New speakers; weak sound

[andylow]

My father gave me a pair of Klipsch Synergy series F-3 loudspeakers for Christmas to help start building my own home theater system.

The problem is that they're not the least bit loud. I've heard them before on display and they were extremely loud, but in my living room, even pumping the receiver up to full volume, they do not produce much sound.

I'm assuming they're not getting enough power. My roommates and I tried all 3 of our receivers. I have an old Pioneer that was, in its time, an ok receiver, but it's pretty old (VSX-D603S). We have two other Sony receivers, but they're not particularly good. The better of the two supposedly outputs 100w x 6.

I was hoping some of you could give me some feedback on a route to take. I will eventually buy a high-end receiver, but that won't happen for a few months as I'm buying a new TV about a month from now. I've looked into some amplifiers (I've admittedly no clue about home stereo amps), but wasn't all that impressed with the wattage of any of them x2 @ 8Ohms (unless I'm missing something... which is very likely). I did come across some amplifiers by a company called PYLE which apparently output double the wattage of other amps I've looked at at half the price. But if the name is any indicator, they're probably not something I want to go with...?

Could some of you give me suggestions/advice? Thanks for your help!

 

[mtrycrafts]

My father gave me a pair of Klipsch Synergy series F-3 loudspeakers for Christmas to help start building my own home theater system.

The problem is that they're not the least bit loud. I've heard them before on display and they were extremely loud, but in my living room, even pumping the receiver up to full volume, they do not produce much sound.

I'm assuming they're not getting enough power. My roommates and I tried all 3 of our receivers. I have an old Pioneer that was, in its time, an ok receiver, but it's pretty old (VSX-D603S). We have two other Sony receivers, but they're not particularly good. The better of the two supposedly outputs 100w x 6.

I was hoping some of you could give me some feedback on a route to take. I will eventually buy a high-end receiver, but that won't happen for a few months as I'm buying a new TV about a month from now. I've looked into some amplifiers (I've admittedly no clue about home stereo amps), but wasn't all that impressed with the wattage of any of them x2 @ 8Ohms (unless I'm missing something... which is very likely). I did come across some amplifiers by a company called PYLE which apparently output double the wattage of other amps I've looked at at half the price. But if the name is any indicator, they're probably not something I want to go with...?

Could some of you give me suggestions/advice? Thanks for your help!

Something is wrong someplace.
Those speakers are 8 ohms, an easy load for most amps AND, it is extremely sensitive, 97dB spl at 1 meter and 1 watt. That is ear bleeding levels almost.

Yes, you must be missing something with the amps too, not sure what.
What are your expectations? What do you want from an amp? Not sure I heard of that Pyle amp and their claims. What are they, any links?

By the way, amp power is not all there is to be had. Speakers are what determines the power needs, listening levels you need and distance you sit from the speakers, all part of the equation.
Those speakers should rattle windows at 10 watts.

 

[Seth=L]

Don't get too concerned about power ratings. Set aside a budget for a new receiver. If you can spend up to $500 I would likely go for the Harman Kardon AVR-247. It has tons of features and could power the Klipsch very well (regardless of specified power ratings).

 

[andylow]

Something is wrong someplace.
Those speakers are 8 ohms, an easy load for most amps AND, it is extremely sensitive, 97dB spl at 1 meter and 1 watt. That is ear bleeding levels almost.

Yes, you must be missing something with the amps too, not sure what.
What are your expectations? What do you want from an amp? Not sure I heard of that Pyle amp and their claims. What are they, any links?

By the way, amp power is not all there is to be had. Speakers are what determines the power needs, listening levels you need and distance you sit from the speakers, all part of the equation.
Those speakers should rattle windows at 10 watts.

Yea, I've heard them on display and they were really really loud, but when I hook them up to the receiver we're using they're not loud at all. I wouldn't say quiet, but not to far above.

