4 Ohm Speakers/Reciever Combo

[zumbo]

Thanks for the advice. I just purchased the 805 last night. Got a killer deal on it direct from Onkyo as a Reburb ($435) I put the extra 2 years warranty on it for the $60 to give me a safety net. $495 total with free shipping. I will see how it goes.

If I have issues I will consider adding an extra 2 channel amp to assist. Can I use a lesser amp and use it and my reciever to Bi-Amp my speakers?

Would it be too much to ask for you to keep me informed if it goes into protection mode? My Onkyo did. Yamaha didn't.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the advice. I just purchased the 805 last night. Got a killer deal on it direct from Onkyo as a Reburb ($435) I put the extra 2 years warranty on it for the $60 to give me a safety net. $495 total with free shipping. I will see how it goes.

If I have issues I will consider adding an extra 2 channel amp to assist. Can I use a lesser amp and use it and my reciever to Bi-Amp my speakers?

Passive biamping will not do what you want. If you find the Onkyo does not deliver the goods for you, then your best bet is to get a stand alone amp to drive those MB Quarts. See what happens and keep us posted!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Before you buy, I would contact MB Quart and see if you can get an impedance curve out of them at least. A voltage current phase curve would also be very nice. Does it quote a minimum impedance in the literature that came with the speaker? I could find no useful information about them on their website. However a speaker configured like that is just the sort of speaker that could well present a very difficult load to an amplifier. There are a lot of drivers and multiple crossover points. It is just those sort of designs that are prone to produce the worst amplifier stress.

I would make good and sure those speakers don't cruise along at an effective two ohm impedance for a good chunk of the frequency spectrum.

Here is one but may not be his speakers
http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/mbquart_vera_vs_1f/

This has a rather high impedance, from the looks of it. If this is an indication of other MB Quart speakers, then...

 

[TLS Guy]

Here is one but may not be his speakers
http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/mbquart_vera_vs_1f/

This has a rather high impedance, from the looks of it. If this is an indication of other MB Quart speakers, then...

That is a totally different speaker and has no bearing on his speakers what so ever.

 

[Jeff R.]

Hoping for the best

I will let you guys know what I find out. I should be receiving the goods in the next two days. Is there any type of a break in period on this thing......I know speakers tend to have one, not sure about receivers. If not I will crank it and see what happens. The good news is that Onkyo ended up only charging me $385 for the receiver instead of the originally quoted $495 when I checked out. So if it stands I will have some extra money to put into an amp if necessary. Not sure if there is some type of an error or a discount I did not notice. Anyone else ever bought direct from Onkyo and come across this. I will keep you posted.....

 

[Jeff R.]

OK - I have hooked up the reciever and first test was a short test, had to go to work. I ran it up pretty loud with no issues. Sound quality is good. The Onkyo seems much brighter than my Harmon Kardon was. I did however confirm that I do have an issue with one of my mid bass drivers on a tower. It is very hard to notice under normal listen ing, however I was playing a song today with some clean piano notes and was able to detect it again, but only at higher than normal listening volume. I suspected that I had either damaged a crossover or either a driver. I think I have confirmed it with the new reciever. I previously only would hear something out of the ordinary when I had an analog input to the reciever. I was kind of hoping something was wrong with the reciever but I do not think this is the case. I just posted a thread for some suggestions on getting the speaker repaired if you guys have any other suggestions please give some. I am hoping to give the reiceiver a little better work out over the weekend.

Hopefully I can get the Quarts back to full stength soon....

More to come on Reciever performace.

I also read in some other forums that if running my sub I should always cross over my towers.....any opinions on that. I am sure it would take a significant load off my reciever.

 

[jliedeka]

I think crossing over to a sub is essential for home theater use and may be advisable for music. You are right that offloading the low frequencies to the sub will put a much lesser load on the receiver. You will, however, have to decide which sounds better. If your sub integrates well with the speakers, perfect, use it. If not, you have a decision to make.

