Center speaker exchange... Opinions are welcome.

[kelsinni]

Hello all members,

I'm here to ask you expertise and tips about some doubts I'm getting with my 1st home cinema setup...

So, I have a Yamaha RX-V459 AV receiver (europe model) with the following audio specs:

• Minimum RMS Output Power for Front, Center, Surround, Surround back
20 Hz to 20 kHz, 0.06% THD, 8 Ω ...................................... 90 W

• Maximum Power (EIAJ)
[Asia, China, Korea and General models]
1 kHz, 10% THD, 8 Ω ........................................................ 130 W

• Dynamic Power (IHF)
8/6/4/2 Ω ........................................................ 120/155/190/235 W

• Maximum Output Power [Europe model]
1 kHz, 0.7% THD, 4 Ω ....................................................... 140 W

• IEC Output Power [Europe and Asia models]
1 kHz, 0.06% THD, 8 Ω ..................................................... 100 W

• Damping Factor (IHF)
20 Hz to 20 kHz, 8 Ω ................................................. 120 or more

To connect on it I have also a Yamaham 6.1CH SPEAKER PACKAGE NX-230P (front and back speakers) + NX-C230 (center speaker) + YST-SW005 (subwoofer) with these specs:
NX-230P, NX-C230
Type ......... Full range acoustic-suspension speaker system
Magnetic shielding type
Driver ........................ 5 cm (2”) full range cone speaker x 2
Nominal Input Power ................................................. 30W
Maximum Input Power ............................................. 100W
Impedance ..................................................................... 6Ω
Frequency Response
<NX-230P>........................................... 100 Hz to 30 kHz
<NX-C230> ............................................ 75 Hz to 30 kHz
Sensitivity ................................................... 86 dB/2.83V/m

Subwoofer YST-SW005
Type ............... Advanced Yamaha Active Servo Technology
Magnetic shielding type
Driver ....................................... 16 cm (6-1/2”) cone woofer
Amplifier Output
EU models ..................................................... 50 W/5Ω
Frequency Response .............................. 30 Hz to 200 Hz
Power Supply
U.K. and Europe models ........................ AC 230V, 50 Hz

I'm thinking to replace my center speaker NX-C230 with a Tannoy Mercury mC B/EYE or with a Yamaha NS-C105. What I could find about their specs are:

Tannoy Mercury mC B/EYE:
Frequency Response: 70Hz - 20kHz
Sensitivity: 90dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms
Power Handling: 140 Watts (RMS)
Drivers: 1 x 25mm soft dome | 2 x 102mm paper cone

Yamaha NS-C105:
10 cm cone woofer X 2 2.5 cm dome tweeter Input terminal : Screw type Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms
Frequency Response: 65 Hz - 20 KHz (-10dB) Resonance Frequency: 150Hz
Nominal Input Power: 50W
Music Input Power: 200W
Sensitivity: 90 dB/w/m
Crossover Frequency Tweeter (Low Cut): 6KHz, 6 dB/oct.

My question is if, in fact any of these two exchanges worth it and if there isn't any problem I get a speaker with more Watt (140W) that the RMS value of my receiver (90W) in the case of the Tannoy speaker

It is true that the receiver should have allways at least 50% more Watt per channel than the respective speakers?

Thanks in advance for all the tips and opinions.

Cheers!

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Welcome! Simple answer is you”ll have no problem with either. Either of those speakers are plenty easy to drive your amp will have no trouble.

Don’t know who told about the 50% thing. But there’s far more to it than wattage, wattage is really there as a guide, and are measured very differently by different manufacturers. And most amps never reach their quoted numbers unfortunately the AV space is quite bad in this respect. The sensitivities of the retrospective speakers are of far more importance along with ohm loading.

It’s more about picking the appropriate speakers for the amp or vice versa

In general it’s always better to overdrive than under. But again there’s more to it than I’ll go into.

 

[kelsinni]

Thank you for your wise explanation @millennia_one 👍

So all ok about any possible issue with them and the receiver, do you think that I will have any noticeable gain by exchanging the center speaker that I actually have by one of that two?
The ideia I got by seeing the specs of the three is that probably the Tannoy is the better one...but that is just my noob opinion.
I heard also that the center speaker is the most important speaker of any surround system so my ideia to exchange it for one a little better...

Thanks again for your help 👍

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Re

Thank you for your wise explanation @millennia_one 👍

So all ok about any possible issue with them and the receiver, do you think that I will have any noticeable gain by exchanging the center speaker that I actually have by one of that two?
The ideia I got by seeing the specs of the three is that probably the Tannoy is the better one...but that is just my noob opinion.
I heard also that the center speaker is the most important speaker of any surround system so my ideia to exchange it for one a little better...

Thanks again for your help 👍

Really that’s only a question you can answer. But I think in general save your money and enjoy what you have.

But if the money is burning a hole in your pocket buy your other half something nice.

Enjoy what you have and over a few years save your money for a bigger/better system.
It will save you money in the long run.

Sorry I know it’s probably not what you hear.

Edit: sorry I forgot to add you are right in regards to the Center channel being the most important part of av system. In fact all the front three are and should all match

 

[kelsinni]

Regarding the money it's just I got a chance to get this Tannoy speaker by a bargin and I tought it might could bring some more quality to my system... just that.

About your edit:
so if they should match I conclude that it's better to keep the 3 Yamaha all with 30Watt RMS and 6 Ohm than replace the central one by one with 140Watt and 8 Ohm...

Again...thanks for your help.

Cheers!

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Regarding the money it's just I got a chance to get this Tannoy speaker by a bargin and I tought it might could bring some more quality to my system... just that.

About your edit:
so if they should match I conclude that it's better to keep the 3 Yamaha all with 30Watt RMS and 6 Ohm than replace the central one by one with 140Watt and 8 Ohm...

Again...thanks for your help.

Cheers!

Yep that’s right. Either change all three or not at all in my view.

My best advice for any new comer to this hobby is to not Get swept up in deals you may see and buy things you may regret buying.

I’ve been in this hobby for 20-25 years and learnt a lot in that time.

You have a lovely little starter setup that should see you through for a little bit. Like I say don’t sweat the small upgrades/side steps save and plan for meaningful step ups. And trust me diminishing returns happen very quickly with hi fi.

Having said that if it’s really cheap and you want to experiment go ahead and have a little fun.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Regarding the money it's just I got a chance to get this Tannoy speaker by a bargin and I tought it might could bring some more quality to my system... just that.

About your edit:
so if they should match I conclude that it's better to keep the 3 Yamaha all with 30Watt RMS and 6 Ohm than replace the central one by one with 140Watt and 8 Ohm...

Again...thanks for your help.

Cheers!

Yep that’s right. Either change all three or not at all in my view.

My best advice for any new comer to this hobby is to not Get swept up in deals you may see and buy things you may regret buying.

I’ve been in this hobby for 20-25 years and learnt a lot in that time.

You have a lovely little starter setup that should see you through for a little bit. Like I say don’t sweat the small upgrades/side steps save and plan for meaningful step ups. And trust me diminishing returns happen very quickly with hi fi.

Having said that if it’s really cheap and you want to experiment go ahead and have a little fun.

 

[kelsinni]

I will follow your advice 😉
To improve my system is for a big step...

Again... thank you for your tips

Cheers!