The receiver they're hooked up to is the Sony STR-DE695 (the forums wont let me post links, sorry). I've got the 2 Klipsch F-3s hooked up to the front A channel, a JBL center speaker hooked up to the center channel and a sub.

I'm just under the impression that they're not receiving enough power. I don't understand how else they would be outputting so little sound. I doubt they're defective as they come separately and the chances of having both of them be such are pretty slim.

I'm wondering if I don't need an amp to push them? I've never owned speakers of this caliber nor have I ever owned an amp; so I'm not sure where to go with this.

 

[andylow]

Don't get too concerned about power ratings. Set aside a budget for a new receiver. If you can spend up to $500 I would likely go for the Harman Kardon AVR-247. It has tons of features and could power the Klipsch very well (regardless of specified power ratings).

Budgeting isn't really a concern depending on what I all need. I'm buying a 58" 1080p plasma next month; so it will be probably another month before I can purchase a receiver (I was looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH).

I just don't want to spend too much ($550 or less) on an amplifier. If I need one.

 

[3db]

My father gave me a pair of Klipsch Synergy series F-3 loudspeakers for Christmas to help start building my own home theater system.

The problem is that they're not the least bit loud. I've heard them before on display and they were extremely loud, but in my living room, even pumping the receiver up to full volume, they do not produce much sound.

I'm assuming they're not getting enough power. My roommates and I tried all 3 of our receivers. I have an old Pioneer that was, in its time, an ok receiver, but it's pretty old (VSX-D603S). We have two other Sony receivers, but they're not particularly good. The better of the two supposedly outputs 100w x 6.

I was hoping some of you could give me some feedback on a route to take. I will eventually buy a high-end receiver, but that won't happen for a few months as I'm buying a new TV about a month from now. I've looked into some amplifiers (I've admittedly no clue about home stereo amps), but wasn't all that impressed with the wattage of any of them x2 @ 8Ohms (unless I'm missing something... which is very likely). I did come across some amplifiers by a company called PYLE which apparently output double the wattage of other amps I've looked at at half the price. But if the name is any indicator, they're probably not something I want to go with...?

Could some of you give me suggestions/advice? Thanks for your help!

do you have access to a SPL meter , sound pressure level meter that measures loudness? Its a too you'll need to properly setup a 5.1 HT and they're around $75 to $100 at Radio Shack. I'm curious to see hear what your definition of loud is.

The other thought that comes to mind is, how big is the room that the speakers are in now compared to the size of the room you initially heard them?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

50 watts should be able to make those Klipsh scream, something is wrong.

 

[Davemcc]

Do you have the jumper installed between the speaker wire connectors? If the jumper is not installed, you're only using half the drivers in the cabinet.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

That's a thought but not only would it be quite, it would sound like crap.

Do you have the jumper installed between the speaker wire connectors? If the jumper is not installed, you're only using half the drivers in the cabinet.

 

[3db]

Do you have the jumper installed between the speaker wire connectors? If the jumper is not installed, you're only using half the drivers in the cabinet.

Good call

 

[Seth=L]

50 watts should be able to make those Klipsh scream, something is wrong.

I gotta say I agree. My Bostons are only 90 db/1watt/meter and they can scream with the 25 watts x 2 my Teac offers. Unless you have a mamoth room I can't see how they wouldn't sound extremely loud unless there is just something you are missing on the receiver. What happens when you try to turn it up really loud, or have you just assumed you can't go passed a certain point on the volume control of your current receiver?

 

[Sheep]

Out your ear up to the tweeter the the midrange driver when playing. Are both playing? Make sure they are in phase too.

SheepStar

 

[PENG]

My father gave me a pair of Klipsch Synergy series F-3 loudspeakers for Christmas to help start building my own home theater system.

The problem is that they're not the least bit loud. I've heard them before on display and they were extremely loud, but in my living room, even pumping the receiver up to full volume, they do not produce much sound.

