What kind of Speaker to buy

[Sam Kobo]

Hey guys,

I just bought a Denon AVR-S540BT surround receiver that gives out 700 Watts. Which would mean that each channel would get up to 140 watts. I am looking to buy some speakers and it says that they take up to 120 watts. Would these work or do I need speakers that take 140 watts. Please help. I'm very new to this and want to get my system sounding good and clean.
Thanks

 

[Gmoney]

yeah you would do better with a 200 watt speaker . Go on Amazon look up speakers than read up as much as you can on the one’s you like. Find a price your ok with. Then read up on your AVR, No AVR puts out 700 watts into 5 or 7 channels much less two channels. Start by doing your own research, you really need to school yourself on Amps, AVR and speakers cause I can tell you need to Research first than can back on AH and ask again about audio/video gear, lot’s of Bear traps on the internet less you step in one and get caught up by a sales person that sold you a pair of Bose speakers Maybe Loveinthehd will post up some links on speaker build on Theory and application of amps and AVRs. welcome to AH! Your one of us now, You can check out anytime you want but You can never leave!!

 

[Sam Kobo]

Yeah, you are right, I do need to do some research. I'll dig into some stuff and see what I come up with. Thanks for welcoming me, I am excited to get to know more about audio!

 

[Gmoney]

Yeah, you are right, I do need to do some research. I'll dig into some stuff and see what I come up with. Thanks for welcoming me, I am excited to get to know more about audio!

Hope you Realize my post was with pun just to break the ice. Be careful on the internet some will tell you, you need this or this one’s better for just little more money or get this one it’s only 250 bucks more but it’s top of the line. Lots of snake oil sales people hangout on audio forum’s. Yes even Audioholics forum has sales people hangout on here Daily. Best Advice to you would be set a Budget on how much your willing to spend and stick to it. Start with Research on speakers, tower speakers, bookshelf speakers. Read the specs!! read up on the build of the speakers what type of speaker driver’s are used in the one’s you like. For about 1500 to 2k will get you a good setup on the cheap. Speakers is where you start 1st! The better speakers with set you back between 1500 to 2K for a pair.

 

[Sam Kobo]

LOL! I did get the pun, I'm trying to stay away from sales people as much as I can. Obviously they have no idea what I really want/need. I did buy the receiver first, was that a bad call? Probably should have done some research prior to that purchase.

 

[Pogre]

What kind of budget are you looking at? Speakers come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges.

 

[Sam Kobo]

What kind of budget are you looking at? Speakers come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges.

RIght now my budget is relatively low, ~$200, so I am just looking for two speakers to pose as my front speakers. Then eventually move onto buying a nice sub and front speaker in a few months.

 

[Verdinut]

What speaker to buy?
As you already mentioned, you have to do your own research. Ideally, you should be able to listen to a lot of them within your planned budget and even at a slightly higher price for comparisons.

I suggest that you bring one cd or two to be able them with the music you like most. It is preferable if the store has a return policy. You could try them at home in your listening room and be able to assess them. The room is as important as the speakers for the overall sound performance.

Have fun and take your time for something you will have to live with for a while.

 

[Gmoney]

RIght now my budget is relatively low, ~$200, so I am just looking for two speakers to pose as my front speakers. Then eventually move onto buying a nice sub and front speaker in a few months.

Than checkout Dayton’s website you can get a pair of tower speakers for 200 not the best but good to start with. oh your AVR good starter unit.

 

[Movie2099]

Hey guys,

I just bought a Denon AVR-S540BT surround receiver that gives out 700 Watts. Which would mean that each channel would get up to 140 watts. I am looking to buy some speakers and it says that they take up to 120 watts. Would these work or do I need speakers that take 140 watts. Please help. I'm very new to this and want to get my system sounding good and clean.
Thanks

Your AVR won't be putting out 140 watts/ channel. Unfortunately companies like to put big Watt numbers on their packaging to make it seem like all you have to do is divide the number and that's what you get. Typically you you get the most from just 2-channels driven and then it falls off significantly with more channels added. For your specific model i'm seeing that it gets about 70 watts/channel with all channels driven. I would stay away from 4ohm speakers since your AVR probably can't handle that. Find some 8ohm speakers. Check out the link below of some Sony speakers. Since your budget is extremely low, these might be a good start.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-core-series-dual-5-3-way-floorstanding-speaker-each-black/5926456.p?skuId=5926456

Gene reviewed these and gave them some high praise.

 

[Pogre]

RIght now my budget is relatively low, ~$200, so I am just looking for two speakers to pose as my front speakers. Then eventually move onto buying a nice sub and front speaker in a few months.

