AVR questions: bi-amp, RFI, and impedance

D

deronjohnston

Audiophyte
After a bit of research and a sale, I now have a Denon AVRX4000 mated with a Energy CF-50 and my Martin Logan Dynamo 700, a drastic improvement over my solid but small Onkyo CD receiver. My viewing room is simply my living room and it is medium small, I'd say.

Questions:

Bi-amp: While I don't think the system is quiet, I find I need to turn up the volume more than I think I should to get it loud (I'm not deaf either). Is this just me liking loud music and movies or is something wrong with my setup? Should I try bi-amping? If so, and assuming I use the rear left/right surround channels how will that affect 2 ch. music playback? I'm using 12AWG wire (plain jane speaker wire from Home Depot) with banana plugs for all speakers.

RFI: should I worry too much about the Medusa of cabling behind the AV cabinet? I've tried to keep the power cables away from the speaker wire and HDMI cables, but can speaker wires be run parallel to each other?

Surround speakers? Budget current has me using my Onkyo branded speakers from the CD receiver for my surrounds. Denon AVR requires 6-16 ohm speakers, while the Onkyos are indicated as 5 ohm. Have I already voided my Denon warranty?

This is a great resource, the forums have already been a big help to me. Thanks all.
 
G

Goliath

Full Audioholic
Bi-amping will not help you. If you find you need to turn the volume up then it is possible your speaker trim controls have been set in the negative. You can turn up the trim levels per speaker which will give you more gain at the same master volume setting. So everything will sound as if you just added a massive power amp but without the added price tag. :D
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
After a bit of research and a sale, I now have a Denon AVRX4000 mated with a Energy CF-50 and my Martin Logan Dynamo 700, a drastic improvement over my solid but small Onkyo CD receiver. My viewing room is simply my living room and it is medium small, I'd say.

Questions:

Bi-amp: While I don't think the system is quiet, I find I need to turn up the volume more than I think I should to get it loud (I'm not deaf either). Is this just me liking loud music and movies or is something wrong with my setup?

Since we have no idea what volume setting you are talking about, there is no way to answer your question definitively. However, some people do have strange feelings about these things, and so you would not be the first to imagine a problem where there is no problem. If the sound is not distorted and not too loud for you, there is nothing wrong with a high volume setting.


Should I try bi-amping?

No.


If so, and assuming I use the rear left/right surround channels how will that affect 2 ch. music playback? I'm using 12AWG wire (plain jane speaker wire from Home Depot) with banana plugs for all speakers.

That is totally fine. In fact, it is probably better than it needs to be (though that is not a problem). If you want to read up on this subject, here is a good place to start:

Speaker Wire


RFI: should I worry too much about the Medusa of cabling behind the AV cabinet? I've tried to keep the power cables away from the speaker wire and HDMI cables, but can speaker wires be run parallel to each other?

If you are not hearing any problems, then there is no problem. Don't worry about things that are not problems; there are enough real things to worry about in life.


Surround speakers? Budget current has me using my Onkyo branded speakers from the CD receiver for my surrounds. Denon AVR requires 6-16 ohm speakers, while the Onkyos are indicated as 5 ohm. Have I already voided my Denon warranty?

This is a great resource, the forums have already been a big help to me. Thanks all.

Impedance is a complex issue, and so I cannot give you a definitive answer to the question of whether there will be a problem or not. However, it is unlikely that it will be a problem, if Onkyo has properly rated the speakers. With surround speakers, typically little power is actually needed, as most of the sound from most sources will be coming from the front. So I would not be too worried about this, particularly if you are not someone who listens at deafening sound levels.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
...
Questions:
I find I need to turn up the volume more than I think I should to get it loud (I'm not deaf either). ...
I see a welcome is in order:)

While you may think you are not, hard to say without a hearing test, you could be in the near future with loud frequent listening.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
A receiver volume control is an amp gain control turning it up doesn't mean you are using the limits. For example my blurays are at -20db while musice is at -52db. Both are using the same amount of juice from the amp. If you hear something that sounds like clipping then you need to turn down the volume knob. Otherwise you're fine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
 
D

deronjohnston

Audiophyte
Thanks to all, good advice about not worrying about things that aren't problems. Aside from the volume issue (which probably isn't one), I think things are fine. Next: blu-ray player and a new display. ETA: 2025. Hope the rest of the system holds up until then.
 
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