Jim

 

[TLS Guy]

OK - I have hooked up the reciever and first test was a short test, had to go to work. I ran it up pretty loud with no issues. Sound quality is good. The Onkyo seems much brighter than my Harmon Kardon was. I did however confirm that I do have an issue with one of my mid bass drivers on a tower. It is very hard to notice under normal listen ing, however I was playing a song today with some clean piano notes and was able to detect it again, but only at higher than normal listening volume. I suspected that I had either damaged a crossover or either a driver. I think I have confirmed it with the new reciever. I previously only would hear something out of the ordinary when I had an analog input to the reciever. I was kind of hoping something was wrong with the reciever but I do not think this is the case. I just posted a thread for some suggestions on getting the speaker repaired if you guys have any other suggestions please give some. I am hoping to give the reiceiver a little better work out over the weekend.

Hopefully I can get the Quarts back to full stength soon....

More to come on Reciever performace.

I also read in some other forums that if running my sub I should always cross over my towers.....any opinions on that. I am sure it would take a significant load off my reciever.

You have either slight gap rub, or a cone voice coil separation starting. Either way that driver will need re coning. The cause is excess power. So crossing over to the sub would help prevent it, if you are going to continue to play that loud.

 

[zumbo]

I also read in some other forums that if running my sub I should always cross over my towers.....any opinions on that. I am sure it would take a significant load off my reciever.

Dude. Those speakers are meant to be used with a sub, and a x-over employed. Not good.

 

[Jeff R.]

I think I will keep my x-over setup. Zumbo: Any suggestions on repairing my mid-range. I have contacted MB Quart and they do not have any old drivers laying around.

Also, the reciever at this point is workin out fine. I still have not really cranked the volume for any extended periods. However I have let it run on normal listening volumes for upward of 6 hours with no issues. It runs a little warm but still cool enough to touch.

 

[TLS Guy]

I think I will keep my x-over setup. Zumbo: Any suggestions on repairing my mid-range. I have contacted MB Quart and they do not have any old drivers laying around.

Also, the reciever at this point is workin out fine. I still have not really cranked the volume for any extended periods. However I have let it run on normal listening volumes for upward of 6 hours with no issues. It runs a little warm but still cool enough to touch.

Do they have a cone, dust cap and shims, so that your driver can be reconed? A manufacturer is required to provide parts for seven years past the last date of manufacture.

If you can find a recone kit, you are home free and clear. If there are no recone kits, this is a big problem, as this problem I fear will progress.

There is no possibility of repair without access to a factory recone kit.

I take it you have isolated the problem to one driver.

The other possibility is that someone may part one out on eBay.

Since MB are a driver manufacturer, I doubt the drivers are sourced from another manufacturer, but it is worth asking.

 

[Jeff R.]

I was unanaware of the 7 year rule. I will have to dig a little deeper into it. I talked with a rep from the company and they claimed that they did not ever stock any parts for the speakers only tweets for a brief period.

The issues may simply be that MBQuart when bought out by---I think it was Rockford and now is affiliated with Maxx Sound may have lost track of some documents.

I bought the speakers in March 2000. So it has been over 8 years. However they were relatively new at the time. I know I have a friend who bought a pair of the QLS 830s in 2002.

I did not realize that the recone kit had to be from the manufacturer.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

 

[3db]

The Onkyo TX-SR805 has almost all the features they newer TX-SR806 has, but it has more power. They both use the same principle amplifier topology, only the TX-SR805 has a 20 pound advantage in combat (it's a monster receiver at 50 pounds). You can also find the TX-SR805 for cheaper, which makes it perfect.

The TX-SR805 is definitely 4 ohm stable. THX Ultra standards require that the receiver be able to drive loads as low as 3.2 ohms at reference levels in large rooms, which means it will have more than enough power to drive those speakers to excruciating levels of output (the benchtests don't lie on this guy).

I have two PS3s, I see no reason not to use the PS3 as my Blu-ray player. It can decode all HD formats internally and produces stellar PQ with Blu-rays and DVDs alike. The upscaling benchtests for the PS3 with the latest firmware compare favorably to most stand alone upscaling DVD players in the same price bracket, and far exceeding that of Blu-ray player's upscaling abilities for DVD (being $400).

Also, don't use the 4 ohm setting. If you set the receiver to 4 ohms all it does is limit power supply output current, effectively protecting retards from blowing their equipment. Which is sorta silly considering what that receiver is capable of.

3dB, not to be a naysayer or anything. But I'd be surprised if anything that NAD offers in the same price range as the Onkyo TX-SR805 will come anywhere close to comparing in terms of the power capability the TX-SR805.

