. However, I'm also still willing to listen to offers for decent AVRs that could better the Yamaha Thanks for reading again and replies have a enjoy the begining of your weekends!

Just from reading your replies I'm convinced something was wrong with the Sherwood or there's something wrong with your Yamaha. I disagree with you about being used to the Sherwood sound unless the Yamaha is malfunctioning. From your description, something isn't (or wasn't) working correctly.

I too have owned a few receivers and was unable to detect any difference in sound quality from one to the next. I didn't even notice anything when I added a 1400 watt separate amp into the mix. I have more power and things run a little cooler now, but no change in sq at all. All amplifiers should sound the same all things being equal (no dsp, no room correction). If there's a significant difference then one is most likely malfunctioning.

I would absolutely try new speakers before replacing electronics, unless something is indeed wrong with your yammy.

 

[rojo]

Also, Rojo when you mentioned 'Room mode" did you mean those fancy named EQ settings that some manufactures have? I know the Sherwood had some fancy EQ but to be honest I had all the EQ modes off, even when both AVRs were in 'DIRECT mode' the Sherwood AVR was still better sounding.

By room modes, I mean the frequencies at which, at your listening position, early reflections combine exactly in phase with direct sound to form a Captain Planet of a sound wave. Have you seen where someone can take a speaker that measures flat, but in-room measurements show a series of peaks and valleys? The modes are the peaks. Nulls are the valleys, where the sound waves meet exactly out of phase and cancel each other.

For what it's worth, I don't dislike Sherwood receivers. I'm just as surprised as you that the Yamaha is so underwhelming. You don't happen to have a measurement mic, do you? I wonder if you can quantify what you hear with measurements.

 

[Pogre]

By room modes, I mean the frequencies at which, at your listening position, early reflections combine exactly in phase with direct sound to form a Captain Planet of a sound wave. Have you seen where someone can take a speaker that measures flat, but in-room measurements show a series of peaks and valleys? The modes are the peaks. Nulls are the valleys, where the sound waves meet exactly out of phase and cancel each other.

For what it's worth, I don't dislike Sherwood receivers. I'm just as surprised as you that the Yamaha is so underwhelming. You don't happen to have a measurement mic, do you? I wonder if you can quantify what you hear with measurements.

I just took a crap load of measurements so I have one handy to illustrate your point.

This is my in-room response with no room correction or dsp settings. You can see the peaks and valleys, especially in the bass region. I have very capable speakers that will measure flat anechoically, but my room makes a mess out of it.

 

[Pogre]

Here's another.

This is with room correction. You can see its a flatter response, but I'm still struggling a little with room modes. I'm still working on it.

 

[skytra7]

Just from reading your replies I'm convinced something was wrong with the Sherwood or there's something wrong with your Yamaha. I disagree with you about being used to the Sherwood sound unless the Yamaha is malfunctioning. From your description, something isn't (or wasn't) working correctly.

I too have owned a few receivers and was unable to detect any difference in sound quality from one to the next. I didn't even notice anything when I added a 1400 watt separate amp into the mix. I have more power and things run a little cooler now, but no change in sq at all. All amplifiers should sound the same all things being equal (no dsp, no room correction). If there's a significant difference then one is most likely malfunctioning.

I would absolutely try new speakers before replacing electronics, unless something is indeed wrong with your yammy.

Hey Pogre - Yes it's really mystifying... I would be confused how the Sherwood could have been malfunctioning and producing better sound than a functioning Yamaha..? Yes, it could be that the Yamaha has something faulty...and that just adds to another reason why it's easier for me to get rid of the Yamaha than the speakers as I don't really have an unlimited budget to replace the AVR and the speakers, unfortunately...


Also must say kindly and respectfully, that I have 'always' been able to hear the differences between different AVRS. Most AVRs have a DIRECT mode and I've always tried to use this and been able to tell the different 'signatures' of the AVRs. Some can be brighter, some better with bass, some better dynamically wise and some not so.

