How do I know which speakers will correctly match my Surround Sound Reciever?

Question

Ok, so I want to put together a decent 7.1 home theater system. I'm starting out with the Reciever and then I will get the speakers. How do I know which speakers to consider? Do I have to match the Ohms and wattage exactly? Should the speakers actually handle much more wattage than my reciever puts out to ensure that I don't blow them? Should the speakers be the same company as the reciever? Is there ANYTHING else that I'm not considering?

Answer 1

You should probably stick with 8ohm speakers when using a receiver to power them, unless the receiver has a 4ohm / 8ohm switch. 6ohm speakers would probably be OK with a higher quality receiver. Speakers with a lower ohm rating draw more current from an amp and require a beefier amp to prevent damage to the amp, or the protection circuitry in the amp from shutting it down. Most separate amplifiers have no problems with loads down to 2ohms.

The efficiency rating of a speaker is important as to how loud it will play using the power available. If you want loud, buy a speaker with a high efficiency rating. Speakers with lower efficiency ratings often sound better due to more complex crossovers, but won't play as loudly given the same amount of power.

The RMS power rating is what a receiver is capable of putting out continiously with low distortion. Peak output levels with low distortion can be almost twice that as a rule. Maybe a little less with receivers... the amps just aren't as robust as separates. Most speaker ratings are peak power unless they specify RMS.

So... a speaker with a peak (maximum) power rating of around 1 1/2 times as much as the RMS rating of your receiver would allow you to use all the clean power your receiver is capable of producing and would be about the ideal match. Small surround speakers can be rated closer to the receiver's RMS rating, as they usually don't have to reproduce the full frequency range. There's no reason to avoid smaller bookshelf speakers that can't quite handle the maximum output of your receiver. Just treat them nice. Speakers with higher power ratings can be damaged just as easily, if not more easily, if someone gets crazy with the volume control...

Keep in mind that a receiver turned up to where the music sounds distorted can put out MUCH more wattage than it's power rating for CLEAN output. Many people believe that when they hear distortion, it's caused by their speakers not being able to handle the power. Usually, it's just the amplifier running out of power and "clipping" that's causing the distortion. Playing the receiver past the point of distortion and clipping will damage ANY speaker, even those with a power rating higher than the receivers peak CLEAN output. The waveforms of clipping distortion cause voice coils to rapidly heat and quickly cause damage. For this reason, it's often safer to overpower a speaker rather than underpower it. When a speaker is getting too much CLEAN power you can usually hear when the drivers start sounding stressed and turn the output down before damage occurs. When speakers are underpowered, the amplifier is more prone to clipping distortion when trying to achieve high volume levels, causing swift speaker damage.

When getting into higher-powered stereo / home theater, there's really no such thing as a system where the speakers cannot be damaged. The information here and a little caution will prevent it from happening. Anyone allowed to use your system should also read this.

Answer 2

Speakers make the biggest difference in any system, they are what actually reproduces the sound. Brand matching is not important at all. In-fact I can't think of a single company that makes a good speaker and a good receiver or amp. I would actually discourage brand matching.

Match the ohm rating. Most speakers and receivers are 8 ohms. If you end up with 6 ohm speakers they will still work, 4 ohm might be a little risky depending on the amplifier.

As far as power goes, match average power to average power but it's not terribly important. To parallel previous answer driving 100w speakers with an 80w or a 200w amp will make little difference. A higher wattage amp will generally have a little more "headroom" or ability to respond to dynamic sound level change and provide a little better bass response.

A good rule of thumb is to spend half of your entire budget (not including the TV) on speakers. So if you have $2k, spend $1k on speakers, and $1k on the receiver, DVD player, and all other components combined.

Answer 3

The ohms have to match, but watts don't matter. I use 200 w amps with speakers rated at 150 w. It's usually too LITTLE power that blows up speakers, as the previous poster explains (clipping, distortion, etc.).

Answer 4

Don't think ohms rating as important as it use to be, home theater has changed all that. Wattage is still important factor to consider, since you could accidentally fry your speakers, speaker wattage equal or greater than your receiver wattage is a point to consider when purchasing speakers. Speakers do not have to be the same brand name as your receiver. I like to choose a speaker mfg. whose only product is speakers, because he has to make a good quality product or he is out of business.

Answer 5

you sohuld know how much speakers you have to get....like a 7.1 you have to get like 6 speakers and 1 center channel speaker! then you also have to get a subwoofer. all you have to do is watch your POWER and IMPEDANCE

Answer 6

yeeees