Would any cheap receiver do with powered speakers? (Def Tech BP9000)

[canada11]

I plan on getting the new Definitive Technology BP9000 series speakers for a home theater system and I'm thinking of getting four BP9060's and the CS9080 for the center channel + the modules for Atmos. This is purely going to be for movies, not music.

With that, a couple questions I have came up:
1. I am now wondering, they're all powered speakers, so would I be able to buy any cheap receiver that has all the outputs, 5.?.4(they all have subs so 5.5.4? or 5.0.4), I need, and it's all good since it won't need to power the speakers?
2. I guess it kinda depends on what 'powered' means
a) Are these speakers powering just the subs or the subs + midrange speakers?
b) Are they powering them at a full 200 watts @8ohms/400 watts @4ohms etc.?
c) If they are being powered at less than what they could be powered to (suppose they're getting 100 watts on their own), since they're powered on their own, could they still receive more from a receiver/amp, or can you not power them more than what they're getting already?

This is in relation to what was said in this video on the audioholics facebook page

Bonus question that I can put on a different thread: I'm guessing that the integrated subs can't match the performance of a dedicated sub, but there would be basically 5 subs between all these speakers so would it be at all worth it to add a dedicated sub (like a $2000 one) to round out the lower frequencies?

 

[slipperybidness]

I plan on getting the new Definitive Technology BP9000 series speakers for a home theater system and I'm thinking of getting four BP9060's and the CS9080 for the center channel + the modules for Atmos. This is purely going to be for movies, not music.

With that, a couple questions I have came up:
1. I am now wondering, they're all powered speakers, so would I be able to buy any cheap receiver that has all the outputs, 5.?.4(they all have subs so 5.5.4? or 5.0.4), I need, and it's all good since it won't need to power the speakers?
2. I guess it kinda depends on what 'powered' means
a) Are these speakers powering just the subs or the subs + midrange speakers?
b) Are they powering them at a full 200 watts @8ohms/400 watts @4ohms etc.?
c) If they are being powered at less than what they could be powered to (suppose they're getting 100 watts on their own), since they're powered on their own, could they still receive more from a receiver/amp, or can you not power them more than what they're getting already?

This is in relation to what was said in this video on the audioholics facebook page

Bonus question that I can put on a different thread: I'm guessing that the integrated subs can't match the performance of a dedicated sub, but there would be basically 5 subs between all these speakers so would it be at all worth it to add a dedicated sub (like a $2000 one) to round out the lower frequencies?

Those BP towers are ONLY powering the "subs" built into the towers. You will still need to power the passive drivers with an amp (like the amps found in an AVR).

For Movies--You definitely WANT/NEED a dedicated sub or 2.

For music, you likely won't need a dedicated sub.

I own the GE T2, these are not bipolar, but otherwise they share a heritage with the DT speakers.

 

[canada11]

Awesome, so let me tweak the main question a little, pretty much the same but with an amp instead:

If I plan on getting an amp to power all the speakers, would any cheapest receiver that has all the connections + pre-amp connections work since the amp will be what's powering the speakers?

 

[lovinthehd]

If you're using an external amp and your avr has sufficient pre-outs for your setup, that would work fine, and often more cost-effective than a dedicated pre-pro. I wouldn't count on the powered "subs" in those speakers to substitute for proper subs properly placed, tho.

 

[canada11]

To answer parts of my question, I found that crutchfield listed this:
"...A built-in 300-watt amplifier powers the subwoofer... "

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Not only will they not match the performance, but the area in the room that gives the best subwoofer performance almost never is the same place that will give the towers the best performance. That means ideally speakers and subs usually end up in different places.

 

[lovinthehd]

Also avrs with a full set of pre-outs is usually mid level or higher...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Awesome, so let me tweak the main question a little, pretty much the same but with an amp instead:

If I plan on getting an amp to power all the speakers, would any cheapest receiver that has all the connections + pre-amp connections work since the amp will be what's powering the speakers?

Yes, just get something like the Denon X3000 series (or similar) with pre-outs in case you need external amps.

At one point I owned a pair of DT BP7000SC for L/R, CLR3000 for Center, and BP7001SC for Surrounds. I powered them all with a $400 50 WPC AVR without any kind of external amp. Sounded great. No issues.

My DT speakers may have minimum impedance of 2.7 ohms, but they are very sensitive speakers and don't require very much power.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm guessing that the integrated subs can't match the performance of a dedicated sub, but there would be basically 5 subs between all these speakers so would it be at all worth it to add a dedicated sub (like a $2000 one) to round out the lower frequencies?

It's more like 4 x 10" subs. The center speaker is way too small to be called a sub.

I used to own the DT CLR3000 center speaker (along with the much bigger $5,500/pr BP7000SC and $3,500/pr BP7001SC). The CLR3000 was their biggest center. Sure it had integrated "sub". But the cabinet is just too small. You wouldn't want the center speaker to be working too hard and cranking out too much bass anyway as this will only increase DISTORTION. So I would turn the bass level of the center speaker down. If they make a big center without an integrated sub, I would get that instead. I think these SMALL integrated subs are a total waste. They usually never put too much bass into the dialogue channel anyway.

But if you still want to buy these speakers, I think the 4 x 10" integrated subs may be enough bass for you, depending on your room size and your preference.

Just use the LFE/Sub Output of the AVR (usually 2 Sub outputs) and connect it (using Y-cable to split the signal into 4 signals) to each of the four LFE/Sub Input of the BP9060. Don't even mess with the LFE/Sub input of the Center speaker.

I highly recommend a Denon/Marantz with Audyssey XT32 Dynamic EQ. The Dynamic EQ will help boost the mid-bass in those 4 x 10 integrated subs.

So basically what you are doing is turning your 4 towers into 4 monitors + 4 subwoofers.

This is similar to what I'm doing with my 5 RBH towers.

I have 5 towers that I turn into 5 monitors + 5 subwoofers. That's because all 5 towers are identical big 60" tall towers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

As for subwoofer placements, when you have 4 subs, the best placements are:

1. middle of each four walls
2. each of the four corners
3. each of the four 1/4-corners

So your bass levels will be pretty good if you place the 4 subs (4 towers) in 1/4-corners or 4 corners.

 

[PENG]

For AVR with preouts, the mentioned Denon x3000w series will work, so will the Marantz SR5000, Yamaha RX-A1000 series and above, but not below.