Admittedly I've never really owned a 'top or middle range' level AVR, I have always been reasonably satisfied with the best of the budget range AVRs from Cambridge Audio, Denon, Sony, Sherwood and now Yamaha, but, as I mentioned I put them on Direct mode to get rid of as much circuitry wizardry as possible to get a reference.

In fact, I used to live in the UK and used to frequent Richer Sounds testing room and used it to test different AVRs all the time on DIRECT mode and I heard a lot of differences. I figured this is to do with the quality and craftsmanship of the hardware inside the different AVRs.

I'm going to default/switch off the Yamaha YPAO settings and see what that sounds like and then try to setup again lol. I know the suggestion that it might be broken could hold true, I really wouldn't know too much about that.... In fact, it doesn't sound 'broken' and for all intents and purposes is still very good. Indeed, if I NEVER had the Sherwood I would think that the Yamaha RX-V475 is a great sounding AVR!!! Its only becasue the Yamaha followed the Sherwood that Im disappointed in what I've got. And that's why I wanted to swap it out for a different AVR. I was originally thinking of putting the Yamaha up for Auction on eBay and if I can get 200.ca for it I will add it to the $300.ca cash that I have and go for $500.ca AVR on ebay... Now Pogre has suggested that the Yamaha might be faulty I feel it's important to change the Yamaha, because if I get new speakers and then find out that nothing has changed much and that it WAS because of the faulty Yamaha... But as I said it doesn't sound 'broken', it still has its moments whenever we are watching movies or TV, there's even been the odd time sometimes when I've been fooled by the acoustics as to whether they was from a movie or real life and Ive had to check with my wife lol that to me doesn't make it seem like it's a broken AVR. it's just not as good as the Sherwood that it followed....

Rojo/Pogre- I dont have a purpose measurement mic, excuse my ignorance but can you use android phones with apps for that?

 

[skytra7]

Also comparing the speakers:

The Precision Acoustics CT26 seem to have better specs than the Fluance Signature Series? Lower frequency/bigger cones/can take more power than the Fluance Signature Series. Obviously, theres more to better sound than that but those specs to my fairly ignorant knowledge of speakers suggest that it isn't as good as the Precision ones...what do you think?

http://www.precision-acoustics.com/classic_ct26.php

http://www.fluance.com/signature-series-hifi-two-way-bookshelf-surround-sound-speakers-natural-walnut

 

[Pogre]

Hey Pogre - Yes it's really mystifying... I would be confused how the Sherwood could have been malfunctioning and producing better sound than a functioning Yamaha..? Yes, it could be that the Yamaha has something faulty...and that just adds to another reason why it's easier for me to get rid of the Yamaha than the speakers as I don't really have an unlimited budget to replace the AVR and the speakers, unfortunately...


Also must say kindly and respectfully, that I have 'always' been able to hear the differences between different AVRS. Most AVRs have a DIRECT mode and I've always tried to use this and been able to tell the different 'signatures' of the AVRs. Some can be brighter, some better with bass, some better dynamically wise and some not so.

Admittedly I've never really owned a 'top or middle range' level AVR, I have always been reasonably satisfied with the best of the budget range AVRs from Cambridge Audio, Denon, Sony, Sherwood and now Yamaha, but, as I mentioned I put them on Direct mode to get rid of as much circuitry wizardry as possible to get a reference.

In fact, I used to live in the UK and used to frequent Richer Sounds testing room and used it to test different AVRs all the time on DIRECT mode and I heard a lot of differences. I figured this is to do with the quality and craftsmanship of the hardware inside the different AVRs.

