Just over-drove my receiver for the 1st time

[nms]

Well, as the title says, I just overdrove my receiver for the first time. Running 100 WPC into SDA 2As on Eric Clapton's Cocaine. Just kept turning up the volume to see how loud they would go and suddenly the sound disappears.

I turned down the volume and it came right back. So now I know that the receiver has a protection device, which is good to know - it'll cut out before it hurts itself or the speakers.

In a way it's kinda disappointing to know how loud they'll go and that I can tolerate it (on that song at least), but then I realize my hands are shaking slightly from being bombarded by the low frequencies - so I certainly don't need to go any louder! :)

All they way up to the cut-out point the music was clean and well-produced - no frequency peaks, distortion or anything. Ya know, my ears feel a little funny too... :D

[reberly]

LOL, what happend to that 24x7 quiet time you were supposed to be enjoying in the dorms?

[Face]

And that's how you blow tweeters.

[nms]

And that's how you blow tweeters.

nah, they've got polyswitches - it's all good :)

[Kex]

I can tell you actually enjoyed it, you dastardly fiend! Remind me not to buy any used gear from you!

[nms]

I can tell you actually enjoyed it, you dastardly fiend! Remind me not to buy any used gear from you!

Haha, OK. I won't be "producing" any used gear for a while - I'm too poor! The only thing I might be getting rid of in the near future are the 10Bs after I rebuild the X-overs.

LOL, what happend to that 24x7 quiet time you were supposed to be enjoying in the dorms?

Rules are made to be broken :p

[steveinaz]

Where did you drive it over to?

[reeltrouble1]

Its already time for you to buy a seperate amplifier, its not really a good thing to have the poly switches keep opening.

RT1

[nms]

Its already time for you to buy a seperate amplifier, its not really a good thing to have the poly switches keep opening.

Ack! Don't tell me that, I'm already in the red for buying those silly SDAs anyway! From what I heard, the polyswitches didn't cut out - the receiver did. I know this because all sound went away, not just the highs. But yeah, I don't intend to do that regularly.

[Yashu]

Weird... yeah amp would be good. You can get amplification pretty cheap these days. Consider a used NAD integrated... man those things almost never give in. I'll bet even a little 60w NAD would drive those SDAs to ear splitting levels, plus they soft clip (saving your tweeters, regardless of speaker design) if you actually can take the DBs of punishment enough to cause it. They aren't that much on the used market.

Some people will throw out Adcom as another good SS powerhouse, but to me, NAD sounds a bit more musical.

[dorokusai]

You have to know your limits....good work.

[AndyGwis]

You have to know your limits....good work.

This is one thing that bugs me when I have bought gear before. If it's limit turns out to be somewhere near the realm of possible listening volume, even in a large room, I've moved that gear along and looked elsewhere.

Like, the first receiver I bought wouldn't be that loud if listened to at 0db on the dial. So, even though it would probably be plenty loud at +12db or whatever it went up to, I hated knowing that I could reach that limit in my smallish room.

With my HK and B&K amp, I get to about -10 on the dial and start to worry about my safety. So, I know if I get a bigger media/listening room when I move, I'll still be in good shape.

Glad you didn't hurt anything, NMS. But, eventually, you will NeedMoreSound and I'm sure you will find a way to squeeze out enough dough in the next couple years for a separate amp that will make your ears bleed without breaking a sweat.

[nms]

NeedMoreSound

hahaha! Clever! Actually it's a moniker for NothingMakesSense, one of the first screen names I used. But I found some forums and such don't take that many characters, thus it becomes shortened to nms.

I have 100 WPC now, so I'm thinking the next significant step up would be 200 WPC. Someone recommended NAD, but I don't see a pure amp with that power output listed on their site.

[obieone]

Let me get his straight. You tripped the proc. in your 100wpc rcvr, in your DORM rm?
How big is your dorm rm?

[BaggedLancer]

Let me get his straight. You tripped the proc. in your 100wpc rcvr, in your DORM rm?
How big is your dorm rm?

My guess:

4'x5'....maybe



Atleast that's how they felt when I lived at school. :D

[nms]

Let me get his straight. You tripped the proc. in your 100wpc rcvr, in your DORM rm?
How big is your dorm rm?

