Hello,

Just purchased my first good pair of speakers - the M3s, and have them hooked up to a 5-yr-old Sony AVR rated at ~65wpc. I have a 5.1 channel setup, but it seems when I'm listening to 2-ch music (w/ sub), at about -15dB levels, there's some light clipping.

Any suggestions? Small room and budget - if I were to look at buying a new AVR, would I need to stay within the M3 8ohm 175W max rating?

Thanks!

L2, welcome. The setting on the receiver's volume control doesn't directly translate into volume level and it would be more informative if you had a sound presssure level meter that would give you a reading of the maximum sound levels that you were actually hitting. That being said, it would be unusual with most program material for an amplifier to be driven into clipping at a volume control setting of only -15dB unless it's developed a defect. Was this present with your previous speakers?

Assuming that there's in fact some problem with your Sony and/or you just want a receiver more modern features, there's no need to have to consider either the 8ohm rating of the M3s or their 175 watt maximum power rating. 8ohms in itself never causes a problem and you're certainly not going to get a unit that exceeds 175 watts(or would use anywhere near that power even if you did). Your M3s are about average in sensitivity and use about 1 watt at a comfortably loud level. It's also unlikely that even on brief peaks that usage would reach 100 watts.

One good buy for a small budget is the Onkyo 506 factory refurb from Shop Onkyo . By registering for "Club Onkyo", you're eligible for the $189 sale price and a $10 credit, which makes the net price $179, with free shipping.

laingn2,
Be careful, very careful. This audio/video (spending) slope gets very slippery and very steep, very fast. If you ever feel the desire to hock something to get an AV/ HT fix... get help, get it now! I thought I was only going to upgrade one thing.. Yeh, Riiiight.

There's no way anyone else can tell you how loud or how much power you would be using unless they are there in the room with you. It is totally possible you are experiencing what you say.

Sony receivers have been known to be under rated and not up to spec with their advertised ratings. If you were to get a Denon or Harman Kardon both with very good amp sections you would do very well. You could stay around the 100 watt range and be within the range of the M3s.

Welcome to the forum laingn2,

What is your budget for your new AVR?

Welcome as well, yes there are many good receivers out there that will give you their true rated specs, what is your budget...?

If the volume dial only goes to 0 then it wouldn't surprise me that the Sony receiver is starting clip at -15. A new AVR is a good idea. There are many reputable brands to choose from and the feature sets in even the entry level receivers are quite impressive.

Beyond the new market, if you are not worried about every new feature, you can almost steal some really good AVR's that are just a few years old. Many afflicted with tech-itis sell only lightly used (few beat on their AVRs) gear to get the new upgrade. I have not looked, but I'm guessing you could get any of several well trusted units - ie., Denon 2 or 3000 range, Onkyo 8 or 900 range, HK, Rotel, PioElite, etc., for under $300.

They won't play Dolby True HD or do HDMI switching, but they will give you great sound and a solid 5.1 setup.

Just another option. I personally prefer working used to refurb on complex electronics, but that is just a personal preference.

Thanks, all for the welcomes and advice! Yes, I'm trying to avoid the slippery slope while gathering a quality (yet reasonable) setup.

Budget right now is $0 :), but have seen used Denon 2XXX series for ~$200, so will stay on the lookout.

Next question: can the AVR sometimes be a bottleneck with HD audio sources? I've streamed several 48bit/96K and DSD recordings to my PS3, but they either don't read at all or come out as pink noise. Doing some research, but the topic can be confusing.

Any insight would be helpful! Thank you.

Depends on the AVR inputs. You will not be able to get full hd audio over optical or coax (with any equipment).

Using the PS3 you would need an AVR with audio over HDMI (not all HDMI includes audio) to get HD audio sent as lossless PCM (the PS3 does the hd decoding). You would not need an AVR capable of decoding the latest codecs. Other player/AVR combos would also be able to use multichannel analog (using 6 or more RCA cables), also with the player doing the decoding. There is unlikely to be any noticeable difference in sound quality between the player or AVR doing the decoding.

Doormat,

A belated thank you. Appreciate the help.