I'm going to default/switch off the Yamaha YPAO settings and see what that sounds like and then try to setup again lol. I know the suggestion that it might be broken could hold true, I really wouldn't know too much about that.... In fact, it doesn't sound 'broken' and for all intents and purposes is still very good. Indeed, if I NEVER had the Sherwood I would think that the Yamaha RX-V475 is a great sounding AVR!!! Its only becasue the Yamaha followed the Sherwood that Im disappointed in what I've got. And that's why I wanted to swap it out for a different AVR. I was originally thinking of putting the Yamaha up for Auction on eBay and if I can get 200.ca for it I will add it to the $300.ca cash that I have and go for $500.ca AVR on ebay... Now Pogre has suggested that the Yamaha might be faulty I feel it's important to change the Yamaha, because if I get new speakers and then find out that nothing has changed much and that it WAS because of the faulty Yamaha... But as I said it doesn't sound 'broken', it still has its moments whenever we are watching movies or TV, there's even been the odd time sometimes when I've been fooled by the acoustics as to whether they was from a movie or real life and Ive had to check with my wife lol that to me doesn't make it seem like it's a broken AVR. it's just not as good as the Sherwood that it followed....

Rojo/Pogre- I dont have a purpose measurement mic, excuse my ignorance but can you use android phones with apps for that?

I firmly believe you've heard differences. Marketing, reviews and bias are very strong and everyone is susceptible to placebo. I would bet my house that if you did a double blind test where all things are equal (no dsp or room correction, level matched, functioning properly) you wouldn't be able to pick a difference. There is a lot out there on the Web about this if you want to Google it up. Here's a pretty good article on it. And another one here.

As far as the Sherwood possibly malfunctioning, if it was exaggerating a certain frequency, you may have heard it as more detail, when in fact it's malfunctioning and you got used to it. A properly functioning receiver could sound dull or flat to you in comparison.

Either you have (or had) a malfunctioning receiver or there's some placebo going on. I guarantee you, you'll get A LOT more from new speakers. Take the money you were going to use to buy a new receiver and try out Fluance speakers. It's 100% risk free. If you don't like them you can return them and Fluance will pay the shipping. You literally have nothing to lose. In the event you don't like the speakers you can return them and still look into replacing your avr.

If you insist on a new receiver, I would suggest Marantz or Denon and look for one that has MultEQ XT32 for room correction. Aside from that, it's going to sound the same as the yammy, provided it's functioning properly.

*Edit: Fixed the second link. It's an article, not a forum post.

"But most of all, it's worth remembering that AV receivers, much more than other home audio devices, are all pretty similar. Speakers and headphones can look and sound very different, but AV receivers mostly look and sound the same."

 

[Pogre]

Also comparing the speakers:

The Precision Acoustics CT26 seem to have better specs than the Fluance Signature Series? Lower frequency/bigger cones/can take more power than the Fluance Signature Series. Obviously, theres more to better sound than that but those specs to my fairly ignorant knowledge of speakers suggest that it isn't as good as the Precision ones...what do you think?

http://www.precision-acoustics.com/classic_ct26.php

http://www.fluance.com/signature-series-hifi-two-way-bookshelf-surround-sound-speakers-natural-walnut

Well, you're comparing apples to oranges. A bookshelf speaker will never have the same bass extension as a tower. Aside from that, the Fluance speakers measure very well. If you have a sub you're good to go!

 

[Pogre]

There are better speakers out there for sure, but your location and budget makes it pretty tough.

 

[Pogre]

Well, you're comparing apples to oranges. A bookshelf speaker will never have the same bass extension as a tower. Aside from that, the Fluance speakers measure very well. If you have a sub you're good to go!

View attachment 21891

This would be more apples to apples. These "spec" (spec is in quotes because in reality a lot of them just aren't accurate or skewed) better and are within your budget. They look nice too and you have a choice of finishes.

*Edit: If you can stretch the budget a little more, these would be the next step up. Here are their published measurements. One thing I noticed, Fluance puts up an actual measurement of their speaker's response and Precision Acoustics does not. At least not that I could find.