I'm assuming they're not getting enough power. My roommates and I tried all 3 of our receivers. I have an old Pioneer that was, in its time, an ok receiver, but it's pretty old (VSX-D603S). We have two other Sony receivers, but they're not particularly good. The better of the two supposedly outputs 100w x 6.

I was hoping some of you could give me some feedback on a route to take. I will eventually buy a high-end receiver, but that won't happen for a few months as I'm buying a new TV about a month from now. I've looked into some amplifiers (I've admittedly no clue about home stereo amps), but wasn't all that impressed with the wattage of any of them x2 @ 8Ohms (unless I'm missing something... which is very likely). I did come across some amplifiers by a company called PYLE which apparently output double the wattage of other amps I've looked at at half the price. But if the name is any indicator, they're probably not something I want to go with...?

Could some of you give me suggestions/advice? Thanks for your help!

Assuming:

1. Your room is not larger than the display room you talked about.
2. Since you have tried 3 different amps, it is unlikely that you have the amps setup (level) incorrectly, or accidentally muted.
3. Your speakers are not defective because you said it sounded loud enough for you in the room where they were displayed and they were powered by an entry level (non ES) Sony. Even if a failure occurred during transportation the odd is low that both speakers would fail the same way.

Did you check your speaker cables for defects? How long, and what size? Also, are you sure you are not suffering from a voltage drop problem? May be you should try it on another outlet that is fed from a different 120V circuit.

It it hard to imagine all 3 amps are defective but if it turns out to be the case, for a low price receiver I highly recommend the RX-V659. It offers excellent sound quality and rank high in terms of $/W into 8 or even 4 ohm loads.

 

[Seth=L]

I know Pyle audio is not any thing to write home about, basically it's bottom of the barrel pro-gear. But I think PENG is right, the likelyhood that the amplifiers could be that messed up is low. Room acoustics play a big part in your SQ and sometimes output.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... a SPL meter , ...and they're around $75 to $100 at Radio Shack. ?

Only in Timbucktwo
At RS, they are $45 for analog and $50 for the digital.
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=sound level meter&origkw=sound level meter&sr=1

 

[mtrycrafts]

Yea, I've heard them on display and they were really really loud, but when I hook them up to the receiver we're using they're not loud at all. I wouldn't say quiet, but not to far above.

The receiver they're hooked up to is the Sony STR-DE695 (the forums wont let me post links, sorry). I've got the 2 Klipsch F-3s hooked up to the front A channel, a JBL center speaker hooked up to the center channel and a sub.

I'm just under the impression that they're not receiving enough power. I don't understand how else they would be outputting so little sound. I doubt they're defective as they come separately and the chances of having both of them be such are pretty slim.

I'm wondering if I don't need an amp to push them? I've never owned speakers of this caliber nor have I ever owned an amp; so I'm not sure where to go with this.

How well did that Sony perform before, with older speakers?
Can you connect other speakers to check? How far is the volume control that is not loud enough and what is its overall range?

You may need to recheck your setup and buttons on that Sony.

If that Sony is in working order, can output its rated power, it isn't your amp at fault but something else. Those speakers would scream with only 1 watt of power as 97 dB spl is loud.

 

[andylow]

Do you have the jumper installed between the speaker wire connectors? If the jumper is not installed, you're only using half the drivers in the cabinet.

Wow. LOL... thanks buddy. That did the trick *kicks self*

 

[Seth=L]

Wow. LOL... thanks buddy. That did the trick *kicks self*

Cool, I am glad you don't have to spend money to fix the problem. Now enjoy your speakers.

 

[andylow]

Cool, I am glad you don't have to spend money to fix the problem. Now enjoy your speakers.

Thanks Spending money isn't really a big deal, I'm just glad I got them to work properly so I can enjoy them sooner

 

[Davemcc]

Wow. LOL... thanks buddy. That did the trick *kicks self*

Glad I could help.