I want more power behind my music

[DJ in TX]

Needing some advice on my next sound upgrade. I don’t know much technically, regarding watts per channel and various system components but I know you all will have lots to say on this, so here goes..

My current setup:

Denon AVR-S660H (info says 75 watts per channel)
Paradigm Atoms v.6 (bought in 2010)
Klipsch R-100SW (added about a year ago)

So to start, I’ll say that I do love the sound of my speakers. I appreciate them for my basic little home theater setup, but mostly I use them for music. Sometimes the sub is a bit too much for some movies TV shows, depending on the source material, so I turn down my sub sometimes to compensate. As for my Atoms, I have been enjoying them for a really long time and have no complaints about their sound quality.

With that said, I find myself lately feeling like I want more sound or power or something. I have thought about adding a couple more speakers, but I don’t know if this would really help. If I understand what I have been reading, it sounds like as my receiver has 75 watts per channel, that this is not much power and adding 2 more speakers would just divert some of the overall power from my atoms in favor of the new speakers and therefore drive each speaker even less. Is this right? If so, then what would be a good way to move forward? Instead of more speakers, would it be better to have a standalone power amp to drive the Atoms instead of having the receiver do it? I have been told that increasing from 75 watts per channel to 85 or even 95 watts per channel would not make much of a difference in power output and decibel level, but I may be misunderstanding.

Any advice here? As you can tell I have no idea what I am doing or how all the watts and power handling really work, but I do want to see what kind of improvement I could make to my current setup.

I should also add that I would not want to spend more than $300 or so. Your thoughts?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

At this budget, your best bet would be to find used Cerwin-Vega or Klipsch tower speakers.
Another option may be a DIY build with large woofers (8" plus) and high sensitivity, but most kits I've checked are out of stock right now.

Until you do, I'd also try to play with subwoofer crossover points and levels. Your sub wasn't the best choice, so it's unfortunately hard to lean on to compensate for the limited lower-middle bass that your small bookshelf speakers are missing.

 

[DJ in TX]

At this budget, your best bet would be to find used Cerwin-Vega or Klipsch tower speakers.
Another option may be a DIY build with large woofers (8" plus) and high sensitivity, but most kits I've checked are out of stock right now.

Until you do, I'd also try to play with subwoofer crossover points and levels. Your sub wasn't the best choice, so it's unfortunately hard to lean on to compensate for the limited lower-middle bass that your small bookshelf speakers are missing.

So you think my receiver has enough power and is not really the weak link?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

So you think my receiver has enough power and is not really the weak link?

Yes, and by far. It's the speakers. You'd need to 10x your budget before your avr power limit would be a problem.
You'd need to double amp power to notice a noticeable volume increase.

 

[DJ in TX]

Yes, and by far. It's the speakers. You'd need to 10x your budget before your avr power limit would be a problem.
You'd need to double amp power to notice a noticeable volume increase.

Ok, good to know. As for adding speakers, I don’t have the space (or spouse approval) to add large tower speakers in the living room. Is there a smaller category than a tower but maybe a bit bigger than a bookshelf that would still make a big impact? Would a second set of bookshelves do this or not really?

 

[TLS Guy]

Ok, good to know. As for adding speakers, I don’t have the space (or spouse approval) to add large tower speakers in the living room. Is there a smaller category than a tower but maybe a bit bigger than a bookshelf that would still make a big impact? Would a second set of bookshelves do this or not really?

You are using small compact bookshelf speaker, 8 ohm impedance and sensitivity of 90db. 1 watt 1 meter. Max power input is 75 to 80 watts.

That means that without spending a lot of money then you have to be content with what you have.

Adding speakers will make a mess.

Your current receiver can power your current speakers to the max, so adding an amp will be a waste of time, and if powerful will will likely destroy your speakers

Now you are upper against the loudness law. It is a log law. So for every 3db increase in loudness you have to double the amp power or have speakers 3db more sensitive. 3db is the bare minimal increase that is easily detectable. To double the perceived loudness requires increasing power by a factor of 10. In your case 750 watts per channel.

The bad news for you is that high powered systems that do that well, are very costly.

It takes really robust, large powerful speakers and powerful amps.

So, with your budget, and the fact you like those speakers, my advice is to be content with what you have now.

 

[DJ in TX]

You are using small compact bookshelf speaker, 8 ohm impedance and sensitivity of 90db. 1 watt 1 meter. Max power input is 75 to 80 watts.

That means that without spending a lot of money then you have to be content with what you have.

Adding speakers will make a mess.

Your current receiver can power your current speakers to the max, so adding an amp will be a waste of time, and if powerful will will likely destroy your speakers

Now you are upper against the loudness law. It is a log law. So for every 3db increase in loudness you have to double the amp power or have speakers 3db more sensitive. 3db is the bare minimal increase that is easily detectable. To double the perceived loudness requires increasing power by a factor of 10. In your case 750 watts per channel.

The bad news for you is that high powered systems that do that well, are very costly.

It takes really robust, large powerful speakers and powerful amps.

So, with your budget, and the fact you like those speakers, my advice is to be content with what you have now.

Yeah ok. I was already starting to lean in that direction as well. At least that option is free and easy. Lol. Thanks for the input.

 

[lovinthehd]

As others have said, the smallish speakers are your bigger limitation (keep in mind larger speakers tend to be more efficient/sensitive, whereas many think it's the other way around). How far are you from the speakers? Long distances won't help. There are more powerful avrs, but not likely going to make much difference with those speakers.