Overdrive speakers?

[OliG]

I have Monitor Audio Radius speakers connected to an Onkyo integrated amp, which are rated at anywhere from 100 to 140 watts. Due to Arcam officially discontinuing the P777 power amp, I managed to get hold of one at half price. The P777 is rated at 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

My hope was to use the Onkyo as a pre-amp with the P777 and the MA speakers whilst saving for better speakers and a dedicated pre-amp. My question is whether using the P777 with the Radius speakers will damage them?

The shop that sold me the P777 suggested that overdriving speakers at this level would be ok but I've also seen some conflicting reports of this elsewhere.

Any assitance would be appreciated!

 

[LDTM]

Are you sure you aren't a long-lost cousin of mine? - I just bought an Onkyo m5000r (still breaking it in) and am using my old Yamaha A-S1000 as a preamp running my Monitor Audio GS20's.

All other things being equal, to achieve the same volume, your P777 will probably have a greater degree of headroom than your Onkyo - that's a good thing in my mind.

If you pushed your amp really hard, I suppose it would be possible to overdrive your speakers but you would hear telltale distortions in the sound long before you get close to rupturing anything. Your ears would likely give up much earlier than that though.

There is one thing that I might suggest but I have to first make a few assumptions. I notice that you mentioned your Onkyo is an "integrated amplifier" and the arcam P777 you've got a hold of is a 7 channel power amp. If I assume for a moment you mean your Onkyo is an A/V surround amp then I might recommend you turn off any extra bass features that go towards the front channels and let the sub take the load until you get something a bit bigger.

If you indeed mean a two channel integrated amp, may I ask what you have in mind pairing it with a 7ch power amp?

Either way, have frun with your new toy!

LDTM

 

[OliG]

Tom, is that you?

Thanks for the information. Yes, the Onkyo is a 7 channel receiver. I don't run it hard at the moment and that will remain true when I set up the Arcam.

 

[LDTM]

Groovy. I think you will really enjoy the extra capabilities the Arcam brings to the game. One thing that I really noticed with my new power amp is that the soundstage seems much bigger than before and so much more of a convincing illusion of being there - and that's over two channels. I can only imagine what 7 channels of 100+ watt goodness will do. Do keep us informed of your impressions won't you?

BTW, I was curious what was going to happen with the amount of heat my integrated amp put out after disconnecting the speakers and running it through the preouts and switching the speaker selector to off. No change :? No big deal though - it wasn't much to begin with.

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[Leeps]

Which Radius speakers are you referring to? The R45's and R270's are VERY different from one another.

One similarity throughout the range though is that despite their reasonable sensitivity on paper, they do need a fair bit of welly to drive them properly. I'd therefore be inclined to think that an UNDER-powered amp would pose more of a danger to the speakers.

 

[OliG]

At the front, I have R270 (L&R) and R180 (C). The rears are R90.

 

[Leeps]

Excellent choice of speakers Oli!

Yes, strange that. The R270HD's are quoted at 90db sensitivity, but they do seem to require more welly than my previous speakers which were slightly less sensitive on paper.

 

[LDTM]

+1 regarding speakers, I recall listening to them a couple of years back and really enjoyed the sound. They wouldn't fit in my lounge so I went down the Dali Lektor road.

What sub are you running/thinking about Oli?

 

[OliG]

The sub is the R720.

Overall, I've been very happy with the setup and would prefer to keep using it, at least in the short-term with the P777. It sounds like that will be possible.

 

[LDTM]

Respect. That is a nice kit, Oli. The general rule I use for upgrading speakers is double the budget of one`s current kit to see a significant difference. I have about 50 hours of use on the new power amp and even Mrs LDTM is noticing it. She's rocking out as I type this.

I really think that your P777 will do wonders, but you will need to be patient and wait for it to settle down before it truly comes on song. I bet you cannot wait

 

[OliG]

I'm very much looking forward to getting the P777 up and running, even though we didn't get off to the best of starts. Embarrassing but true story, I managed to throw my back out moving the P777 into my house!

I am going to see how the amp sounds with the Monitor Audio speakers first. At some point I may upgrade to the Kef R series but will wait and see.

Thanks for all the comments.