How to check whether a speaker set is compatible with a A/V receiver

[Sreeni]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a home theatre system, but rather than buying a one-box solution I have decided to buy different components. I am not that familiar with the technology. Reading information on the net I am concerned about the compatibility between the speaker set and an A/V receiver. What should I look for to check the compatibility? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Sreeni.

 

[Shinerman]

Not 100% sure of what your asking but just about any speaker can be driven by just about any receiver. Now, how well they can be driven is another issue. Most speakers are 8 ohm and some are 4 ohm and even 6 ohm. 8 ohm speakers are generally easier to drive than 4 and 6 ohm speakers and put less of a load on your receiver. Some cheaper less powerful receivers may have a hard time driving 4 ohm speakers. Most popular mid priced receivers from Yamaha, Denon, H/K, Marantz, Onkyo, etc, should be fine with 4 ohm loads, although they may run a bit warmer than normal.

I terms of sound, only you can judge which speaker is most "compatible" to your receiver and your ears. Everyone will probably have a different opinion compared to yours. No one is really right or wrong, it just comes down to what sounds best to YOU.

Remember, more watts does not always mean better sound and 8 Ohm speakers are not always better than 4 ohm and vise-versa. There are 10 watt tube amps out there that can drive some massive high end speakers.

Hope this helps. If not, maybe you can give us a better idea of what you mean by compatibility?

Shinerman

P.S. The spec sheet on any given receiver will usually tell you what Ohm load it can handle.

 

[Sreeni]

A/V Receiver + speakerset Vs HTIB - Unable to compare

Hi,

Thanks for the information received earlier.

Actually my aim to get a home theatre system, but would like to get a DVD Recorder (preferably with a built-in hard disk). Since these are pricey at the moment, I have decided to wait for another year. But in the mean time, I thoought I would get a cheap DVD player with A/V receiver and speaker set.

I have pretty much decided on Tannoy FX 5.1 Speaker system, as this seems to be good and cheap as well, but where I am stuck is whether I can plug these to any AV receiver.

The AV receivers that I have been looking at are:

Sony STR-DE597 6.1 (THX EX®, DTS ES®)
Sony STR-DB790

But I have also come across HTIB that seem to be equally competent with the above two (AV Receiver + speaker set) and look better too, for example:

JVC TH-S9
SONY-DAVSC6

These cost less too compared to the combined price of an AV Receiver and speakerset. I would apreciate if you can throw some light on the difference between two different set-ups (AV REceiver + speaker set and HTIB).

Best Regards,
Sreeni.

 

[zipper]

The HTIB can sound OK because the speakers are built to match the relatively low powered source.The advantage of buying the receiver/speakers separately is flexibility. The equipment in the HTIB will not be very useful outside of its own setup,whereas the receiver/speakers could be used in another combination in the future.I believe over time you would discover that the HTIB is inferior in sound to the alternative.Like shinerman said,you can,for the most part,hook any speakers to any receiver & achieve good results.

If you peruse this site you will notice that Sony receivers don't get a lot of discussion.There is a reason for that.Search a bit more before buying.

 

[Shinerman]

HTIB are about compromises. In order to get all those features for such a good price, compromises have to be made. Less features, cheaper speakers, less power and inferior power supplies, and lack of compatability. Speakers seem to be the biggest compromise in most HTIB systems.

Go for a decent speakers set and a decent A/V receiver. Like Zipper mentioned, Sony does not get much consideration in most Audio/HT forums and there is a reason for this. Look at Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, H/K, and Pioneer. Much better products in terms of reliability, sound and overall quality.

I have never heard the Tannoy speakers you mentioned but I can almost guarantee you they will BLOW AWAY any HTIB speaker set.

I would suggest that you buy the "most" speaker you can. Receivers come and go with new technology. Speakers tend to stand up to time much better. Speaker technology does improve but not nearly as fast as receivers. There are 30 year old speakers that easily hold up to comparison against newer speakers. My father has a pair of old Heil speakers that he will take to his grave with him. I love these things and have been trying to "liberate" them for years now. They are big and ugly but, Oh man, they sound good. Huge bass and nice detailed mids and highs. I love wathing Music DVDs on them.

Shinerman

 

[Unregistered]

Difference between 100watt DIN and 100watt RMS

Hi All,

You have all been very helpful. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated. After reading your comments I think I have decided on Pioneer VSX-D814 (about £236), but I am still searching for any reviews on it. I must admit I have not come across any reviews on Sony receivers (not good ones at least). I just have one last question, what is the difference between 100watt DIN and 100watt RMS? Are they comparable at all? Or is DIN just another new term to confuse the hell out of people like myself?

Thanks again,
Sreeni.

 

[Unregistered]

DIN vs FTC vs others

RMS (Root Mean Square) is a measure of 'continuous' power; ie how much power it can produce continuously over a period of time.

DIN is a measuring standard where a unit is tested at 1kHz into 6 or 8 ohms. (I think mostly a European standard, although US brands often specify it as well).

FTC - US Standard - Measured 20-20kHZ into 8 ohms, for a continuous time (IIRC 10 minutes). Measurement is RMS.

JEIA (something like that) - Japanese standard, I think it's similar to DIN.

Each is simply a different standard for measuring power output. The FTC standard is more comprehensive in that it requires testing full spectrum (20-20kHZ). DIN power ratings will always look higher because measurements are only at one frequency (1kHZ) and usually at 6ohms.