 

[rojo]

This would be more apples to apples. These "spec" (spec is in quotes because in reality a lot of them just aren't accurate or skewed) better and are within your budget. They look nice too and you have a choice of finishes.

*Edit: If you can stretch the budget a little more, these would be the next step up. Here are their published measurements. One thing I noticed, Fluance puts up an actual measurement of their speaker's response and Precision Acoustics does not. At least not that I could find.

View attachment 21892

Yeah, and it looks like there's around a 7dB dip from around 650Hz - 1.1kHz with those XL7F towers, as well as another severe dip in the range of sibilants and cymbals. Fluance does publish actual response (though their gating to compensate for room interaction below 500Hz or so seems to be suspect). Fluance also deceptively tweaks the scale of their graphs to make the response seem smoother than it actually is at first glance. Notice that their graph of the Signature Series bookshelf ranges from 30dB - 90dB. Then notice that their graph of their least expensive AV5 bookshelf has a range of 240dB within the same height. Makes that 11-ish dB dip between 1 and 2kHz seem like nothing. Dirty.

 

[Pogre]

Yeah, and it looks like there's around a 10dB dip from around 650Hz - 1.1kHz with those XL7F towers, as well as another severe dip in the range of sibilants and cymbals. Fluance does publish actual response (though their gating to compensate for room interaction below 500Hz or so seems to be suspect). Fluance also deceptively tweaks the scale of their graphs to make the response seem smoother than it actually is at first glance. Notice that their graph of the Signature Series bookshelf ranges from 30dB - 90dB. Then notice that their graph of their least expensive AV5 bookshelf has a range of 240dB within the same height. Makes that 11-ish dB dip between 1 and 2kHz seem like nothing. Dirty.

Yeah, I looked at the charts assuming they were using a 5db scale. I see now those are 10db. Oops.

 

[skytra7]

I firmly believe you've heard differences. Marketing, reviews and bias are very strong and everyone is susceptible to placebo. I would bet my house that if you did a double blind test where all things are equal (no dsp or room correction, level matched, functioning properly) you wouldn't be able to pick a difference. There is a lot out there on the Web about this if you want to Google it up. Here's a pretty good article on it. And another one here.

As far as the Sherwood possibly malfunctioning, if it was exaggerating a certain frequency, you may have heard it as more detail, when in fact it's malfunctioning and you got used to it. A properly functioning receiver could sound dull or flat to you in comparison.

Either you have (or had) a malfunctioning receiver or there's some placebo going on. I guarantee you, you'll get A LOT more from new speakers. Take the money you were going to use to buy a new receiver and try out Fluance speakers. It's 100% risk free. If you don't like them you can return them and Fluance will pay the shipping. You literally have nothing to lose. In the event you don't like the speakers you can return them and still look into replacing your avr.

If you insist on a new receiver, I would suggest Marantz or Denon and look for one that has MultEQ XT32 for room correction. Aside from that, it's going to sound the same as the yammy, provided it's functioning properly.

*Edit: Fixed the second link. It's an article, not a forum post.

"But most of all, it's worth remembering that AV receivers, much more than other home audio devices, are all pretty similar. Speakers and headphones can look and sound very different, but AV receivers mostly look and sound the same."

Ok Pogre and Rojo, you both make convincing arguments, I will go and get some speakers and test it out first and if it's no good for me I can return as suggested, win win . Thank-you

Also now that you mention about damage, when the Sherwood died we had a lighting storm and power cut. Is it possible that the prescision accoustics speakers got damaged too...?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[rojo]

Ok Pogre and Rojo, you both make convincing arguments, I will go and get some speakers and test it out first and if it's no good for me I can return as suggested, win win . Thank-you

Also now that you mention about damage, when the Sherwood died we had a lighting storm and power cut. Is it possible that the prescision accoustics speakers got damaged too...?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I could see the receiver getting damaged by lightning but I've never heard of lightning travelling through the speaker wire and damaging the speaker. I'd think if there really were that much voltage passing through the driver voice coils they'd die their true death and you'd hear nothing.