If you're not in a hurry I'd suggest a little bit of homework and keep an eye on classifieds like Craigslist and be patient. I have a thread dedicated to Craigslist finds here and actually learned a fair amount from the guys about some of the different brands and models you run into out there.

For instance, if you run across anything from Infinity's IL series for 1-$200 in good condition they're very nice speakers. I see them pop up fairly often around here in the Phoenix area. This pair is available right now for $80!

Brand new condition, too. That's a steal for someone on a budget. The tower version, the IL40 for under $200/pr would be a good bargain too. Not long ago I saw an entire 5.0 Infinity IL surround setup with towers, books and center channel for like $400. He was willing to break up the set too. Some other classified brands to look out for would be KEF, Focal, Infinity, RBH, Revel JBL (depending on model/price), Ascend Acoustic and more. You can find some killer deals if you live in a fairly populated area.

As a rule of thumb I avoid "vintage" gear and electronics. Electronics are finicky and can suddenly die on you for no reason and vintage to me really just equates to "old n junky" with a few exceptions.

 

[Gmoney]

Your AVR won't be putting out 140 watts/ channel. Unfortunately companies like to put big Watt numbers on their packaging to make it seem like all you have to do is divide the number and that's what you get. Typically you you get the most from just 2-channels driven and then it falls off significantly with more channels added. For your specific model i'm seeing that it gets about 70 watts/channel with all channels driven. I would stay away from 4ohm speakers since your AVR probably can't handle that. Find some 8ohm speakers. Check out the link below of some Sony speakers. Since your budget is extremely low, these might be a good start.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-core-series-dual-5-3-way-floorstanding-speaker-each-black/5926456.p?skuId=5926456

Gene reviewed these and gave them some high praise.

Nice post bro! Solid advice!!

 

[Verdinut]

I see that your budget is rather limited. I suggest that you look for used or demo speakers if don't have any at present. If you do have some, I suggest that you wait till you can afford to buy a pair of bookshelves costing at least $500.

As for the power handling of speakers, your AVR has a power rating of 70 watts/ch at 8 ohms. Most speakers on the market should be able to handle its rated power if you don't drive your receiver beyond it's normal useful range. The speakers should have an impedance of 8 ohms.

 

[Pogre]

I see that your budget is rather limited. I suggest that you look for used or demo speakers if don't have any at present. If you do have some, I suggest that you wait till you can afford to buy a pair of bookshelves costing at least $500.

As for the power handling of speakers, your AVR has a power rating of 70 watts/ch at 8 ohms. Most speakers on the market should be able to handle its rated power if you don't drive your receiver beyond it's normal range. The speakers should have an impedance of 8 ohms.

I think something like those IL10s I posted above would be a great start, especially if he stumbles across a pair of IL40s for $200 or less. I'd recommend jumping on something like that. Those are very good speakers and they come up fairly often in my neck of the woods.

 

[JerryLove]

I just bought a Denon AVR-S540BT surround receiver that gives out 700 Watts. Which would mean that each channel would get up to 140 watts.

If you are paying 5-channel pink noise and your power rails can handle it.

In the real world, it's rare in the extreme for all speakers to output at the same SPL. So realistically there's a bit more per-speaker (on the flip side, though, ratings can lie by not accounting for other variables, so it can be less per speaker).

What you'll want to do is the math to see how loud it can be played.

I am looking to buy some speakers and it says that they take up to 120 watts. Would these work or do I need speakers that take 140 watts. Please help. I'm very new to this and want to get my system sounding good and clean.

You are fine unless you overdrive them.

Peak SPL Calculator

 

[Pogre]

@Sam Kobo what area do you live in? Like a zip code, nearby town or city? I have fun flipping through Craigslist and looking for unicorns, lol. If I have time a little bit later maybe I'll flip through Craigslist in your area and see what's available.

 

[Sam Kobo]

@Sam Kobo what area do you live in? Like a zip code? I have fun flipping through Craigslist and looking for unicorns, lol. If I have time a little bit later maybe I'll flip through Craigslist in your area and see what's available.

Im in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Zip Code: 44141

 

[Gmoney]

I think something like those IL10s I posted above would be a great start, especially if he stumbles across a pair of IL40s for $200 or less. I'd recommend jumping on something like that. Those are very good speakers and they come up fairly often in my neck of the woods.

View attachment 35811

i had a pair of those Infinities like them a lot, sad to say my last EX sold them off at a pawn shop for Gambling money.

 

[Sam Kobo]

Thanks all, I will read through the comments and do some additionally research and report back with my findings!

 

[Gmoney]

Cleveland Browns!! You NFL guy?