New Advice, please...

[cannotcomplain]

Considering the Yamaha RX-2065 AV Network Reciever for a brand new AV system throughout my home. While the receiver is about twice what I initially thought of spending, I like the networking capability. I surmise the technological trend is going to continue in that direction, right? So, I need advice on matching speakers to this amp. My house is pre-wired for in-wall and in-clg on three levels, so I want to avoid boxes and bookshelf speakers if possible. The main level will have a home theater setup. Plan on two fronts, a center channel, and two surronds per existing wiring in walls and ceiling, as well as a wireless subwoofer (looking at Boston Acoustics CWS 8Wi Wireless-ready Subwoofer). Any suggestions on speakers? I'd like to stay in the $150 each or less range for speakers, unless someone tells me that price range is a mismatch for the Yamaha RX-2065. Please advise. Thank you.

 

[Ares]

Hello and welcome to the fourm I"ll do my best to provide you with some options.
http://www.aperionaudio.com/Basket/ShoppingCart.aspx
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/purchase/advisor.mv#bottom
http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-sbs01.cfm
http://www.axiomaudio.com/shopping_cart_disp.html

 

[bandphan]

150 per speaker, per pair or total? And fwiw that sub really isnt a sub for home theater but more for music.

If your looking for in wall/ceiling speakers, some companies to consider:
Niles Audio
Speakercraft
Triad
Polk
TSC
Boston Acoustics

subs:
HSU
SVS
Rythmik
Outlaw
Velodyne
Element Designs

 

[cannotcomplain]

$150 each, $300/pr. I will check out the speakers you mentioned. Thanks. I did look into Niles previously, but could not find their sensitivity rating.

Overall, I am a little confused by ohms (go figure). If the amp spec is 130 watts RMS at 8 ohms, and the speaker has a recommended amp power of 15-120 watts and power handling at 120 watts RMS, AND is 6 ohms, are the speakers an acceptable match, ie MA C280? That is, does the 6 ohms speaker wattage necessarily line up with the watts at 8 ohm spec on the amp? My physics courses are re-entering my mind after 20 years, and pushing me to think that these comparisons are not apples to apples. May be I am getting too specific. Please advise.

I read elsewhere that MA speakers were a good match for Yamaha amps--all that bright sound yada yada (this stuff is very technical and am learning that such is also extremely subjective). How much credence do you put in seemingly small ranges of frequency response? 50Hz - 30kHz vs 50Hz -25kHz vs 49Hz - 21kHx. I would surmise that the first is the "brightest", right? How important are the noted differences?

I undertand a sensitivity of 90dB+ is a good rule of thumb. Do you concurr? I read that ohms, frequency response, and sensitvity are the main factors to consider, right?

The subwoofer choice was per a AV installer locally. I did not know that some are better for HT and others for audio, but guess that makes sense. The big push on choice was regarding wireless. Our home theater is actually our main living room, so the sub will be for both HT and music. Is the Boston Acoustics wirelss model a good choice to handle both well? Any other wireless suggestions?

THANKS! Eager to learn.

 

[cannotcomplain]

Hi Bandphan,

(trying to figure out the thread/blog things, please bear with me)

$150 each, $300/pr. I will check out the speakers you mentioned. Thanks. I did look into Niles previously, but could not find their sensitivity rating.

Overall, I am a little confused by ohms (go figure). If the amp spec is 130 watts RMS at 8 ohms, and the speaker has a recommended amp power of 15-120 watts and power handling at 120 watts RMS, AND is 6 ohms, are the speakers an acceptable match, ie MA C280? That is, does the 6 ohms speaker wattage necessarily line up with the watts at 8 ohm spec on the amp? My physics courses are re-entering my mind after 20 years, and pushing me to think that these comparisons are not apples to apples. May be I am getting too specific. Please advise.

I read elsewhere that MA speakers were a good match for Yamaha amps--all that bright sound yada yada (this stuff is very technical and am learning that such is also extremely subjective). How much credence do you put in seemingly small ranges of frequency response? 50Hz - 30kHz vs 50Hz -25kHz vs 49Hz - 21kHx. I would surmise that the first is the "brightest", right? How important are the noted differences?

I undertand a sensitivity of 90dB+ is a good rule of thumb. Do you concurr? I read that ohms, frequency response, and sensitvity are the main factors to consider, right?

The subwoofer choice was per a AV installer locally. I did not know that some are better for HT and others for audio, but guess that makes sense. The big push on choice was regarding wireless. Our home theater is actually our main living room, so the sub will be for both HT and music. Is the Boston Acoustics wirelss model a good choice to handle both well? Any other wireless suggestions?

THANKS! Eager to learn.

 

[bandphan]

With speakers there is no consistant ohm rating as it shifts through the frequency range. As for wattage and their ratings take them with a grain of salt as for most applications you will only be feeding speakers a few watts at a time with larger peaks. Most THX speced amps will drive four ohm loads, if the speaker sensitivity is low then a stronger amp section would be warranted. Niles ratings are between 89-91, which would be slightly higher in room.



Niles and Speakercraft have a stong footing in the "custom" area and make good products for the money.

 

[cannotcomplain]

Thank you Bandphan. Clearly, I have a lot more to learn, both with AV and the mechanics of this blog!

 

[JerryLove]

I read elsewhere that MA speakers were a good match for Yamaha amps--

All properly constructed solid-state amps sound the same.

I undertand a sensitivity of 90dB+ is a good rule of thumb. Do you concurr?

There is no rule of thumb there. All sensitivity tells you is how much power it will take for a given SPL.

I read that ohms, frequency response, and sensitvity are the main factors to consider, right?

For speakers? Consider sound quality. For amps consider the ability to power your speakers. For AVRs consider features.

I did not know that some are better for HT and others for audio, but guess that makes sense.

An explosion doesn't need to sound accurate, just loud. A piano note needs to be accurate, and likely not as loud.

A good sub will do both. Budgets mean one compromises.