Onkyo RZ-1100 with Polk LSIM705

[DarthNooR]

I picked up a pair of LSIM705 and I like these speakers but I am wondering if my Onkyo RZ-1100 is good enough to drive them. It is rated at 140W per channel in 2 channel mode and these speakers are pretty power hungry. I have a 9.2 setup but usually listen to music in "pure audio" mode while only driving the 705s. My question is whether I really should be considering a proper power amplifier which I could connect to the RZ-1100 pre-amp outputs for the front channels? How would be affect my use of this system while using it in HT mode (using surround speakers and subwoofer? Does anyone have a recommendation about this? Is the RZ-1100 actually good enough and should I save my money or am I risking damaging my speakers if I listen to music too loud using this AV amp?
As a side question, I also have an older subwoofer. It is from Boston Acoustic and I am seriously doubting that it is a good match for these speakers. Any recommendations? My sides are S15 and my center is an S35.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Gmoney]

For music only you should be ok as long as your not driving them to ear bleeding levels. But with that said those are a low Ohm speaker, what? like 88 if I remember right? Adding a outboard amp surely would take a huge load off of your AVR when using it for HT. Maybe check out, Outlaw amps or Monolith they are good Quality amps. You won't need to take out a loan or sell one of you kids to afford one. Just joke about sell one of your kid's though. But at Moderate listening levels even HT you should be ok. But in HT mode that AVR, Probably is only outputting some where's in the line of 50 to 60 watts maybe less. But even thats with all channel at full power Continuously.,To get that AVR to output 140 @ 8 Ohms you'd have to drive it very loud. Also since your 705 are blew a 8 Ohm drive your AVR is more than likely outputting more X 2 @ a 6 Ohm load. umm 165 or maybe even closer to 200 X 2 into 6 Ohm load. What does you Onkyo say how much wattage output @ a 6 or 4 Ohms load? Thing about a outboard amp is your front mains would have their own power supply, so yeah you Most probably will have better dynamics at higher Volume levels with those 705's and even if you do add a 3,5, or even a 7 channel amp the power supply will surely be a lot Beefier than what's in your AVR. Many ways you could go when adding amps. Two monoblock amps to drive just you front L/R mains and let your AVR drive the surrounds or a 3 channel amp driving' your front 3 and let your AVR drive your surrounds. You have many Options my friend just depends on how deep your pockets are and what you wanna do what your system. Enjoy!

PS. You will get some really great tips on AH.
But you will need to add a little more info like, what Subs do you have? 10"? 12"? 1 or 2 Subs? 5 Subs? How big is your room?
do you sit 8ft in front of your mains? or 15ft from your mains? The bigger your room is you may need more power to Reach reference levels. Ok I just saw you have a sub old one you said? Yeah much better out their, check out SVS for sure but get ready with your Walet they ain't cheap but you get a very good Sub. There are some good Value Subs out there HSU is one. Enjoy!

 

[mazersteven]

Your Receiver should be fine. Do you feel your Receiver is not doing them Justice?
They do like power

Subwoofer

Subwoofers for Home Theater & Stereo | SVS

Powered SVS home theater subwoofers unleash the ultimate bass experience for music and movies.

www.svsound.com

 

[lovinthehd]

What levels do you listen at? The power hunger comes from cranking the volume up. You could be a candidate for adding a power amp, it's fairly simple to integrate the ampd with the channels the avr is powering, in whatever mode you use the avr in. Keep in mind it takes a doubling of amp power to gain 3dB spl. You might play around with this spl calculator to get an idea of the relationship of your speakers' sensitivity/your distance/amp power. The Polks I believe might dip to a fairly low impedance and may have some tough phase angles which might also be an argument in favor of more substantial amplification depending on your levels; you might want to look up measurements for your speakers. IMO you're more likely to damage your ears than the speakers by listening at high levels, tho.

A good sub is a good thing, what do you have particularly?

 

[DarthNooR]

Thank you all. One of my issues (at least one related to speakers..) is that I have no benchmarks as to how much I am driving these speakers and how close to the power limit of the amp and close to clipping I might be. Using thee spl calculator mentioned above.. and assuming 88dB SPL, it looks like I would have to listen at 104dB at my listening position in order to get close to needing 140W. I am about 8 feet from the speakers most of the time and listen at 60-70dB levels, maybe 80 if I really crank it up. So, if I am using the spl calculator properly it looks like I am way short of coming close to the power limit of this amp. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[DarthNooR]

Your Receiver should be fine. Do you feel your Receiver is not doing them Justice?
They do like power

Subwoofer

Subwoofers for Home Theater & Stereo | SVS

Powered SVS home theater subwoofers unleash the ultimate bass experience for music and movies.

