watt rating significance

[Unregistered]

Hello,

I have speakers that are all rated up to 150 watts (8 ohms), but my receiver (Denon AVR-2801) is only rated at 90 wpc. Will I hear a big difference in quality from my speakers by purchasing a separate amp rated at 150 or 200 wps?

I am new to the separate market and not sure if spending the money on an amp will yield the results I would expect for the money. If I do upgrade to a new amp, will my Polk speakers then be the bottleneck in my setup, or should they be able to rise to the level of the seperates?

I currently have:

RTi-38 Front 150 watts
FXi-50 Surrounds 150 watts
CSi-40 Center 250 watts
PWS-450 Sub 150 continuous average -> 300 dynamic watts

Thanks a lot


Jeff

 

[Audioholics]

Your only current problem will come if you overdrive the amp (to clipping). This could result in sending some pretty harsh signal to your speakers (if you try to play them too loud) and damage them.

Many people actually have amps that are rated for more power than their speakers. This is fine, because you are fairly certain you will be sending clean signal to the speakers for their entire range. Obviously yu can still blow the speakers if you overdrive them, but probably not as easy as if you crank up an underpowered amplifer/receiver.

In any case, you will only want to upgrade for a few reasons: 1) you want to play stuff louder and your amp is maxed out, thus sending distorted (and dangerous) signal to your speakers when it is cranked to the volume you desire; 2) you want better quality sound for your speakers and realize that a higher quality dedicated amp (or upgraded receiver with a batter amp section) will provide better control, especially over the low end.

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the response,

I am actually not one to really crank my speakers to the max. What I am looking for, is a clear and crisper sound at lower volumes. I love the way my Denon sounds (very rich and almost dark compared to my Sony STR-V444ES unit, which is very bright), but I find I am always needing to turn up the volume on the Denon just a bit higher than I would like, to be able to make out sounds and dialog better.

Will switching to a separate AMP remove the darkness I like about the Denon, or does that aspect come from the pre amp/proc side of the receiver, not the amp of the Denon?

Thanks again

Jeff

 

[annunaki]

With a good quality amplifier with a realistic power rating, you should notice very little difference using the Denon for your front end, in terms of how "dark" it is. Using a good external amplifier will definitely help in terms of dynamics and overall output. Assuming the amplifier you purchase is at least 75 watts per channel, all channels driven simultaneously.

 

[av_phile]

My former Onkyo receiver was no slouch as it was a 1985 flagship, the TXSV919THX. But shifting to separate amps did provide me with better stereo imaging and a more focused center image(higher channel separation), better bass response (higher damping factor and extended linear bass response down to 5hz) and more detailed highs (better S/N ratio and better linear frequency response at the other end). Apart from a noticeable 4db incremental volume.

But that required me to look at a separate power amp with tech specs that ARE superior to those of the receiver's power specs to begin with. Going separates with the same or inferior amp operating features won't yield much improvement. It could in fact go the other way.

Offhand I would say that getting an external power amp rated conservatively at 160wpc or more should give a noticeable improvement in terms of perceived loudness alone. You can't overdrive your speakers with it and you probably will never have to even approach a fifth of that power at your listening levels. But you'd get enough dynamic headroom to reproduce musical signals with better realism (musical dynamics often demand twice the power at continuous listening levels). And I don't mind erring on the side of plenty.

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the response,
Will switching to a separate AMP remove the darkness I like about the Denon, or does that aspect come from the pre amp/proc side of the receiver, not the amp of the Denon?
Jeff

Jeff, a better amp should allow more detail in at all volumes and will improve the bass response and dynamics. Whether the increase in detail will be enough for you is hard to say. You could just juice the treble a little at low volumes and see if that helps. It won't cost anything.

Wayne

 

[nm2285]

I went from a Denon AVR1604 (75 WPC) to a NAD C370 (120 WPC, 210 dynamic) and the difference was HUGE. My speakers are inefficient and are rated at 150 watts. The extra control that the hefty power supply provided rid my system of the sibilance I occassionally heard with the Denon. Also, I hear no distortion when cranked (with the Denon, I could hear some).

 

[mustang_steve]

I myself use rather inefficient speakers, and my Yamaha RX-496 stereo reciever does the job nicely. Fortunately for me the reciever puts out 75w, which is exactly what my spakers can handle...even though i never turn the knob more than 1/3rd of the way up.

I would thnk you should look at damping factor, since that often determines an amps ability to deal with various loads.

 

[annunaki]

up.

I would thnk you should look at damping factor, since that often determines an amps ability to deal with various loads.

Please explain?

I believe damping factor has no relevance into what impedence (loads) the amplifier can drive. The power supply will dictate how well an amplifier will react to certain loads. Damping factor is simply the ability of the amp to control the speaker, push and pull. Damping factor decreases with decreasing impedence. There is no real standard in measuring damping factor, therefore it is not a good spec to judge amplifiers by. Anything over 100-200 would be fine.

 

[WillieM]

I am using the same Denon reciever but am driving some PSB 5T towers a 9C center and some 2B surrounds. I found a vast improvement moving to separate amps. I have an Acurus 3 X 100w and a 2 X 100w.

Since my fronts have 2 sets of binding posts ( 1 for the 2 drivers and 1 for the tweeter), I "Y" split my front signals from the Pre-outs. I run the front drivers with the 2 X 100, and use the 3 X 100 for my front tweeters and my center speaker.

this takes most of the load off of the reciever which now only drives the 2 surround speakers.

All the sound is cleaner with much more drive and space.

As for the sound "color", 90% (or more... some would say all) comes from the Pre-processor and the speakers. An Amp, properly doing its's job, ONLY amplifies the sound signal.

 

[av_phile]

Please explain?

I believe damping factor has no relevance into what impedence (loads) the amplifier can drive. The power supply will dictate how well an amplifier will react to certain loads. Damping factor is simply the ability of the amp to control the speaker, push and pull. Damping factor decreases with decreasing impedence. There is no real standard in measuring damping factor, therefore it is not a good spec to judge amplifiers by. Anything over 100-200 would be fine.

I've also encountered some technical articles that say damping factor does not figure significantly in an amp's performance. And anything over a certain figure further diminishes any significance. I tend to agree. My onkyo amp rates a damping factor of 50 into 8 ohms (no frequency indicated). My new Acurus states a damping factor of 500 into 8 ohms at 50hz I did notice a more tuneful bass with the latter. But not much. So perhaps lower than 100 damping factor may not be good thing.