Advice on external amplifier

[Dead Wax Dave]

Hello all.
I just recently upgraded (or so I thought) to a Yamaha NS RS202 receiver. It claims to have 175 watts, but is very underwhelming for powering my Fisher STV-901U speakers. The cabinets have 2 -10 inch subs each.

Is it possible to add an external amplifier to this Yamaha RS202? If so, I believe 100-200 extra watts would be more than ample for my setup.

Advice on where and what to get would be very much appreciated.

 

[lovinthehd]

No pre-outs for an external amp on that 202....

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

No pre-outs for an external amp on that 202....

Thanks for the reply. So does that mean there’s no way to add an external amp to this receiver?

 

[Verdinut]

Thanks for the reply. So does that mean there’s no way to add an external amp to this receiver?

That's right. No way to connect an external power amplifier to it. If you really need extra power, you have to get an AVR with pre-out jacks for all the channels you want to connect amplifiers to.
Are you sure you need extra power? How much power can your speakers handle? Too much power could damage them. I suggest that you verify with the following link if you know the sensitivity of your speakers. Bear in mind that high SPLs can also damage your ears irreversibly:

Peak SPL Calculator

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

The “line out” wouldn’t work for an external amp?

@Verdinut.
Thank you for the help. The Fisher speakers are 180watt. Let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve been using an ancient Aiwa receiver (195watt) with these Fisher’s. This new Yamaha doesn’t have half the sound that old Aiwa was producing. Louder than need be and thunderous bass. I assumed the 175w Yamaha would be comparable.

 

[Darenwh]

Are you trying to get the two built in 10" woofers to act as subwoofers?

 

[Verdinut]

The “line out” wouldn’t work for an external amp?

@Verdinut.
Thank you for the help. The Fisher speakers are 180watt. Let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve been using an ancient Aiwa receiver (195watt) with these Fisher’s. This new Yamaha doesn’t have half the sound that old Aiwa was producing. Louder than need be and thunderous bass. I assumed the 175w Yamaha would be comparable.

I've looked at the specs on the Yamaha website. They don't even specify what is its power rating for either two channels or one channel at a reasonable harmonic distortion level. In my opinion, that cheap receiver doesn't have an average power rating of more than 60 watts per channel. What can you expect when you pay less than $200 for a stereo receiver?

If you want a more powerful AVR at a reasonable price, you will surely get a better value on a Denon receiver. If you do your search, you will find excellent deals with such sellers as Amazon or BestBuy. Also, if you are in the US, you can get a warranteed factory refurbished Denon AVR from Accessories 4 Less at cheaper cost.

 

[Verdinut]

The “line out” wouldn’t work for an external amp?

@Verdinut.
Thank you for the help. The Fisher speakers are 180watt. Let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve been using an ancient Aiwa receiver (195watt) with these Fisher’s. This new Yamaha doesn’t have half the sound that old Aiwa was producing. Louder than need be and thunderous bass. I assumed the 175w Yamaha would be comparable.

One thing that you have to understand is that your Fisher speakers can accept a maximum peak amplifier output of 180 watts for a fraction of a second only. If you put any more power into them, they will be damaged. They don't need that much power to perform and a 100w/ch AVR should be adequate.

 

[lovinthehd]

Line out can work but with no volume control, which would be fairly useless. Don't know where you got 175w rating for this, not backed up in the manual. Your speaker max wattage rating is somewhat meaningless, the impedance and sensitivity ratings of your speakers are more useful in choosing an amp. Doubtful there are subs in the speakers, woofers maybe. Here are the manual specs, odd they quote the 40hz as the lowest frequency response for the spec, wonder what happens at normal 20?:

• Minimum RMS output power(8 , 40 Hz to 20 kHz, 0.2% THD)
[North America, General, China, Korea, Australia and Europe models] 100 W + 100 W
[Asia model] 85 W + 85 W
• Dynamic power per channel (8 6 4 2 IHF) 125 W/150 W/165 W/180 W
• Maximum power per channel (4 1 kHz, 0.7%, THD)[Europe model] 115 W
• Maximum effective output power (8 1 kHz, 10%, THD)
[General model] 140 W[Asia model] 125 W

 

[Kvn_Walker]

What's the model of the Aiwa you are/were using? At least then we'd have a starting reference point. Also, are the Fishers 8-ohm rated or 4-ohm? I'm certain it's 8, but never hurts to ask.

As others have already said, those speakers would probably not survive a true 200 watts applied continuous power. Audio has always had a huge issue with overinflated specs (and downright lying, sometimes).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

No pre-outs for an external amp on that 202....

C'mon man, this is the beginner's section here. You gotta spell everything out.

What's a pre-out?

 

[lovinthehd]

C'mon man, this is the beginner's section here. You gotta spell everything out.

What's a pre-out?

It was a test and I think he passed.

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

Thanks for the help and advice, everyone. So in summary I bought pig with a silk hat.

@Verdinut
Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll definitely be looking for something better.

Sorry for the confusion. The 10inch speakers are woofers not sub woofers.

I just can’t believe my ancient Aiwa bookshelf receiver vastly outperforms this Yamaha. I suppose I’ll go back to using it (duct tape and all) until I get another new receiver.

Here’s the stats on the Fisher’s. Any recommendations for a budget friendly receiver would be much appreciated. I’d like something that will bring out the full potential of the Fisher’s. Also looking to add a graphic equalizer to the setup eventually.

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

4

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

5

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

I needed 5 posts to upload pictures.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hard to know what about the Aiwa unit you liked more, or what that Yamaha unit lacked on the other hand. What is the model number of the Aiwa? Probably not the power particularly but I'm guessing (keep in mind it takes a doubling of power to gain merely 3dB spl). I don't see much about your speakers with a search either but am guessing they're reasonably sensitive. What are you using as a source to test the receiver/speakers with?

We also have a saying around here, ask before you buy

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

Another newb question. Laughs are free. I’m here all night. When stated in the descriptions:
(2 channel x 100 watts) does this mean 100 watts total or 100 per channel?

 

[lovinthehd]

That 202 is rated for 100 + 100 watts from 40 Hz to 20 kHz at .2% THD but isn't specified as 2 channels driven, so guessing it's that each channel is capable of 100 watts with one channel driven. Normally you'd like to see on a 2ch amp the ratings when both channels are driven and with a full bandwidth (20hz-20khz).

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

Hard to know what about the Aiwa unit you liked more, or what that Yamaha unit lacked on the other hand. What is the model number of the Aiwa? Probably not the power particularly but I'm guessing (keep in mind it takes a doubling of power to gain merely 3dB spl). I don't see much about your speakers with a search either but am guessing they're reasonably sensitive. What are you using as a source to test the receiver/speakers with?

We also have a saying around here, ask before you buy

The Yamaha lacks sound quality and power. It has a tinny hollow sound. No bottom end either. Not sure the model of the Aiwa, but it’s much louder. Clean clear warm tones and as much bass as you want. I actually keep the bass settings on zero. The built in graphic equalizer helps tremendously with sound quality.