I am new to these boards and to Axiom just wanted to start out saying hi to everyone.I have ordered the following, 1/pair m80ti, 1/pair qs8, 1 vp150, 1/ep500. I currently have the Yamaha RX-v1500 6-8 ohm amp which came out around Nov and not much has been posted on it due to how new it is. My plan was to originally run everything off the Yamaha however I am starting to think that this would not be enough juice. I am not very familiar with running more then one amp to power a system so if I am incorrect or there is a better way to do it for a reasonable price please let me know. My new plan is to run the vp150, qs8s, with the Yamaha at 6 ohm. Next I need to figure out a second amp to use for the M80s. I am looking at the Crown 402A. With this it looks like I need some male RCA to XRL male cables to connect it to the front outputs on the Yamaha. I am kind of confused on how you control any of the settings to the m80s once this is setup. Will the M80s receive all the bass and treble controls from the Yamaha since it is using its signal? I would assume it would since the crown and similar amps do not even have these controls. Also what is the proper way to configure the audio levels on the crown to achieve a proper surround affect? Generally I use the auto configure on the amp and that configures my speakers with the appropriate volumes. I assume that introducing a new amp will not allow you to perform an auto configure on the fronts, however I am not sure. Maybe it would be better to manually configure anyways. If anyone has any recommendations for a low priced solution to power the m80s besides the Crown I would be interested in knowing. I was also looking at the outlaw 200 blocks which seem to be a good amp. Two of these would cost about 200 more then the Crown solution it appears.
I was using the 402a on my M80s and they sounded really good. You will need XLR male to RCA Male cables which cost me 20 bux. You would connect the rcas from the amplifer to the preouts of your receiver. I was still able to use my features on my receiver.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=133649&is=REG
I would try the power of your receiver first and if that isnt enough you can go with the crowns. I purchased my crown amp for ~ $250.
DD, welcome. You've ordered a truly excellent set of speakers and sub and you should really enjoy them. Your concern about the 1500 appears to be premature at best, however, and as spiroh commented you should see how things work out first. Despite the legally required cautions in the manual, the 1500 isn't a "6-8 ohm amp", although as is commonly the case it hasn't undergone the testing required for Underwriters Laboratory 4 ohm approval. It's a powerful amp and other reports I've read (1400, 1500, 2400, 2500)indicated that there's been a good deal of success with 4 ohm speakers. So, in my view you shouldn't make any assumptions at this point other than that you'll try your speakers with the regular 8 ohm (not 6 ohm)setting. If the 1500's protective circuitry would continually shut it down, then you could make alternative arrangements.
Thanks for the replies. Ok lets say the yammie can handle the load. Are there many advantages getting a dedicated amp for the fronts? I would have to imagine that the crown at 4ohm 400/watt would give a more robust cleaner sound then the yammie running everything at once.
Ho wmany watts would the Yammie give the M80s? What is its rated out put at 8ohm?
It appears 120 w + 120 w for the fronts
http://www.audioholics.com/cedia/cedia2004/yamahaRX-V1500receiver.php
If it can run stable at 4ohm I think you should be good. I have ~ 150 on my and they sing. Trust me.
DD, if the 1500 does in fact turn out to be able to handle the M80s with sufficient power, there's no good reason to change. Keep in mind that the M80s will be using about 1 watt at a comfortably loud average level. Brief split-second peaks could use 100 watts or more, depending on how loud you play them. Also note that the amp in the EP500 will take a lot of the demanding low frequency power requirements off of the 1500's amps(this is actually a form of active bi-amping).Unused power reserves, are just that, unused, and don't provide audibly cleaner sound.
Ok, I will give it a try. Would I just leave it at the 8 ohm setting for all the speakers even though they are all 6 except the m80s are 4?
Yes, as I suggested before, leave it at 8 ohms. The 6 ohm setting reduces the maximum voltage, and therefore the current and power available(Ohm's Law teaches us that current equals voltage divided by resistance;power equals voltage times current). It should only be used as a last resort(despite what the manual says)if it keeps shutting down.
Dudditz,
Apart from the dreaded "6-ohm switch" that JohnK has advised you on (leave the Yamaha at the 8-ohm setting), you should consider the total volume of your room and your taste for very loud playback levels, which the M80s are capable of when powered by large separate power amps. If your room is of average size (2100 cu ft.) to somewhat larger, the Yamaha will have ample power output to achieve loud, clean playback.
