I'm confused

Buscis2,
Your statement is very valid. Since my HT is not even high end, how do other pros address such issue? If AC outlet is the constraint, how do they run their high-end systems, which consist of numerous higher power amps and many bigger speakers?

Gunbei,
If the crossover is set so high, why do people want to spend lots of money on hi-end speakers that can produce low freqency?

I'm confused!!!!!!

I cant say from personal experience, but from everything i have heard you cant go wrong with the outlaw combo...

does anybody else think thier logo looks somewhat goofy?
kinda like the subaru outback...

anyways, i heard constantly how good these are

Lej1447, Marty had mentioned an approach to providing sufficient AC to your equipment through the use of 20 amp dedicated circuits. For most large amplifier users, this is not an option, but a requirement. A dedicated outlet for your system would provide a substantial benefit. It would also benefit any future equipment you may intend on buying.

It is too often assumed that people are providing enough AC current to their equipment. In many cases, the AC being provided is totally inadequate. Also, people tend to establish opinions of certain equipment without ever really knowing if the AC power being provided is of any quality.

It is a very basic level of thinking. "Junk in/Junk out".
Think about it for a moment Lej1447, how can you really come to the accurate conclusion, that you need to replace your amplification, unless you positively know that the power you are providing to this unit is adequate. If it's not adequate, what do you think will happen when you install a LARGER amplifier.

Keep in mind, you are in a considerably small room. How much power do YOU feel you need to provide ear shattering video dynamics. Not a lot. There is no doubt in my mind that 60-70 watts with an 89db efficient speaker would provide that, plus some. But, the amp must be able to provide that power without having to struggle for input power. I will be the first to agree that you are not using the pinnacle of home theater receivers. Neither am I. I'm using the one model up from yours in a room with an almost identical configuration.

This system provides an ungodly amount of SPL with plenty of power to spare. This is what first raised my suspicions regarding your system.

Did you try plugging the amp directly into the wall yet?

Ooops, sorry to confuse you more Lej1447!! :-)

In my opinion, most people view bass reproduction in a monitor or main speakers as secondary to how it performs with everything above those frequencies. This is just my opinion, others may disagree.

I use ProAc monitors in my music system because of the way they reproduce midrange and how they soundstage, and because they sound great with vocals and acoustic instruments. I do ssometimes use a subwoofer with them to add some bottom end weight for music, but I don't have a crossover in the path of the ProAcs because it would muddy their great midrange. I let them run full range, becasue I never have the need to crank them to movie sound levels just for music.

For home theater however, the criteria in picking main, center and surround speakers probably wouldn't follow those guidelines because reproducing the crashing effects of movies and a jazz quartet are two different animals. Because of the great demands a movie score can put on any speaker, whether monitor or full range, I think more emphasis would be placed on power handling and the actual placement of the speakers to create an effective HT experience. Picking speakers that are tonally agreeable with you is important as well, but the other factors I mentioned would probably be more heavily weighed with HT speakers because of movie soundtrack dynamics and proper placement for the "theater" experience.

My viewpoint is obviously biased as I place much more importance on my 2channel rig than my HT system. I did a little research on your speakers and it seems to me that weren't intended for "true" full range use because of their rated 45Hz bottom end, aluminum cabinet and "in-wall/wireless" classification. Running them in this fashion could strain them sooner than a speaker designed to be full range if pushed. One thing you could try is to set the main speakers to large when 2 channel listening and switch back to small for impactful movies. An interesting review of the ARs in different HT applications can be read here:

http://www.audioweb.com/Newsstand/SensibleSound/ARPhantom83.asp

Many people receive more enjoyment from HT than music and spend big bucks to create an immersive movie viewing experience, and that's cool too. They invest in floorstanding main speakers like the NHT VT series or Aerial Acoustics 8B or 10Ts that are capable of excellent bass so they can set them to "large" and ONLY the LFE information goes to the sub/s. Yes, there is material in a movie soundtrack that may sound better coming from 2 good full range mains while leaving that which is specifically intended for LFE to be handled by the sub. But in a small room like yours or mine where space is limited and the benefits of such a set up are questionable or impractical, going with all satellites and a sub makes more sense.

I hope this response isn't too haphazard and makes some sense to you, heheh.

Also, Buscis2's recommendation about looking into the quality and quantity of AC current available to you has merit. Big amps in systems producing big bass especially those for movies with multiple channels put incredible demands on the amount of current drawn from the wall. That's the reason many audiophiles might run their source, DAC and preamp into a power conditioner, but run their power amp directly into the wall. Many audiophiles claim that power conditioners reduce the amount of immediate current on demand, thus limiting dynamics during spikes in the music. I've noticed this phenomena as well, and that's why the Bryston 4B that powers my subwoofer doesn't go through a power conditioner but directly to the wall with a good power cord. Many audiophiles go a step further and have their wall receptacles upgraded and even their house rewired to accommodate power amps that draw a lot of current.

Sorry to keep piling explanation upon explanation on you, but there are many issues that might be involved. I would still recommend looking at the simplist experiment first, and that is setting all your speakers to "small". If the problem with your amp going into clipping and restricted dynamics remains, then reevaluate and consider a more powerful multichannel amp or reconfiguring your power conditioner/power cord set up.

Good luck for now,
Dean

Buscis: If the system was pulling as much power as you suggest, either the 15 amp breaker would be popping or there would be noticeable distortion of both the audio and video presentation on a regular basis. I do agree that there is a lot of gear hooked up to one outlet, but i really don't think that this is really that abnormal outside of "audiophileland" or "videophileland".

As to the wattage levels that you assigned the various gear, i think that they are a bit off in some respects. Most HT based subs use switching amps that are 90% efficient. There are some that are rated even higher i.e. at 94% if i recall correctly. Even under full load and working at an efficiency level of 90%, such an amp would be pulling 165 watts. At anything less than full throttle, it would be pulling quite a bit less.

As far as source components go, most of these devices are well under 45 watts at most. Most devices run somewhere between 15 watts and 35 under full load.

In terms of running another amp, you have to remember that we are removing power draw from the receiver for the two or three channels that the amp is taking over. Granted, i DO expect the amp to pull more power than the receiver does, but given the relatively low bias that most multi-channel amps operate at, it should still be within reason.

By the way, a 15 amp breaker running at 117 volts will allow 1755 watts to pass for an extended period of time before tripping. The same breaker running at 120 volts will trip at 1800 watts. I don't know where you came up with your figures, but they are incorrect. My figures are based on Ohm's Law and "theoretical" ratings of the breakers in terms of their "trip points".

Other than that, i do agree that another AC line would help things out. I still think that the receiver is anemic though.

Gunbei: Your suggestion about using the speakers in "small" mode is excellent. This will take much of the strain off of the receiver and may even allow the speakers to achieve a higher SPL AND do so in a cleaner fashion. Since the speakers would be seeing less power at lower frequencies, driver excursion and heat build-up would be reduced, allowing for both faster and more linear response at mid and high frequency levels. Since i sincerely doubt that these speakers are truly capable of deep bass due to their design and cabinet size, this should really help things out. Good thinking and a wise suggestion. I wish i would have thought of it. : ) Sean
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