Denon AVR-591 Sizing question.

[nitra]

It's been years since I've worked on the home audio stuff, so I'm a little rough around the edges here, perhaps someone can shed some light and advice on my amp sizing.

A few weeks ago I opted to swap my amp for the AVR-591 over my old STR-DE695, quite a large upgrade.

Shortly after, with the advice from a few people here, I upgraded my sound stage to, 2x Polk Monitor 70's for L/R, 1x Polk CS1 center, 2x Polk Monitor 30's L/R Surround, Velodyne DPS-10 Sub.

My question now as I'm moving ever closer to the final date to return/exchange the amp is, is my amp underpowered for this setup?

The room is just under 150 sq. ft. I find that if I swap the volume control to absolute, that watching movies on the HTPC the volume is around 48~55% (at max) I'm find that while watching the SI 8300Hd PVR, the nominal volume level needs to be much higher, 55~65% (at max).

There really are no issues with the sound now, it's large, responsive, full ranged, the guys that I spoke to in the other threads really did a nice job helping me setup this system, I just want to ensure that this amp isn't going to blow prematurely or something because it's powering speakers that it really shouldn't, or if the levels that I run the system at are good enough to keep the system in the "ideal" range. I don't see myself ever going over ~75% absolute volume, given the room size, that's quite uncomfortable.

The only possible upgrade I'd be able to fit into my budget would be to swap from the AVR-591 to the AVR-791, the 591 is rated @ 75 Watts per channel, the 791 is rated @ 90 Watts, however the 791 is a 7.1 amp vs. my 5.1. currently I have no need for the SB, I really have no space for them, or the want to connect them, so this isn't a worry for me.


Thanks in advance for the responses.

Matt

 

[tom67]

If you double the wattage, you get about 10-20% in volume all other factors being equal....not the answer, but nice to have more power for "head room" in transients....your reciever is adequate for a 15 x 10 room with an 8-9 ft high ceiling...your Polks have average efficency and not that hard to drive...Dont worry about blowing the amp unless you find you are driving speakers to distortion...you will know when it is straining. By the time the unit wears out you will be able to buy another with more features for a couple of hundred bucks.... quit second guessing and spending.... your system is better than 95% of the systems in American homes...Sit back, and enjoy...

 

[nitra]

Thanks for the reply, your response was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[gordsmustang]

thanks for the info

i bought an avr 591 last week and right after my purchase they put the avr 791 on sale 25 dollars cheaper. i hope i have no troubles returning the 591 . how many square feet would the 791 be best for my room is 14 by 27. thanks

 

[AVRat]

You need to factor in the speakers' sensitivity, but with average speaker sensitivity of about 88-91dB you'll have plenty of power for your room. Unless you have 20' ceilings.