But if you have a large room (4,000 to 8,000 cu ft) and you like really loud playback (95 dB SPL and up), you are right to consider the Crown for the M80s. Several of my colleagues with M80s enjoy what I call "deafening" listening levels of rock n roll in large rooms, and they use either monoblocks with 250 watts per channel or something like the Outlaw multichannel power amp.
My own M80s in a typical 2,100 cu ft room are nicely powered by my modest H/K receivers's 80 watts per channel. I seldom run my system peaking at greater than 96 dB SPL at my listening location (subjectively that level is termed "very loud").
Always look at the total room volume, furnishings, listening distance and personal preferences with playback levels.
Regards,
In reply to:
You would connect the rcas from the amplifer to the preouts of your receiver. I was still able to use my features on my receiver.
Can one use the 2 unused amps from the receiver for another 'location', say rear surrounds (7.1)? …Assuming I have an ext. decoder.
Thanks for all the responses. I do enjoy cranking the music quite loud. The room that the system will be in is around 3000 cf. The only reason I was concerned regarding the yammie is that one of my friends has a 1400 yammie and it shuts down after extensive loud playing on his 4ohm speakers. If this is the case with my 1500 I wanted to be prepared to order a new amp. The Crown is a great price however it sounds like it requires some manual control when you are using it. I have been reading that you want it turned all the way up when listening to loud levels and when you turn off your system you should turn it down, via dials since there is no remote to reduce the audio thump produced in the speakers from turning it off. Also that fact that it does not have a remote and from what I can tell it does not auto senses your signal so you need to manually turn it on and off. I guess this is not a big deal however it would be nice to have this automated. From my reading the outlaw mono block 200s will turn on and off by signal detection and do not require you to have to manually adjust any volumes. Am I wrong on the Crown when referring to the way it operates with the manual dials? Any other good 2 channels or mono block amps that are in this price range. I really like the price of the crown however I do like the signal detection and no manual dials of the higher priced outlaw blocks. The price of the crowns are as low as 280 – 330 where a pair of the outlaws will run a bit over 600 after shipping.
Hello Alan,
I was surprised to see you post "the Yamaha will have ample power", and the "leave the ohm switch at 8". (I THOUGHT I got the power thing).
I remember being lucky and getting you, back when I phoned Axiom for information about which speaker was best for my situation...M60s, OR M80s. TO ME (back then) the M80s with their two tweeters and two mid's...needed some additional explanation.
At that time, when I mentioned my Yamaha RX-V3300, 130WX6, you said the 4-6-8 switch was not going to help, that I would "loose too much power" trying to push the M80s.
I am SO glad I took your advice, and bought the M60s..they are PERFECT for my needs. (I don't play music too loud these days).
But.....I still am a little confused about the M80's power requirements....even though I've read the many posts about this subject, maybe now would be a good time for THE definitive M80 post. (my apologies if I've missed it somewhere). I do see many other posts about this, so possibly, I'm not the only one.
Thank you,
LT
I never got audio thump with my crown. I had the crown set to halfway and let my receiver do the rest by adsjusting the level. Two drawbacks to the crown. One being the fan noise which in my case I will have to modify the fans which is pretty easy and 2 the fact that you have to manually turn them off. There is a specific power supply that costs 20 bux which you can use to control the amp. Check this out:
http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/home2.htm
Why wouldn't you have put the levels all the way up on the Crown? That would have made the amp run with less effort.........no?
You can but I prefer not to have my gains high on my amp unless I have to. I prefer to have my gains controlled by the receiver. I've tried having the gains all the way up and I had no problems.
I am going to give the yammie a try with the M80s. If this does not seem up to par I will look for a power amp to run them. I just received this email from Yamaha.
Hello Dudditz:
In response to your emaiL: Yes, all Yamaha AV receivers are stable
down to, but not below 4 ohms. We recommend that you use only speakers
with a minimum of 4 ohms. Also, please make sure that the impedance
selector switch is set to the correct position recommended by the
owner's manual. If you have any further questions regarding Yamaha
components, contact our customer service department by dialing (800)
292-2982 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for further
assistance. Thanks for your email!