*Takes out tape measure*

About 10'x20' rough dims, but in actuality it's a little smaller because the walls keep jumping in and out :). The song I was playing was kinda quiet though. My dad will be over tomorrow so I'll have an excuse to really make it sing with a loud selection!

Like I said, my ears felt funny afterwards! :D

[BaggedLancer]

Are you serious 20 feet long? Never in my life have I seen a dorm room like that......biggest I think I saw was 12'

20 feet is huge! That's like 1 6 foot person and 2 7 foot persons laying head to toe!

[nms]

Are you serious 20 feet long? Never in my life have I seen a dorm room like that......biggest I think I saw was 12'

20 feet is huge! That's like 1 6 foot person and 2 7 foot persons laying head to toe!

20' from door to wall. -2' for a shelf on the outside wall. And if I measured carefully it might be about 18', including the previously mentioned shelf.

By foot pacing, it's almost exactly 18'. So yeah, I overestimated. Wall measurement was a maximum. Like I said, the walls jump in an out a lot, so the usable space is less.

[BaggedLancer]

20' from door to wall. -2' for a shelf on the outside wall. And if I measured carefully it might be about 18', including the previously mentioned shelf.

By foot pacing, it's almost exactly 18'. So yeah, I overestimated. Wall measurement was a maximum. Like I said, the walls jump in an out a lot, so the usable space is less.


Wow, that's freakin awesome man. I just laid a tape measure on the floor for reference and the dorms at Northeastern were no bigger than 12x10

[wallstreet]

You know that means, it's upgrade time. Think about it, you still wanted more when the receiver gave out. No Polkie should ever be left wanting more power for their SDA's.

[nms]

You know that means, it's upgrade time. Think about it, you still wanted more when the receiver gave out. No Polkie should ever be left wanting more power for their SDA's.

Must... Resist.... Temptation.... Aaarrrgh! In all seriousness, I have no more money to spend on this stuff right now - all my discretionary income has gone into the SDAs and little bits and pieces. Yes, at some point an amp/receiver upgrade will be necessary.

Please stop tempting me guys! :(

[polktiger]

I have 100 WPC now, so I'm thinking the next significant step up would be 200 WPC. Someone recommended NAD, but I don't see a pure amp with that power output listed on their site.

I think it is the C272, while not 200wpc, I think it is something like +2 db of headroom, which is can make up for the lack of rated watts.

[tonyb]

If your thing is loud music,an amp isn't going to make it play louder per say,just cleaner with more dynamics and detail.You want ear bleeding levels,get some PA speakers and amps.Turning up the volume on an avr past the "0" mark is never a good thing as damage will happen to your speaks or gear.Or you could do what Trey does and add a couple subs in a small room so the bass waves will knock your head off the walls.:)

[BaggedLancer]

If your thing is loud music,an amp isn't going to make it play louder per say,just cleaner with more dynamics and detail.You want ear bleeding levels,get some PA speakers and amps.Turning up the volume on an avr past the "0" mark is never a good thing as damage will happen to your speaks or gear.Or you could do what Trey does and add a couple subs in a small room so the bass waves will knock your head off the walls.:)

I'm still waiting for Trey to post a picture when he shatters a window or the door falls over because of too much pressure.

[Sherardp]

You need some Mackies and a few Crown Pro Amps for the loud stuff. That will do the trick.

Bet playing Guitar hero III with about 4 pair of them would be sick fun, and yeah turn up the volume.

[Yashu]

The c272 would probably make your ears bleed. It's like rated 150w, but it can produce upwards of 1000w in short bursts of about a couple seconds or less. I can't even get past a quarter turn on the volume control with a 60w NAD amp, I can't even imagine how the 150w monster would be. It seems like th perfect "big speaker amp" on a budget.

Many people have used it successfully to drive speakers much larger and heavier than those SDAs or monitor10s.

[reeltrouble1]

I think if you were to get an NAD amp it would be fine. Not sure if anyone mentioned them yet............the older power envelope series are some of my favorite.

I would stay away from pro gear if you are looking for Hi-Fi. Amps come up in the Flea Market or just post a Want to Buy when your actually ready to get one and its likely somebody here may have something to fit your need.

RT1

[vonnie123]

That's a great album and song, especially on SACD. Don't overdo it....the hearing loss you suffer today will rob you of your music to enjoy in the years to come. And that is a big dorm room.