speaker system vs home theater image
Blake
So ive been looking for an inexpensive and most likely used receiver for my small home theater room but i want it to push my speakers to their maximum potential and i really want to avoid clipping at high volume. basically i just want the system to sound great and i would like to be able to turn it up insanely loud without a problem. I dont want to go much over $150 but am afraid to go below $80. Is there a limit to how little i should spend? and also how many watts per channel is needed for bookshelf speakers? Thanks.
Answer
For insanely loud, a $150 receiver is not likely to cut it. Maybe used, if it was a VERY powerful receiver in it's day.
One option would be to add a two channel external amp, but that would only cover the front 2 channels. They can be had for $200 maybe (200x2 watts.) But cheaper receivers lack pre outs needed to use an external amp easily (there are workarounds such as speaker to line level converters, but it seems like a pain to me to go that route.)
Some rough idea of SPL vs power -
If you have nominal sensitivity for your bookshelf speakers, you can do 90 dB SPL one meter from the speakers with only one watt of input. But that declines quickly. Figure at least a 6 dB loss at your listening position. And double the power for each 3 dB SPL. So maybe 4 watts to manage 90 dB at your listening position. 16 watts to manage 96 dB.
So it would seem like any old receiver could manage 96 dB. But cheaper receivers seem to run out of power pretty quickly in real world situations.
I recommend at least Yamaha's 500 series models. It used to be that the 600 series were better. You can find last years models well discounted. So for a new receiver that I thought was decent, but a bit outdated, I seem to recall more like $400. Which is well over your budget.
If buying new, and buying the cheapest receivers, assume a lot of compromises were made especially to the receiver's power supply. If buying used receivers that were midrange for their time, just make sure they are fully functional, and support any needed technologies like HDMI.
Good luck
For insanely loud, a $150 receiver is not likely to cut it. Maybe used, if it was a VERY powerful receiver in it's day.
One option would be to add a two channel external amp, but that would only cover the front 2 channels. They can be had for $200 maybe (200x2 watts.) But cheaper receivers lack pre outs needed to use an external amp easily (there are workarounds such as speaker to line level converters, but it seems like a pain to me to go that route.)
Some rough idea of SPL vs power -
If you have nominal sensitivity for your bookshelf speakers, you can do 90 dB SPL one meter from the speakers with only one watt of input. But that declines quickly. Figure at least a 6 dB loss at your listening position. And double the power for each 3 dB SPL. So maybe 4 watts to manage 90 dB at your listening position. 16 watts to manage 96 dB.
So it would seem like any old receiver could manage 96 dB. But cheaper receivers seem to run out of power pretty quickly in real world situations.
I recommend at least Yamaha's 500 series models. It used to be that the 600 series were better. You can find last years models well discounted. So for a new receiver that I thought was decent, but a bit outdated, I seem to recall more like $400. Which is well over your budget.
If buying new, and buying the cheapest receivers, assume a lot of compromises were made especially to the receiver's power supply. If buying used receivers that were midrange for their time, just make sure they are fully functional, and support any needed technologies like HDMI.
Good luck
Can I Hook Up PC Speakers to My TV via an RCA Adapter?
T L
Hello,
Can I take my PC speakers that are fairly decent and hook them up to my TV using a RCA Adapter? (Male RCA >> Female 3.5mm)
I am just wondering because I am not in the ballpark for a full blown Home Theater system, but I do want to add a bit of range to the current speakers embedded in the TV. (TV = Panasonic VIERA LCD)
Ok, any answers would be great. Thanks.
Answer
The issue isn't the connector, it's whether the speakers have a built in amp. If they are PC speakers, as you claim, they do ... and therefore you should be able to use any adapter that maintains the stereo connection (e.g. RCA >> 3.5 mm mini stereo). Note that some PC speakers are reasonable fidelity, so depending on the speakers you have they may be better than the built in ones on the TV (But may not). If you use them, you may wish to set the menu on the TV so the audio output is variable (vs fixed) and turn up the PC speakers ... that way the TV remote will control the volume of the external PC speakers.
The issue isn't the connector, it's whether the speakers have a built in amp. If they are PC speakers, as you claim, they do ... and therefore you should be able to use any adapter that maintains the stereo connection (e.g. RCA >> 3.5 mm mini stereo). Note that some PC speakers are reasonable fidelity, so depending on the speakers you have they may be better than the built in ones on the TV (But may not). If you use them, you may wish to set the menu on the TV so the audio output is variable (vs fixed) and turn up the PC speakers ... that way the TV remote will control the volume of the external PC speakers.
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