Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners A couple of receiver questions...

Hi,
I'm currently running a 5.1 M22, VP100, M2, HSU Sub setup. Over the next year or so I plan on upgrading that to an M60/M80, VP150 QS8 setup, but before I do that I need to upgrade to an HDMI receiver so I can get HD audio from my PS3. (Tastes: 75% Movies/25% Music)

I was going to go with the Denon 2808, but recently my budget was hacked in two and I'm left with around 500-600 dollars. Now, I want to get something with great sound quality that will satisfy me now but also be more than capapble once I complete my speaker upgrades My research has led me to the upcoming Marantz SR4002. SO I have 2 questions...

1. Is anyone using Marantz with their Axiom setup? How do you like it. I know some brands are supposed to be good with Axiom (HK/Denon) while others aren't so much(Sony/Yamaha). But I haven't seen any mention of marantz in these forums.
2. Will the 80 WPC of the SR4002 be enough for my future speakers? I currently have a 120WPC Sony which I'm sure isn't actually constanctly running 120WPC. (Not at $350 anyway)I'm sure the marantz will have a better sound quality, but will I be losing anything major by falling to 80WPC (90WPC if I splurge for the 5002)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

What receiver are you running now? Are you happy with your present sound pressure level?

I currently have a Sony STR-DE998. I'm pretty happy with it, although I'm not sure I would know what I'm missing. I was amazed when I upgraded from my hand me down speakers to my current axiom setup.

That amp is rated at 110W/channel. I thought that perhaps if it's rated at 80W/channel or less and are satisfied with its power output, you would also be satisfied with the Marantz.

To determine whether you'll be happy with 80W/channel, you'll need to know your current nominal sound pressure level, distance from the speakers and room dimensions. For reference, I listen to 85dB nominal (with my sub on) at 8 feet away from the M80s in a 4,000 cubic foot room with a nominal half watt per channel out of my 90W/channel Denon.

I know an ol boy that bought some M80s hooked up his Sony receiver and it promptly shut down. Not all watts a created equal.

Well, my room is about 3000 sq ft and I also sit 8 ft away. The music I am currently listening to is registering 73db on my SPL meter. Granted this is casual music listening i suppose an action movie with explosion and such would be averaging out slightly higher, but I would estimate I wouldn't be any higher than you at 85db. That being said, if 90wpc is good enough for you I would assume the same for me?

Am I understanding the equation correctly?

Btw Mojo, you've mentioned the wattage used for a given SPL, distance and speaker sensitivity before. Are you actually measuring the wattage draw from the receiver, or relying on one of those on-line SPL calculators?

Just curious. The real reason I ask is that I'm not sure what "nominal wattage" really tells me. Even if the nominal draw is .5 watts, are there still peak draws that require much more current?

Prisoner, I've been interested in two receivers that are around your price range. I have no personal experience with them, but both seem to be reviewed pretty well.

Onkyo TX-SR605 90wpc, Which can be had for about $400 - $500

Onkyo TX-SR705 100wpc, Which runs about $650 right now and has a few more bells and whistles.

They might be worth checking out.

Yeah, I've read that several times, and although I implicitly believe Alan on all subjects Audio, I still don't know how much is enough.

For example, I'm pretty sure that I need more that .5 watts per channel.

FWIW, I recently purchased one of those Radio Shack SPL Meters and I was surprised. I really thought that to me, loud music would measure over 100 db's -- maybe it's just some macho thing. What surprised me, was that "reasonably loud" was only 85db's and "pretty damn loud" was just 90db's. At that level, my HK3480 (120wpc) had lots of room left on the volume dial...