Alawisious
I am not too picky, but I want it to sound ok. Philips has a good price on a 2.1 "virtual surround sound" system ... hts6500... is this not big enough for my living room?
Answer
A 15' x 10' room isn't too demanding. Bottom line is this system might be loud enough ... particulalry if you have efficient speakers, a powered subwoofer and don't expect wall shaking lodness. But consider a few things before deciding.
To put loudness (measured in decibels, or db) in perspective, very loud music would measure 100 - 110 db, while soft music would be in the order of 50-60 db. However, decibels are logarithmic, not linear, so to generate a sound 3db louder with a specific speaker the amplifier will actually need to deliver TWICE as much power. But 3 db is just sufficient for the human ear to note the volume increase.
But power (watts) and loudness (decibels) do not necessarily correlate. To a very large extent it depends on the speakers you choose. Efficient speakers ... those that generate more volume at a defined distance from a certain input power ... will be louder than lower efficiency speakers.
Look for the efficiency rating as something like: "90 db at 1 m for 1 watt input" (see first link). A higher number is better (from a loudness perspective).
This non-linear effect also explains why anything less than double the amplifier power is essentially irrelevent when choosing between two models. Two models, one 60 watt/channel and the other 90 watt/channel will only be about 2 db different at maximum loudness.
The link below explains it, but in essence it means that "loud enough" will largely depend on your taste and the speakers you use. If you want wall shaking bass and 110 db midrange / treble (??) you may be disappointed (but not necessarily, since remember that THX specs only require 100 watts (but "real" watts).
Several other considerations:
What type of 'watts" are your 250 watts? If they are 125 "rms" watts/channel (with both speakers driven into 8 ohms) they are certainly enough. But if, as is more likely given the type of system you describe, they are "music power" or "dynamic" watts they might be barely adequate (since this might translate to as little as 25-30 watts/channel rms.
You say the system is 2.1 ... but does the .1 (LFE) feed a powered or passive subwoofer? If passive, power may not be enough because subwoofers require a lot of power.
What type of surfaces are in the room? If fairly "bright" it will seem louder, while an absorbtive room (lots of soft surfaces) will seem softer for the same settings of the 2.1 system. But, a reflective room is likely to be unpleasant to listen in!
What level of distortion are you comfortable with? Amplifiers typically reach quite high distortion levels as they approach their maximum output (and you would be wise to not plan to exceed about 50-70% of full power on a normal basis).
Few speakers are really built to handle very high power levels. In reality, most speakers are rated at or below 100 watts ... so a larger amplifier is really unnecessary.
As you can see the topic is actually fairly complex.
Bottom line: the system you described is not that high a performer, and unless you have efficient speakers and a powered subwoofer it will not deliver wall shaking loudness (at least not without high distortion levels). That said, a good 50-75 rms watt/channel amp would do fine.
Hope this helps.
A 15' x 10' room isn't too demanding. Bottom line is this system might be loud enough ... particulalry if you have efficient speakers, a powered subwoofer and don't expect wall shaking lodness. But consider a few things before deciding.
To put loudness (measured in decibels, or db) in perspective, very loud music would measure 100 - 110 db, while soft music would be in the order of 50-60 db. However, decibels are logarithmic, not linear, so to generate a sound 3db louder with a specific speaker the amplifier will actually need to deliver TWICE as much power. But 3 db is just sufficient for the human ear to note the volume increase.
But power (watts) and loudness (decibels) do not necessarily correlate. To a very large extent it depends on the speakers you choose. Efficient speakers ... those that generate more volume at a defined distance from a certain input power ... will be louder than lower efficiency speakers.
Look for the efficiency rating as something like: "90 db at 1 m for 1 watt input" (see first link). A higher number is better (from a loudness perspective).
This non-linear effect also explains why anything less than double the amplifier power is essentially irrelevent when choosing between two models. Two models, one 60 watt/channel and the other 90 watt/channel will only be about 2 db different at maximum loudness.
The link below explains it, but in essence it means that "loud enough" will largely depend on your taste and the speakers you use. If you want wall shaking bass and 110 db midrange / treble (??) you may be disappointed (but not necessarily, since remember that THX specs only require 100 watts (but "real" watts).
Several other considerations:
What type of 'watts" are your 250 watts? If they are 125 "rms" watts/channel (with both speakers driven into 8 ohms) they are certainly enough. But if, as is more likely given the type of system you describe, they are "music power" or "dynamic" watts they might be barely adequate (since this might translate to as little as 25-30 watts/channel rms.
You say the system is 2.1 ... but does the .1 (LFE) feed a powered or passive subwoofer? If passive, power may not be enough because subwoofers require a lot of power.
What type of surfaces are in the room? If fairly "bright" it will seem louder, while an absorbtive room (lots of soft surfaces) will seem softer for the same settings of the 2.1 system. But, a reflective room is likely to be unpleasant to listen in!
What level of distortion are you comfortable with? Amplifiers typically reach quite high distortion levels as they approach their maximum output (and you would be wise to not plan to exceed about 50-70% of full power on a normal basis).
Few speakers are really built to handle very high power levels. In reality, most speakers are rated at or below 100 watts ... so a larger amplifier is really unnecessary.
As you can see the topic is actually fairly complex.
Bottom line: the system you described is not that high a performer, and unless you have efficient speakers and a powered subwoofer it will not deliver wall shaking loudness (at least not without high distortion levels). That said, a good 50-75 rms watt/channel amp would do fine.
Hope this helps.
Multi Room Speaker System?
kim
Ok, so I want to run a 5.1 in my living room and connect 2 speakers in my kitchen and 2 speakers in my dining room. At no time do I want to run all 9 speakers at once. At times I will want to run just the 5.1. Then for parties I would like to run the 2 in the kitchen, 2 in the dining room, and 2 of the 5 in the living room playing the same thing the same time. I would just buy two receivers but I dont want to have to switch the subwoofer between the two when I am having a party or watching a movie. What receiver do I need to buy to make this happen and if I can't do it with just one receiver, would adding a speaker selector solve my problem? I would like to keep this as cheep as possible but am willing to pay to make it work. BTW ... I am running Energy speakers ... 4 rc-30s, 1 rc-lcr, 2 rc-10s, 2 rc-rs, and a S12.3 subwoofer
Answer
Many systems have switchable speaker outputs, usually only for the main left and right outputs.
If you are planning on using the same two speakers in the living room that are connected to the 5.1 output you will have to use a switching system. you cant have wires running carrying a live signal back into the receiver.
With multiple speakers connected to a single source your main concern will be your OHM rating. too many speakers connected in series can blow out an amplifier ( depending on the ohm ratings of the speakers you are using )
Many systems have switchable speaker outputs, usually only for the main left and right outputs.
If you are planning on using the same two speakers in the living room that are connected to the 5.1 output you will have to use a switching system. you cant have wires running carrying a live signal back into the receiver.
With multiple speakers connected to a single source your main concern will be your OHM rating. too many speakers connected in series can blow out an amplifier ( depending on the ohm ratings of the speakers you are using )
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