Speakers for Yamaha rx-397?

K

kokeshi

Enthusiast
I have a Yamaha RX-397 receiver. Am I aiming too high to pair it with Ascend CBM-170s? Do you think that this receiver has what it takes to make these monitors sing?
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Samurai
Depends on how big your room is and how loud you expect it to be. Those speakers, while rated "8 ohms nominal", dwell much closer to 4 ohms for much of their bandwidth, so they will draw some juice. If you're rocking out in a large room, they may ask for more juice than the Yammie can deliver.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

Play with that and see if you're in the ballpark. If you need louder, choose more sensitive speakers, or get a more powerful amp.
 
K

kokeshi

Enthusiast
I'm not really worried about that. (Or should I be?) ;) I'm looking to do a more direct setup in a corner of a very large room. I will be sitting within three or four feet of them. Here's my idea so far:
CPU---> DacMagic---> Yamaha RX-397 ---> Ascend CBM-170
Am I on the right track? Or have I made a strange U-turn?
 
its phillip

its phillip

Audioholic Ninja
Should have skipped the dacmagic and rx-397 and gone with a more capable receiver. I think you'll be fine since you'll be so close and presumably at low volumes though.
 
anamorphic96

anamorphic96

Audioholic General
Sitting that close the receiver will probably never use more than a few watts.

I definitely would have skipped the DacMagic and Yamaha though. Something like the HK 3490 or Onkyo TX-8050 would have done the same and offered more flexibility. Plus you would have saved 3 to 500 dollars.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Should have skipped the dacmagic and rx-397 and gone with a more capable receiver. I think you'll be fine since you'll be so close and presumably at low volumes though.
I agree completely. A higher Yamaha for the combined cost of those two items would be better.
 
K

kokeshi

Enthusiast
Thanks, guys. I didn't actually buy the Dacmagic yet and the Yamama is being used in my kitchen to power some JBL Control Now AWs and a Def Tech Sub. I got all of these items for very low prices thanks to Costco and Ultimate Electronics going out of business. I must have the best sounding kitchen anywhere! So, nothing is wasted.
Thanks for the advice on the receiver.
 
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