Purchased Speakers Now WATT?? -

fired up

fired up

Audioholic
Greetings All!

It gives me great pleasure to announce the purchase of the Speaker portion of my Home Theater setup and in the process obliterating any semblance of a budget. My wife just told me to "Go for it!" and I did.

I purchased the following:

(2) Acoustic Zen Adagio Floor Standing Loudspeakers
(1) Acoustic Zen Adagio Jr. Center Channel Speaker
(2) Acoustic Zen Adagio Jr. Surround Speakers
(2) 8' Lengths of Acoustic Zen Hologram Speaker Wire for Mains
(1) 4' Length of Acoustic Zen Satori Speaker Wire for Center Channel
(2) Custom made stands for Rear Surrounds
(2) 45' Lengths of Acoustic Zen Shiloh III Speaker Wire for Rear Surrounds

The Adagios & Adagio Jrs. are rated at 89 dB / 6 Ohms.

How much power / amplification do I need to run these optimally?

Thanks,

Eddie
 
GlocksRock

GlocksRock

Audioholic Spartan
What are the power ratings on them? I would get the new Emotiva XPA-5 since those speakers aren't very sensitive, and they are 6 ohm, you will want to give them a good bit of juice.
 
fired up

fired up

Audioholic
ACOUSTIC ZEN ADAGIOS:

Type Two-way transmission line

Woofer 2 pieces 6½” composed of doped ceramic coated fabric cone, 2 ½” under-hung (short voice coil /long magnetic gap) voice coil linear motor system, shielded 7oz Neodymium magnet.

Tweeter 1 5/8” Round Ribbon, shielded 3.5 oz high flux energy and high temperature resistant magnet structure.

Nominal Impedance 6 ohm

Sensitivity 89 dB / 1w / 1 meter

Crossover 3 kHz / 18 dB / Octave Linkwitz / Riley Crossovers.

Frequency Response 30Hz -25 kHz ± 3dB

Power Handling 50 - 200W

Weight 78 lbs each

Dimensions 48” (H)x 9”(W)x 13”(D)


I want an A/V Receiver and not separates.

Thanks,

Eddie
 
GlocksRock

GlocksRock

Audioholic Spartan
What is your budget? If you don't want to go with separates, then I would reccomend something along the lines of a Yamaha RX-V1800 or something that can drive a 6 ohm load and not overheat.
 
G

gus6464

Audioholic Samurai
Eddie I hope they didn't screw you over on the speaker wire that you bought. But on the topic of receiver I think the Emotiva XPA-5/ Yamaha RX-V663 combo would work very nice with all the features you would need and tons of power on tap.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
ACOUSTIC ZEN ADAGIOS:

Type Two-way transmission line

Woofer 2 pieces 6½” composed of doped ceramic coated fabric cone, 2 ½” under-hung (short voice coil /long magnetic gap) voice coil linear motor system, shielded 7oz Neodymium magnet.

Tweeter 1 5/8” Round Ribbon, shielded 3.5 oz high flux energy and high temperature resistant magnet structure.

Nominal Impedance 6 ohm

Sensitivity 89 dB / 1w / 1 meter

Crossover 3 kHz / 18 dB / Octave Linkwitz / Riley Crossovers.

Frequency Response 30Hz -25 kHz ± 3dB

Power Handling 50 - 200W

Weight 78 lbs each

Dimensions 48” (H)x 9”(W)x 13”(D)


I want an A/V Receiver and not separates.

Thanks,

Eddie
You are going to need a beefy amp. It says nominal 6 ohms, but I can tell you to achieve a 3db point of 30 Hz with two small drivers the minimal impedance is almost certainly below 4 ohms. This will be especially true if the speakers are diffraction compensated in the crossover, and I bet they are from the favorable reviews. See if the manufacturer will tell you the minimal impedance and at what frequency.

You are going to need amplification that gives something like 75 to 100 watts into 8 ohms and 150 to 200 watts into four ohms or up to twice that if you want. I just see a current hungry set of speakers here, more likely than not.

Take a look at this thread running now.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=390893#post390893

Now I bet they sound very good. I was not aware of these speakers. TL speakers are rare. They do have a much cleaner, accurate and more powerful bass than anything else. Also please be aware that the bass will roll off at 12 db per octave below the 3db point of 30 Hz. Standard ported enclosures roll off at 24 db per octave. So you will have good bass extension down to the 20 Hz area. They need powering by something with some real guts.

Now one of the problems with TLs is that the bass is so good, sub woofers spoil them unless they are also TL. This has been mentioned many times with the Thor. I recommend you run those TLs full range and use a sub very subtly indeed. Your best solution is to build a TL sub. I'm not aware of a commercial one.

Now the center is a standard fourth order ported alignment. It will be interesting to see how that blends with the TLs. I made my center also a TL.

http://mdcarter.smugmug.com/Walberswick Studios

Now also bear in mind that center will have to be placed vertically and NOT horizontally.

Please give us a full report when you have them set up, and properly powered. By the way, I know you want a receiver, but for the speakers you have selected, I would consider separates strongly. Receivers that will do a good job with those are few. There is a new Yamaha that would, but its pricey. Gene has just finished reviewing it.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
...
Sensitivity 89 dB / 1w / 1 meter
Thanks,
Eddie
Those are sensitive speakers. Usually that number reflects anechoic conditions and in room you can count on 3 dB more. How far is your listening distance? How loud do you listen? Concert levels? That takes power and your hearing will be damaged over time.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
If you must get a receiver, I vote Onkyo TX-NR905 or Integra DTR-8.8. Both receivers are THX Ultra certified and can drive lower impedance speakers. They also have a good amount of features. Other considerations, Denon AVR-4308CI, Marantz SR-8002, or the NAD T785. All those receivers can handle your speakers fine.

