Appropriate receiver for Klipsch RP280F speakers

K

Kelly Rankin

Enthusiast
The speakers I recently purchased (Klipsch RP280F) say that they are rated for up to 150 watts RMS.

I currently own the Yamaha RX-V377 which supposedly does 70 watts rms @ 8 ohms 20-20khz.

My speakers arrive on this coming Tuesday, so I haven't had a chance to try them out yet.
The speakers I currently have are the KSF 8.5 towers(older model from 1997).

I understand that you may not need to match the speaker's wattage exactly, but I'm wondering if the power level is PURELY an issue of volume or if there are other things to take into consideration.

Does a speaker sound better at low volumes with a higher wattage receiver?
Will any damage be caused to the speaker by being under powered by up to 50% or more?

I have a BIC F12 sub currently which I will eventually replace with something nicer, but for now I can't afford to drop any more on audio equipment. I'm not sure if I am going to stick with the sub or just the speakers. I also have heard that it takes more wattage to do low bass tones.

My primary use case is music (95%). I will occasionally watch movies on it like once a month, but that's about it.

I've been looking around at receivers and the only ones that can do ~150 watts @ 8 ohms - 20-20khz are quite expensive.

I also see threads where people state that it takes quite a bit more wattage to give a listenable difference in volume so that has sort of dissuaded me from picking up any receiver that does 100 watts per channel for instance as opposed to the current 70.

I am not very concerned about the features of my receiver. I will not be purchasing a "true" 4k tv or anything along those lines for a number of years. Mainly just want it to have plenty of juice and sound good. The rest is meaningless to me for the most part.

Can anyone give me some guidance about what I should be looking for given my use case?
 
K

Kelly Rankin

Enthusiast
My results from that calculator state:

18.5 dB Gain from amplifier
-5.2 dB loss due to dispersion
3 dB gain from sonic reinforcement
3 dB gain from placement
117.2 dB SPL at listening position
 
F

fmw

Audioholic Ninja
I understand that you may not need to match the speaker's wattage exactly, but I'm wondering if the power level is PURELY an issue of volume or if there are other things to take into consideration.
The power rating on the speakers is the level at which you run the risk of damaging them. It has no practical meaning for home audio and should be abandoned by the industry. It causes more confusion than information. I suspect it is lawyers that motivate inclusion of this specification.

Does a speaker sound better at low volumes with a higher wattage receiver?
No. Unused power capacity is simply unused power capacity.

Will any damage be caused to the speaker by being under powered by up to 50% or more?
No. Speakers are damaged by overpowering them not underpowering them.

I also have heard that it takes more wattage to do low bass tones.
That's correct. The low frequencies dissipate most of the power. Because you have a powered subwoofer, however, your receiver won't have to deal with the low bass. The subwoofer handles that with its own amplification.

I've been looking around at receivers and the only ones that can do ~150 watts @ 8 ohms - 20-20khz are quite expensive.
The one you have is more than enough. You won't gain anything important with a different receiver other than features that you might want.

I also see threads where people state that it takes quite a bit more wattage to give a listenable difference in volume so that has sort of dissuaded me from picking up any receiver that does 100 watts per channel for instance as opposed to the current 70.
Every doubling of the power adds 3 db of potential volume. The difference between 70 watts and 100 watts is trivial. Also it isn't likely that your receiver will ever dissipate more than about 20 watts per channel.

Can anyone give me some guidance about what I should be looking for given my use case?
Not without understanding what you think is bad about the system
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
OP, adding to what FMW has said I suggest that you set your speakers to "SMALL" in the receiver's settings. Despite their large size they don't need to be competing with your subwoofer for bass output, in fact more often than not having speakers that size set to large with the subwoofer playing the same frequencies will result in less overall bass output because they cancel each other out at certain frequencies.
 
K

Kelly Rankin

Enthusiast
OP, adding to what FMW has said I suggest that you set your speakers to "SMALL" in the receiver's settings. Despite their large size they don't need to be competing with your subwoofer for bass output, in fact more often than not having speakers that size set to large with the subwoofer playing the same frequencies will result in less overall bass output because they cancel each other out at certain frequencies.
I found this out myself through listening to a few albums. Even though my subwoofer is not the greatest, the speakers really shine when you don't make them play the lowest tones it seems.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I guess I'm late to the game, but I just tested out my Klipsch RF-82ii's with a Marantz NR-1605 (rated at 50WPC), and it works great in my living room at the levels I would normally listen.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
The power rating on the speakers is the level at which you run the risk of damaging them. It has no practical meaning for home audio and should be abandoned by the industry. It causes more confusion than information. I suspect it is lawyers that motivate inclusion of this specification.
I am a bit more cynical about this. There is no standard for how to determine power rating for a speaker, consequently, ratings can be anything! Some companies let their marketing department decide and others actually take a scientific approach.

In the case of the Klipsch RP-280F, the rating is provided as
POWER HANDLING (CONT/PEAK) 150/600
Since they were so kind as to specify 150 as continuous watts, I believe they may have actually put some thought into the spec, so your response is probably accurate for these speakers!
However, I'd bet 150 continuous would fry these speakers depending on the signal fed to them. Maybe 150 with typical music content (whatever that is)?

Ultimately I agree - no practical use.
 
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