Onkyo 818 with old kef q series?

[Kyelko]

Hey people. After much searching and reading a load of posts about lots of different AV receivers I've pretty much decided on the 818.

All I was wondering was would this amp be to much for my speakers?

I have 2xkef q4

2xkef compact

A kef q6c and a maudaunt short sub.

Thanks, Kyle

 

[Kyelko]

I also forgot to say I listen to a lot of music and watch a lot of blurays

Ive also just started buying Vinyl the last few months aswell.

Any tips on how to get they most out of audio equipment, or what kind of stuff I should be looking to buy would be much appreciated

 

[themovierooms]

The Kef's do like a bit of power and the Onkyo will be suited to them.

In terms of "tips", once you have done the auto set up on the amplifier I would go back into the settings and double check the distances of the speakers with a tape measure and the speaker levels with an SPL meter. This should give you a more polished sound.

It might also be worth considering Bi-Amping the Kef's at the front if you are using them in 5.1.

There are also number of modes for Hi-Fi listening on the Onkyo, I always found the "Stereo" mode better sounding than the Pure Direct modes.

 

[Kyelko]

Wow thanks for the reply.

The last few days I was feeling like I was just going to simplify things and get a stereo amp but after thinking about it I think I like the thought of a decent receiver.

The Q4s are biwired at the moment and they will be again with the new amp.

Unfortunately the way my living room is, the speakers are only about 2m away from where I sit. So hopefully everything will sound OK.

 

[themovierooms]

A stereo amplifier for the same money will give you a lot better sound for music but obviously the loss of the surround sound element. I guess it just depends upon how you divide your listening.

You’re sitting pretty close at 2m but as long as you spend a bit of time setting the Onkyo up it should still sound fantastic.

Page 16 of the manual will explain Bi-Amping, I would definitely do this rather than Bi-Wiring if the set up is 5.1 and you are not using the extra channels.

 

[Kyelko]

Yea unfortunately the living room is a bit small. And the way its set out we couldn't really have the tv anywhere else.

I hope I can set it up properly. The denon amp I have at the moment is starting to sound a bit nasty. I think its because I'm trying to listen for imperfections though.

You mentioned an SPL Meter earlier how exactly does it work? I've never heard of them before.

 

[themovierooms]

An SPL (sound pressure level) meter is used for measuring sound.

You can buy a propper one here which might be a bit extreme;

http://www.tester.co.uk/metrel-tek1345-digital-sound-level-meter?gclid=CJKq0I6PrLgCFfMbtAod2nYAIQ

Or you can download a basic one for your phone as an app which will save you a heap of cash. I sometimes loan mine to customers when they need to use one.

If you then use the test tone in your amp (the hissing sound) manually you can set all of the speakers to 75db. The Onkyo sometimes likes to set the rears quite loud so it’s worth checking if you can.

I would always run the automatic set up first then check the levels and distances afterwards.