How loud can you push an integrated receiver and maintain SQ??
Mar 25, 2009 at 11:57 PM Post #16 of 26
I remember reading that most speakers are blown by under-powering them. This because the user will play so loud that distortion destroys the drivers.

Also to increase sound by 3 dB you need a doubling in power so going from 80 wpc to 120 wpc is not such a big difference. IMO you are better off using more efficient speakers, going from 89 dB w/ 1W at 1 meter to a Klipsch 96 dB w/ 1 W at 1 meter will have more impact. As mentioned the amp should have plenty of headroom, it used to be that amps had at least 3 dB's of headroom, do not know what they have nowadays.
 
Mar 27, 2009 at 9:49 PM Post #17 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by endless402 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
question is how are u connecting to the receiver?


LOD from an iPod Classic (160GB).
 
Mar 27, 2009 at 9:59 PM Post #18 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The real question is......WHY DO YOU NEED IT SO LOUD???
I think youll soon go deaf and wont have to worry about it, but if you want LOUD at a cheap price, look on Ebay or some such site for a Carver amp, maybe an A-760x , or a TFM-75, or TFM-55, or even a TFM-25.

Theyre inexpensive because theyre no longer made, but theyre LOUD and clear and punchy for rock.

But seriously, watch your hearing. Once you screw it up, you cant go back and say youre sorry and start over again.

You might also want to look into a set of very efficiant Klipsch speakers, or Paradigms.
An old set of Realistic Mach 2's would work also, or Cerwin Vega AT15's.
Maybe a set of concert bin speakers. Gemini/ Gem Sound, JBL, Carvin, Peavy.....(DJ Speakers)


If youd rather have a reciever....look on Ebay for old Pioneer recievers from like the early 1980's or a Realistic STA2100.
Kenwoods,Sansui,Marantz, work also. Some Technics models, a Carver 2000 reciever is 200w per ch, i have one. It cranks!



Thanks for the concern, you make a good point.
smily_headphones1.gif


We're talking 15-20min sessions of very loud rock, no more than that. I get my fix and then move on, so I think it's all right.

And yes, I know what you mean re. once one's hearing is damaged, it ain't coming back. I spent many years in front of a cranked Marshall stack and have a paid a bit of a price for it.

Anyways, thanks for those amp recommendations, will definitely check those out. I've been looking at picking up a Firestone Audio Tube Head preamp, so that might pair nicely with a Carver power amp...
 
Mar 29, 2009 at 5:29 AM Post #19 of 26
If you are anywhere near maxed out on the volume knob on the amp, then I bet it's clipping. It's safer to have an amp that is rated for twice the power that the speakers can handle than the other way around. Do you have a CD player for comparison? Play a CD and then the MP3 file. Are they about the same volume? I agree with the comment that the gain was set too low.
 
Mar 29, 2009 at 2:30 PM Post #22 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by Denim /img/forum/go_quote.gif
... I agree with the comment that the gain was set too low.


Yes, but I don't seem to have a choice, given the giant differences in gain amongst my mp3 library.

I've got a lot of extremely low-gain tracks, like Michael Hedges' Aerial Boundaries (-80db or so), next to Metallica's Death Magnetic
(-102db).

If I boost up the Hedges-type material, it shows as clipping all over the place. As the mp3gain people say, it's better to lower new, louder albums than crank older, lower albums.

So I'm left with trying to find a middle point, where Hedges can meet Metallica, setting the former at -89 and the latter at -92 db.

Which, seems to make it difficult to get the Metallica sounding good and LOUD.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM Post #24 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by Denim /img/forum/go_quote.gif
If you are anywhere near maxed out on the volume knob on the amp, then I bet it's clipping. It's safer to have an amp that is rated for twice the power that the speakers can handle than the other way around...


What about running the iPod through a Tube Head preamp and raising the preamp volume going into the main-amp-in of the stereo receiver?

Any dangers in doing that?
 
Mar 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM Post #25 of 26
(I wouldn't be buying the Tube Head just for that, was going to pick one up anyways.)
 
Apr 9, 2009 at 5:25 PM Post #26 of 26
You can crank it until your ears bleed...you can hear distortion you dont like, or until the amp goes into protect mode. Or you blow a speaker...

How high does a model go? They all go to 11...you might just wreck your ears or a driver...I play stuff very very very loud...all my gear has lasted until I got upgraditis and sold them.

The trick to getting MOAR out of your stuff is to drive them very hard at 4ohms or give your amps a little room with 8ohms speakers. Most amplifier ratings are pure lies. They take the possible mono output and do math on it - many amps have 9 or 11 channels (7 speakers + 2,3rd zones) and they cant drive all of it at the rated wattage. They also do the rating at a weak ohms when you might have tougher speakers to drive.

Post your gear, size of the room, acoustic treatments, and how much blood you want to come out of your ears and you can get a more specific answer.
 

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