This is a more expensive alternative to Emotiva separates, but the receivers are a one box solution (and I understand that most people prefer that). I just want you to know that the Emotiva separates do offer a much better "bang for buck".
 
jcPanny

jcPanny

Audioholic Ninja
Speaker wire

Return or cancel the order on the speaker wire and you will have plenty of money for an Emotiva amp and a receiver or pre-amp.

Belden 5000UP or 5000UE would work just as well it you can buy it in bulk from westlake electronic supply. If you want to make it pretty, add techflex and get a couple sets of nice banana connection. It is about $0.50 a foot or you can buy a 500' roll for less than the cost of an 8' pair of the AZ interconnects. The belden wire is also in-wall rated for routing to the surround channels.

http://www.westlake-electronic.com/cgi-bin/store.php?search=Search&search_sent=1&keywords=belden+5000u&and=1&available_only=1&category=&SUBCAT=
 
davidtwotrees

davidtwotrees

Audioholic General
Man, you guys never let up with the speaker wire. It wasn't that expensive, and is jacketed and terminated. I have made up my own jacketed and temrinated cables and it is fairly time consuming. Fired up has told us repeatedly that he isn't in the best shape physically from the recent fire, as well as from a previous accident..........so he can't "run out to home depot and get a spool of wire and get all zip zip zip chef of the future on the cabling. We all understand that zip cord will sound the same as boutique cables. But this fella is having a hard enough time getting through this without everyone second guessing him.
Fired up. That set up looks hot! You are fortunate to have been able to buy such a nice bunch of speakers! Don't over analyze this. Be happy with this purchase........those speakers will sound great! In fact, I bet they will give you the "ah ha" moment once you have them set up! If you want Zen cabling, then get zen cabling. There is nothing wrong with nice speaker wire. Given the choice, I would pick zen cables over home depot cables every time, but that's just me.........:)
 
darien87

darien87

Audioholic Spartan
"Patented Air-Twisting Technology"?????

How the hell do you twist air?!?!? :rolleyes:
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
800 a pair for the mains not that expensive? Ive got overpriced crap in both my systems, crap.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Nominal Impedance 6 ohm
Sensitivity 89 dB / 1w / 1 meter
Power Handling 50 - 200W

I want an A/V Receiver and not separates.
I also have never heard of Acoustic Zen Adagios before, but they sure look nice on paper. If they sound as good as the write up suggests, they might be excellent. They certainly can handle large amounts of power. They may benefit from that too, but you should first try an A/V receiver and see if that is enough for your needs.

You can find A/V receivers powerful enough to do justice to these speakers. There have been a number of good suggestions already.

You might find a useful compromise between separates (a preamp/processor and a 5-channel amp) and an A/V receiver. Use an A/V reciever that has preamp output jacks for at least the front L and R speakers, and get a 2-channel external amp just to drive the two tower speakers. That will spread the burden, giving plenty of power to the main speakers, and allowing the A/V receiver to easily drive the center and rear speakers when you watch a movie.

If you are considering an external 2-channel amp, there are no amps better that Audio by Van Alstine. I would consider the OmegaStar 260EX for your speakers. There are plenty that are more expensive, and some that cost less, but they are the best I've ever witnessed.

Other good amps are made by Adcom, Emotiva, B&K, Outlaw, Parasound, NAD, Marsh, Rotel just to name a few.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
(2) 8' Lengths of Acoustic Zen Hologram Speaker Wire for Mains
(1) 4' Length of Acoustic Zen Satori Speaker Wire for Center Channel
(2) Custom made stands for Rear Surrounds
(2) 45' Lengths of Acoustic Zen Shiloh III Speaker Wire for Rear Surrounds
Okay, did these wires come for FREE with your speaker deal?
 
zhimbo

zhimbo

Audioholic General
Man, you guys never let up with the speaker wire. It wasn't that expensive,
You are objectively wrong on that. Objectively speaking they qualify as "OMG that's frickin' expensive!!!!", assuming the company website's numbers are within an order of magnitude of the actual selling price.

If the OP'er is interested in cool-lookin' wires and has gobs of money to spare, more power to him. As far as I'm concerned, it's immoral to not at least make sure he knows he's not getting any extra performance.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
You are objectively wrong on that. Objectively speaking they qualify as "OMG that's frickin' expensive!!!!", assuming the company website's numbers are within an order of magnitude of the actual selling price.

If the OP'er is interested in cool-lookin' wires and has gobs of money to spare, more power to him. As far as I'm concerned, it's immoral to not at least make sure he knows he's not getting any extra performance.
Hey, I can braid 3 BJC speaker wires + heat shrink jacket + locking bananas and make them look really cool. They will sound just as good as those $5,000 speaker wires. I'll only charge $200.:D

http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd75/AcuDefTechGuy/?action=view&current=braided01.jpg
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Hey, I can braid 3 BJC speaker wires + heat shrink jacket + locking bananas and make them look really cool. They will sound just as good as those $5,000 speaker wires. I'll only charge $200.:D
]
Yes, but you will never get rich like that, not in your lifetime:D
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top