www.svsound.com

I actually think the 705 sound great (to my ears) and show no sign of any strain. I picked the 705 instead of the 707 because I read (here and/or polk forum) that the 707 might be too much for a room the size of mine (a 15x20" room). After playing with the spf I see that I am nowhere close to asking much wattage out of my amp and it looks like my listening volume (60-70dB) should be no trouble.
I will keep an eye about the subwoofer. The one I use is rather old and part of the first AV system I bought 20 years ago. I never bothered to upgrade it. The 705 offer some nice mid and bass already so I would likely have to get a rather good sub (I think) to improve on the 705s.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

It sounds like you should not worry about power. What I would worry about is a) your center and b) sub in this order.
Matching center for your towers :

Polk Audio LSiM 706c MM Center Channel Speaker (Midnight Mahogany, Each) : Electronics

Polk Audio LSiM 706c MM Center Channel Speaker (Midnight Mahogany, Each) : Electronics

www.amazon.com

Sometimes seen on sale at $450

As for Sub, my persona; preference goes with HSU for band/buck. specifically VFT3-Mk5

 

[DarthNooR]

What levels do you listen at? The power hunger comes from cranking the volume up. You could be a candidate for adding a power amp, it's fairly simple to integrate the ampd with the channels the avr is powering, in whatever mode you use the avr in. Keep in mind it takes a doubling of amp power to gain 3dB spl. You might play around with this spl calculator to get an idea of the relationship of your speakers' sensitivity/your distance/amp power. The Polks I believe might dip to a fairly low impedance and may have some tough phase angles which might also be an argument in favor of more substantial amplification depending on your levels; you might want to look up measurements for your speakers. IMO you're more likely to damage your ears than the speakers by listening at high levels, tho.

A good sub is a good thing, what do you have particularly?

Don't laugh... a sub from an old Boston Accoustic 95PV..

 

[DarthNooR]

It sounds like you should not worry about power. What I would worry about is a) your center and b) sub in this order.
Matching center for your towers :

Polk Audio LSiM 706c MM Center Channel Speaker (Midnight Mahogany, Each) : Electronics

Polk Audio LSiM 706c MM Center Channel Speaker (Midnight Mahogany, Each) : Electronics

www.amazon.com

Sometimes seen on sale at $450

As for Sub, my persona; preference goes with HSU for band/buck. specifically VFT3-Mk5

I agree.. I am itching at getting a 706C so that I get a better match to the 705 fronts... I am waiting for it to go on sale....

 

[Gmoney]

I agree.. I am itching at getting a 706C so that I get a better match to the 705 fronts... I am waiting for it to go on sale....

They are on sale. half off I think?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Don't laugh... a sub from an old Boston Accoustic 95PV..

http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/4/4d5b93b7-e431-474d-814b-9acac7ace832.pdf

It's a sub from a HTIB system, but still, it's 12" sub with 300w continuous power, so it can't be that horrible.
that said, this sub will all over it. I mean smash it to pieces:

VTF-3 MK5 HP Subwoofer

The new VTF-3 MK5 HP sets a new standard for high-end performance at an affordable price point. It’s earned its reputation as one of the best value ported 15" subwoofers on the market. Customer favorite and best seller Smaller enclosure than the VTF-15H MK2 (4” less depth) and lighter, but...

www.hsuresearch.com

 

[mazersteven]

You have no idea how much better your system will sound with a Quality Subwoofer

 

[DarthNooR]

http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/4/4d5b93b7-e431-474d-814b-9acac7ace832.pdf

It's a sub from a HTIB system, but still, it's 12" sub with 300w continuous power, so it can't be that horrible.
that said, this sub will all over it. I mean smash it to pieces:

VTF-3 MK5 HP Subwoofer

The new VTF-3 MK5 HP sets a new standard for high-end performance at an affordable price point. It’s earned its reputation as one of the best value ported 15" subwoofers on the market. Customer favorite and best seller Smaller enclosure than the VTF-15H MK2 (4” less depth) and lighter, but...

www.hsuresearch.com

Thanks for the inputs. All of you guys have been very useful and have helped me firm up my plan

 

[mazersteven]

Thanks for the inputs. All of you guys have been very useful and have helped me firm up my plan

Picture of your rig are always nice too

 

[DarthNooR]

Getting a 706c tomorrow... but my subwoofer died. I do not really miss it but I will need a subwoofer. The hsu vtf-3 looks great but does anyone know if one can expect it to go on sale (<799) at some point?

 

[mazersteven]

Rarely do Internet Direct companies put things on-sale.
That's the point of Internet Direct is to cut out all the costs involved with Big Box store bought items and sell at low prices. That Sub would cost $1200 bucks or more if it had a Name Plate and was sold in a Brick and Mortar store

 

[DarthNooR]

Rarely do Internet Direct companies put things on-sale.
That's the point of Internet Direct is to cut out all the costs involved with Big Box store bought items and sell at low prices. That Sub would cost $1200 bucks or more if it had a Name Plate and was sold in a Brick and Mortar store

Well, one can always hope

 

[mazersteven]

Well, one can always hope

 

[DarthNooR]

Haha. Yeah...

 

[DarthNooR]

Ok, so you guys were not kidding about the 706C. OMG what a difference when watching movies.