 

[skytra7]

I could see the receiver getting damaged by lightning but I've never heard of lightning travelling through the speaker wire and damaging the speaker. I'd think if there really were that much voltage passing through the driver voice coils they'd die their true death and you'd hear nothing.

Ahhh yes thats what I think too pogre... I don't think the lighting damaged the speakers but thought I'd put it out there..., thanks pogre and Rojo for help, im glad I have an alternative to this situation. As long as I can get closer to that sound I heard before then I will be happy wether it be new AVR or speakers. Well I am definrtly going to buy the fluance speakers in the next two weeks and report back. I've seen them at bestbuy.ca for the same price so hopefully I can do the test and return there as well, but I will check before Have a good weekend.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[skytra7]

Ok, I'm back with another theory as to why the Yamaha Amp doesn't sound as good as the Sherwood AV amp and wonder if you guys could put me straight about it Could it be something to do with power... What I mean was the Sherwood better able to drive the speakers more efficiently than the Yamaha?

The reason why I'm saying this is because last night I tried to watch a movie with my friend and we didn't want to disturb my wife so I used a stereo splitter adaptor to try and power two separate headphones. Well, it didn't work as planned as one of the headphones got poor sound whilst the other one was ok. But when one set of headphones was plugged into the amps headphone socket exclusively as per correct and proper usage it was fine.

So this experience triggered a light bulb question that if a similar science was responsible for the Sherwood being responsible for sounding better than the Yamaha AV amp even with the same speakers. Did the Sherwood AV amp have MORE power to drive the speakers compared to the Yamaha AV Amp, is that why the Sherwood sounded better?


I don't have enough technical know-how to be able to determine this... but was wondering if you guys Pogre or Rojo could have a look at the power specifications of the amps and speakers that I will link here to see if you can see any 'indicators' to this possible theory? Appreciate any answers on this one thanks

Sherwood RD-705i AV AMP

https://www.amazon.ca/Sherwood-RD-705I-Channel-Receiver-Decoding/dp/B0085Q6FOQ

• Power Output - Stereo: 80W x 2 (40Hz ~ 20kHz, THD 0.1%) @ 6 Ohm / Stereo Mode
• Power Output - Surround: 100W x 7 (1kHz, THD 1.0%) @ 6 Ohms, One Channel Driven
• THD: 0.04%
• Input Sensitivity/Impedance: 250mv Line (CD, Tape, Video @ 47k Ohm)
• S/N Ratio: 95dB
• Tone Controls: Bass (100Hz) /- 10dB, Treble (100Hz) /- 10dB
• Frequency Response: Line (CD, Tape, Video) 10-100kHz


Yamaha RX-V475 AV AMP

https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-v475/specs.html

Amplifier Section Channel - 5.1
Rated Output Power (1kHz, 1ch driven) - 115W (8ohms, 0.9% THD)
Rated Output Power (20Hz-20kHz, 2ch driven) - 80W (8ohms, 0.09% THD)
Maximum Effective Output Power (1kHz, 1ch driven) (JEITA) - 135W (6ohms, 10% THD)
Dynamic Power per Channel (8/6/4/2 ohms) -/110/130/160/W


Precision Acoustics CT26 2-Way Dual 6.5" Tower Loudspeaker

http://www.precision-acoustics.com/classic_ct26.php

Specifications
• Tweeter: 1" Soft Dome
• Woofer: Dual 6.5" Woven Poly Hybrid Cones
• Frequency Response: 45Hz-20kHz
• Sensitivity: 90dB
• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohm
• Maximum Amplifier Power: 150 watts
• Dimensions (HxWxD)-mm: 980 x 220 x 310mm
• Dimensions (HxWxD)-Inches: 38-1/4" x 8-3/4" x 12"