Home Theater?

Question

Hi,I need help in derterming what will drive my set of new speakers I just added to my budget home theater.I currently
Have an Denon Avr-1801 rated at 70/ch @ 8 ohms.I purchased
New JBL's E100's rated at 125 watts continuous,250 max.
I heard them in store setup and liked the way they sounded.
they pused plenty of bass even with the subwoofer turned
off in the store display.I was amazed with the bass on its own
and removed the screen to see the woofers and they were
vibrating deeply with the music.The sound was rich and full.
Now I have them @ hom and they sound good but no bass.
There is hardly any cone movement.Sounds like a transistor
radio when I turn off my subwoofer.Does anyone know
what will drive these speakers and what did store use to drive
them and was it a high end amp,modest priced amplifier or
was it a pro amp? What is a guess of the watts that pushed
these speakers and had the woofers vibrating? Please
recommend receiver or amp under $1500 that will?

Answer 1

First make sure your receiver setting is set for large speakers, not small speakers.

Second to get the most out of your speakers, you should have an amplifier that has a RMS per channel wattage rating that is 1.5 to 2 times the wattage rating of your speakers.

So you want an amplifier that's RMS watts @ 20 Hz - 20 KHz per channel into 8 ohms, with less than 0.05% THD @ 20 Hz - 20 KHz is between 188 watts & 250 watts.

This is so you don't need to turn the volume knob as far to get them maximum sound out of your speakers. Turning the volume knob on your amplifier up too far causes clipping & clipping damages speakers.

You probably won't find a good surround sound receiver that has a good THD rating with that kind of power for $1,500.

Denon AVR-5805CI $7,200
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4jxux2Jkqwk/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=033AV5805C
170 watts x 10 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.05% THD

Yamaha RX-V2700 $1,600
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4jxux2Jkqwk/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=022RXV2700
140 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.04% THD



I would buy this receiver.

Yamaha RX-V1700 $1,200
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4jxux2Jkqwk/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=022RXV1700
130 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.04% THD

Answer 2

Just to add to Rosco, Over 50% of the sound quality comes from the room itself. The sound room you heard these in most likely had only one opening and doors on it. This "locks" the sound in the room. If your room has multiple openings and a hallway, you will never get that same sound. The sound will carry throughout the house, out the doors and windows and down the street. I urge you to get and play with a equalizer. Keep the bass speaker on the floor. That can eliminate some of the tinny sound you are talking about.
Most people don't listen to the sound system at more that 20% of it's capacity so the distortion ratio is more important. The lower the better. Up to a 90-95w/ch would be great.
Instead of tapping out your budget on the receiver alone Try a mid $ range Yamaha or Onkyo, 7.1 for sure. THX certified if possible. You are guaranteed the highest performance with THX (but not exclusively). Then add a second sub woofer. Place them left and right

Answer 3

Stick with the "DENON" brand...Try the "AVR-3806"...Click this link right here: http://usa.denon.com/AVR3806.pdf

And remember, it's not the WATTS that count...It's the AMPS...The "3806" only has 120 watts x 7....But it will drive your JBLs just fine.