I suggest going down and auditioning NAD and comparing them side by side to the Onkyo. NAD will bow to Onkyo only on features, but not on power.

 

[zumbo]

Yawa may have a spare driver to sell.
http://www.yawaonline.com/miva/merchant.mvc?

Couldn't hurt to check with United as well.
http://eusa.stores.yahoo.net/index.html

Both sell QLS.

 

[PENG]

I suggest going down and auditioning NAD and comparing them side by side to the Onkyo. NAD will bow to Onkyo only on features, but not on power.

I think Seth is correct. In general, NAD does specify their output ratings more accurately/conservatively, but the Onkyo 805 will be more powerful than any NAD receivers at similar price points.

 

[zumbo]

Another option would be to remove the driver, see if there is a model number on it, and search for the raw driver.

 

[TLS Guy]

I was unanaware of the 7 year rule. I will have to dig a little deeper into it. I talked with a rep from the company and they claimed that they did not ever stock any parts for the speakers only tweets for a brief period.

The issues may simply be that MBQuart when bought out by---I think it was Rockford and now is affiliated with Maxx Sound may have lost track of some documents.

I bought the speakers in March 2000. So it has been over 8 years. However they were relatively new at the time. I know I have a friend who bought a pair of the QLS 830s in 2002.

I did not realize that the recone kit had to be from the manufacturer.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

If the acquisition was a buy in bankruptcy, then there is no obligation to supply parts.

When OMC produced their fuel injected FICHT Evinrude high powered outboard motors, they were a bunch of very upset people round here. They were a complete disaster, and had catastrophic failure the first or second trip out, yes all of them. OMC went broke and the outboard division was bought by Bombadier. They did not honor the warranties, and frankly couldn't. These units costs around $20,000 each. For the buyers it was a total loss.

You need a factory recone kit, otherwise you can have no confidence the suspension, cones or surrounds will have the same parameters. If they are not the same spec, you will have a totally different driver.

 

[3db]

I think Seth is correct. In general, NAD does specify their output ratings more accurately/conservatively, but the Onkyo 805 will be more powerful than any NAD receivers at similar price points.

NAD is expensive and I realize this and yes the Onkyo 805 will beat NADin terms of power on that price point. I'm just talking from a receiver point of view in general and if NAD says it will drive 4 ohm loads, it will despite not having THX certifications. NAD is one of the few companies that delivers on its advertised power.

 

[Seth=L]

I suggest going down and auditioning NAD and comparing them side by side to the Onkyo. NAD will bow to Onkyo only on features, but not on power.

Ok... So NAD is more expensive than the model I recommended. The model I recommended has more power, features, and processing control. I really don't see what the debate here is. Do I have to backtrack and show you all the hard evidence again in regards to how NAD stands against the competition, or do you just simply ignore any post I make that has a crap ton of benchtests (on different tiers, not just the TX-SR805) that show you obviously inferior performance per dollar? I only make suggestions based on a certain product's performance.

You recommend NAD and PSB 90% of the time without any real basis other than you just like them. That's great that you enjoy their products, but I don't feel that it's right to shove that down everyone's throat like it's the best thing for every scenario. One has to debate this with you to make it perfectly clear that 90% of the time it's not even close to being the right choice.

But I'm sure nothing with change and you will continue to make recommendations based on your personal bias (not even experience).

Also, being inconsistent can't help you much either. You are either very confused or a troll. If you are a troll, congratulations you've successfully annoyed me.

Your response to my post regarding the TX-SR805 and which ever NAD happens to be closest to it.

I suggest going down and auditioning NAD and comparing them side by side to the Onkyo. NAD will bow to Onkyo only on features, but not on power.

You say NAD will have more power, but which one? Their top end model?

Then in the topmost quote in this post you go on to say that the TX-SR805 will defeat it in terms of power. Well which is it buddy?

And the TX-SR805 more than handily meets it's specified rating with ACD (which isn't nearly as important as 1/2 channels driven performance. As shown in this link below, it far exceeds most receivers under $2000 and probably a few that are more than $2000.

http://hometheatermag.com/compactspeakers/208bwonk/index5.html

 

[Jeff R.]

For those still concerned about which reciever to purchase, if you have not looked back through previous posts. I already purchased an Onkyo 805.