To Amp or not to Amp, that is the question?

[STEALYOURFACE72]

Good morning.
I have a Yamaha R-N 1000A receiver (100w @ 8ohm x2)
I have it connected to (2) Klipsch Heresy IV's (8 ohm/99db)
Sounds great but just not loud enough and the soundstage is a little thin by themselves.
I want to add (2) forte III's, running all (4) speakers together most of my listening time.
Will the Yamaha R-N 1000A power all four speakers at moderate/high listening levels or is a power amp definetely needed?
For music listening only, any tele watching will be (2) speaker only.
Any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks all!

 

[highfigh]

Using all four speakers will definitely make a difference but the one thing to remember- the power output will be shared by all speakers, so it's not as if each speaker is receiving the full power of the channels. Also, the Yamaha specs show that if the speaker load is 4 Ohms, power output is supposed to be 120W/channel.

I used a little Pioneer receiver in the mid-'70s with the original speakers in the system as well as the speakers from an old RCA phonograph system and it definitely helped even though the Pioneer was able to to put out a measly 13W.channel at 1% THD but I wasn't cranking the volume control fully.

However, if you find that you need to set the volume control past 12:00 (the indicator mark is straight up) you don't have enough power because full output is frequently reached at/near 12:00, not full rotation. Operating at such high output is dangerous, though- 100W with a speaker that's 99dB@2.83VAC sensitivity will produce more than 119dB in a moderately reflective room and the second speaker & channel will add more than 6dB to the output. This results in more than 125dB and the OSHA Noise regulation chart shows that exposure to 115dB should be limited to 1/4 hour or less, per day and 125dB is the same as increasing the power output by ten times that of 115dB.

We get one set of ears and once the damage is done, ears don't recover and normal hearing won't return.

1910.95 - Occupational noise exposure. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

www.osha.gov

 

[-Jim-]

I think you need to be looking at a Sub or two instead to get fuller sound.

Klipsch makes clear with its specification of –4dB at 48Hz, which means that I would certainly be using them in conjunction with a subwoofer, even in a purely two-channel system.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd only run four speakers if I were using a quad or surround setup for either music or movies, doubling up stereo speakers won't do "soundstage" any favors. Such high sensitivity speakers hard to imagine they're not loud enough, but as was said your speakers are lacking in the low end, a sub would be what I'd try first.

How big is your room and how far away from the speakers do you sit?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

…Sounds great but just not loud enough…

You mean the Yamaha amp SHUT DOWN when you turn the volume up?

 

[ski2xblack]

Klipsch Heritage and "not loud enough" is hard to believe. They'll run you out of the room with 50 watts. Are we talking about a ballroom or otherwise huge venue?

Regarding the soundstage being "a little thin," could you expand on that? Thin as in anemic bass, or thin as in narrow sweet spot?

I agree with the above posts re adding subs. Full, deep bass definitely helps with immersion. Running two pairs of stereo speakers simultaneously would make things worse. A Hafler array would be preferable to that.

When it comes to soundstaging/imaging, you need to keep in mind what youre working with. The Heritage speakers have narrow dispersion and are really hot on axis. If they're oriented to the listening position with no toe-in, you'll get a very narrow sweet spot. Move to the left or right from there and the image will collapse into the nearer speaker. You can expand and stabilize the soundstage dramatically by setting them up as described here: