Tower Speakers for Onkyo receiver

[hyper-VTEC]

I have a Onkyo Home Theater receiver model no. HT-R320. It is a part of a Home theater system with 4+1 speakers. But these are only good if i am watching a movie. Not good at all for listening to music.

I was wondering whether I can get 2 tower speakers like from Jamo etc. Mt system rating is 600W RMS.

I am asking this question as i am a newbie and dont have enough idea. So can i connect a 2 speaker system to a 5.1 channel receiver?

suggest if this is possible. If yes, please suggest good speaker systems and their approx. prices. My budget is around 20K.

[vikram_d]

You should be able to be able to connect stereo speakers to it if it has a provision for connecting different zones. Typically most of the new amps have two zones - one is the 5.1 zone and the other is stereo zone. If you look behind the amp you should be able to see the Zone B as Onkyo calls it. If there is a Zone B then you can very easily connect stereo speakers to it and switch to this zone for listening to music.

Correction: It is called Speakers A & B in Onkyo. Connect the stereo speakers to Speakers B.

[hyper-VTEC]

thanks vikram. Yes, i recall there is Speakers A and B system and also a selector on the front panel.

So if my receiver says 600W RMS, do i need to look at speaker pair with 300W max power handling capacity each?
Please help....any models....prices?

[anainar]

Hyper,

Your 600W RMS is for all the channels. I would expect your main speakers to be of 100W RMS each for stereo.

Yes, wou can switch between speakers. But I am curious to know what home theater speakers you are using for movies.

As for models, you have many many. If you want Indian ones, try ProFX. They have good floor standing speakers. I have checked out Sonodyne and found them to be decent as well. But it depends on what kind of music you listen to, audition with those CDs, feel the sound stage playing just stereo without subwoofer and choose.

Happy hunting.

Nainar

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by hyper-VTEC

thanks vikram. Yes, i recall there is Speakers A and B system and also a selector on the front panel.

So if my receiver says 600W RMS, do i need to look at speaker pair with 300W max power handling capacity each?
Please help....any models....prices?

The reciver would be 100 x 6 rms not a single 600 rms so any thing with 80-120 rms would be good.

[hyper-VTEC]

Thanks LBM...can you suggest a pair of good ones available in india. I am saying good coz i have a tight budget

[anuragn]

dear hyper-vtec,
I would suggest you to try Wharfedale 9.x series (not sure whether it is 9.2 or 9.3) floorstanders. Should not cost you more than 15K and it's got very good reviews in AV Max and What Hi-Fi mags. Ofcourse there are scores of different models and brands out there in the market, so do keep your options open.

[hyper-VTEC]

ok...that means 100w RMS per channel.

[reignofchaos]

Onkyo receivers are rated at 6 ohm not 8 ohm. Plus the power rating is at 1kHz with a single channel driven at 10% THD. In other words its highly bloated. I'd be surprised if it can actually supply a clean 20W of power to a pair of stereo speakers.

What you should be looking at are speakers that are either 8 ohm or 6 ohm with 90dB or higher sensitivity. Anything lower than that would mean that onkyo amp will struggle with dynamics. What power rating the speaker has is the least of your concern.

A real high quality stereo amp with 100W@8 ohm on tap at 1% or less THD is an expensive affair. Will cost atleast 1lac.

What speakers to buy depends completely on your budget. In 20k, I'd refrain from getting floorstanders. Get a pair of high quality bookshelves. A Monitor Audio BR2 is a decent speaker in that price range.

[anuragn]

@roc,
Who told you that Onkyo's are rated at 10% THD...even the lowest-end models (like their entry-level HTiB model HT-SR600 which costs Rs.20K) is rated at 0.9% and even their entry level AV receivers are rated at <0.1% THD and cost only Rs.20K upwards.

[hyper-VTEC]

but my onkyo manual as well as the website says:
5 100 W/Channel @ 8W, 20–20 kHz, 0.08% THD

[reignofchaos]

Well if it is, then well and good. Most onkyo HT amps on their website state their specs at 6 ohms. In any case just go listen to as many speakers as you can before deciding. As I said again, 20k floorstanders are generally quite terrible.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Onkyo receivers are rated at 6 ohm not 8 ohm. Plus the power rating is at 1kHz with a single channel driven at 10% THD. In other words its highly bloated. I'd be surprised if it can actually supply a clean 20W of power to a pair of stereo speakers.

.......

A real high quality stereo amp with 100W@8 ohm on tap at 1% or less THD is an expensive affair. Will cost atleast 1lac.

reignofchaos, I would like to know the source for your above statement. Onkyo receivers are well-known for their home theatre receivers, and their power ratings mentioned are always at 0.08% THD (OR LESS), definitely not 10% THD , that is ludicruous.

And one can get good wuality stereo integrated amps with 100 W into 8 ohms at 0.08% THD or less, at much less than a lac (should cost around 30K).
Please verify such technical info before posting on the forum. Thanx.

[Blue Thunder]

hyper-VTEC, you can listen to music in the multispeaker mode also, using the built-in surround DSP choices available. However , if u want to use floor-standing speakers , then get one with rated power handling of 100-130 W RMS (@ 8ohms) per channel. Jamo is a good brand, but will be expensive. I do not the current prices. But getting a good branded speaker for under 20K is tough.

I have an Onkyo TS-R503 receiver : the speaker i have are Torvin for the center and surround, upgraded Sonodyne SX 909 tower boxes for front L/R, ans assembled sub (Blaupaunkt sub amp wit Dainty 12 inch sub). I upgraded the Sonodyne speakers along with my cousin as a hobby project : the sound is quite good .

[vintagepoint5]

I am using Bose Acoustimas-6 (5 cube speakers) with Bose Woofer connected to Yamaha Rx640 amplified. It is gives best sound effect and pleasure.