Receiver Exploded

[Aggie09]

Good morning. My old Denon 787 finally died. I recently bought some Def Tech SM55's as my fronts, and a 8040 center to reduce my system size. I can't use my surrounds in the room I have right now. I had been running some big Cerwin Vega VE12 floor speakers the entire time I owned the Denon along with surrounds and a CV center, so I had no need for a sub. This new set up with the Def Techs fits my set up in our new house and I wanted some upgraded speakers. I plan on getting a SVS PB1000 for my sub now since I lost all the bass from the Cerwin Vegas. The sub was going to be my next purchase, but then as I was listening to some music pretty loud this week my Denon went into safe mode. Then I went over to turn it back on and boom, a little explosion in the back with fire and smoke. Now I need to get a new receiver before my sub. I am torn between the Yamaha Aventage A760 ($649), Denon 920W($499), and Denon X2300($649). I am leaning towards trying out the Yamaha over the Denons again. It seems to have a lot of good stuff in it, and a little more weight than the Denons. The Denon I had served me well for a long time, I am just not sure what you guys think with the system I have. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I definitely find more topics on the Denons than the Yamahas so I am not sure what to think. Thank you.

 

[PENG]

None of those can give you more power output than the one that blew, so pick one but don't push it hard, back off as soon as there is any sign of distortion.

 

[lovinthehd]

Pretty loud, eh? You may want to keep your options open with an avr with pre-outs to add an external amp. Your old speakers were a bit more sensitive (93 vs 90dB ratings altho DT doesn't actually seem to think that matters, it's not even in their manual, and had to get that from Crutchfield) so you were probably pushing your amp a lot harder to play "pretty loud"? Takes a doubling of power for that 3dB difference....

 

[MrBoat]

In electronics, that term is referred to as; "Maximum Smoke." The reason I remember it is, while in school, had just finished a rather crude radio build that a good portion of our grade relied on, and my lab partner was stripping a length of single strand wire and much too much. When he went to clip off the excess, I watched, as if in slow motion, the scrap fly through the air perfectly, and land right across our circuit.

Ever since, I have been cautious of people doing things like clipping their toenails too close to my coffee and such. Talk about a life lesson. . . .

 

[-Jim-]

A little advice here. Buy your receiver (I tend to like Denons more than Yamaha but it's a personal thing on aesthetics not specs) but immediately buy the Sub. Peng noted these receivers don't have more power than your last one, but you shouldn't need it if you get a decent Sub (the PB1000 fits here).

Driving bass and sub-bass consumes most of the power (I forget the typical ratio - someone here will remember...) so by handing most of that off lessens the load for the Receiver. And one last thing - Protect your ears. Hearing damage is irreversible. You'll want to enjoy good tunes for decades to come.

 

[Aggie09]

Thanks for the info. It was a VERY bass heavy song, so that makes sense too. I figured the sub might help with that issue when I get the other receiver. I did not realize that is how the sensitivity ratings worked. I was not even near the volume setting on the receiver that I would play those Cerwin Vegas at when this happened. The family was gone and I felt like turning it up, only a few minutes later needing to buy a new receiver!

Getting a sub might help answer my next question too. I have my speakers on a relatively slick wooden entertainment center. The speakers tend to start moving across the surface during loud movie scenes or bass heavy songs. I assume when I get the sub the bass will not make them move near as much since it should go to the sub. But is there some sort of mat, or any rubber feet that you could recommend to keep the speakers from sliding?

 

[Pogre]

Pretty loud, eh? You may want to keep your options open with an avr with pre-outs to add an external amp. Your old speakers were a bit more sensitive (93 vs 90dB ratings altho DT doesn't actually seem to think that matters, it's not even in their manual, and had to get that from Crutchfield) so you were probably pushing your amp a lot harder to play "pretty loud"? Takes a doubling of power for that 3dB difference....

I remember seeing a bench of the 55's when I had them that rated them at 86 or 87 db.

Just out of curiosity, how do you have your Deftechs wired in the back? Did you leave the jumpers on and run one speaker cable for each speaker, or did you try bi amping or bi wiring?

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks for the info. It was a VERY bass heavy song, so that makes sense too. I figured the sub might help with that issue when I get the other receiver. I did not realize that is how the sensitivity ratings worked. I was not even near the volume setting on the receiver that I would play those Cerwin Vegas at when this happened. The family was gone and I felt like turning it up, only a few minutes later needing to buy a new receiver!

Getting a sub might help answer my next question too. I have my speakers on a relatively slick wooden entertainment center. The speakers tend to start moving across the surface during loud movie scenes or bass heavy songs. I assume when I get the sub the bass will not make them move near as much since it should go to the sub. But is there some sort of mat, or any rubber feet that you could recommend to keep the speakers from sliding?

Sensitivity ratings of a speaker tell you a lot more than the claims of max wattage (that's often just the point at which they'll melt down ). Bass definitely chews up more power than the other end of the frequency range, especially if you're boosting the bass via eq, that's an even higher demand on the amp. Sub should help a lot both in terms of how much you're asking of the avr's amp as well as just be the better tool for the job.

As far as your speakers "walking", you can do that a few ways. I keep a bag of all the little feet/pads that have come with various gear over the years so I've always got something like that on hand. I've also used mouse pads or pieces of foam or even a towel, but aesthetics can come into play I suppose There are even products you can buy specifically for that but I'm more on the thrifty side, rather spend it on music/movies to play.

 

[Aggie09]

I remember seeing a bench of the 55's when I had them that rated them at 86 or 87 db.

Just out of curiosity, how do you have your Deftechs wired in the back? Did you leave the jumpers on and run one speaker cable for each speaker, or did you try bi amping or bi wiring?

I have the jumpers on them with the banana plugs in the bottom terminals. I did also have the bass up around +5 on the receiver.

Did you like the SM55's? I got them on sale with the 8040 center a few months back. I wanted an upgraded 3.1 speaker set up without spending too much. They seem to be pretty decent for me, pretty even split of movies and music. Everyone always says to try to keep the set the same.

 

[Pogre]

I have the jumpers on them with the banana plugs in the bottom terminals. I did also have the bass up around +5 on the receiver.

Did you like the SM55's? I got them on sale with the 8040 center a few months back. I wanted an upgraded 3.1 speaker set up without spending too much. They seem to be pretty decent for me, pretty even split of movies and music. Everyone always says to try to keep the set the same.

The SM55's aren't bad. I liked them while I had them. I upgraded to some more expensive speakers when I had a little cash or I'd probably still have them. I'd run them just the way you are. Passive bi amping/wiring doesn't really do much. I definitely wanted a sub (or 2. why not?) with them. They'll clean up some more when you take the low frequencies out of the equation.

*Edit: You will want to watch the volume until you get a sub. I've over driven them at spirited levels playing them full range.

 

[Bucknekked]

In electronics, that term is referred to as; "Maximum Smoke." When he went to clip off the excess, I watched, as if in slow motion, the scrap fly through the air perfectly, and land right across our circuit.
Ever since, I have been cautious of people doing things like clipping their toenails too close to my coffee and such. Talk about a life lesson. . . .

That made me laugh. not lol. but really laugh. Back in the olden days of high voltage and high current electronics, maximum smoke often went along with doing a chicken dance if you suddenly became part of the circuit. Its funny, I don't remember how many times I saw others getting shocked, but I can remember each and every occasion where I completed a circuit with parts of my body.

I too dislike people clipping their toenails. Dang, great minds think alike. Ours seem to as well.

 

[slipperybidness]

Pretty loud, eh? You may want to keep your options open with an avr with pre-outs to add an external amp. Your old speakers were a bit more sensitive (93 vs 90dB ratings altho DT doesn't actually seem to think that matters, it's not even in their manual, and had to get that from Crutchfield) so you were probably pushing your amp a lot harder to play "pretty loud"? Takes a doubling of power for that 3dB difference....

BTW, DT is pretty well known for "embellishing" the specs. I would take that sensitivity rating with a large grain of salt.

 

[Pogre]

BTW, DT is pretty well known for "embellishing" the specs. I would take that sensitivity rating with a large grain of salt.

Stereophile did some measurements and estimated them to be around 87.6dB/2.83V/m. Not bad, but not what they publish.

I researched the hell out of the 55's when I had them.

 

[slipperybidness]

Stereophile did some measurements and estimated them to be around 87.6dB/2.83V/m. Not bad, but not what they publish.

I researched the hell out of the 55's when I had them.

I'm pretty happy with my last-gen SM350 pair. In particular they sound pretty good with Jazz, but more importantly they pair up quite nicely with my Dynaco ST-70.

Also, there was another member here that bought the SM450 based on my comments on Dynaco pairing, and he also reported back that he loved the sound of that match.

$200 from Newegg (New), I'm happy with that.

 

[Pogre]

I'm pretty happy with my last-gen SM350 pair. In particular they sound pretty good with Jazz, but more importantly they pair up quite nicely with my Dynaco ST-70.

Also, there was another member here that bought the SM450 based on my comments on Dynaco pairing, and he also reported back that he loved the sound of that match.

$200 from Newegg (New), I'm happy with that.

Deftech gets a lot of flak, and some of it is definitely deserving, but overall I don't think they make bad speakers. I'm still using a pair of Promonitor 1000's for my surrounds and I think they sound awesome for a little speaker. I have no intentions on replacing them.

The 350's and 450's were what the Studiomonitors replaced. They're nice speakers too.