Safe volume levels for RTI12's

[Jason_k]

Any of you guys have any recommendations of how high not to drive my RTI 12's. I have a denon 3808. Only finally hook it up the weekend and I got to say I was blown away, only new to this. I don't have them on an external amp yet, and I don't have them bi-wired from the avr. I maxed out the volume a few times 18 I think the denon for about 20 seconds. sounded great but I don't want to damage those 12's. Any advice would be appricated. Thanks

[amulford]

I wouldn't do that too much. You're gonna damage your speakers, trust me I know. If you like it loud, like me, then get yourself a seperate amp. You'll fry your receiver, too. BTDT, on both counts;)

[Ron Temple]

You can easily run out of gas anywhere from -20 to -15 for demanding HT, due to the 20 and 30db peaks. Running an AVR or even an amp balls out is not good. Everything has limits, they should put a redline on AVRs...;). Most amps have some sort of clipping indicator. I'll bet you a dollar you just clipped your Denon.

[Jason_k]

I hope I never clipped it, paid way to much for it. Should be a setting in the avrr to limit the volume. Doesn't make sense that they make these things so easy to damage

[Jason_k]

what do that mean I just clipped my denon. Doesn't sound good

[cfrizz]

There is a volume limit, it's called YOUR EARS & COMMON SENSE! It's not the avr's fault if you don't have any!:rolleyes:

I hope I never clipped it, paid way to much for it. Should be a setting in the avrr to limit the volume. Doesn't make sense that they make these things so easy to damage

[Ron Temple]

If the AVR didn't go into protection you're probably fine. However, the source whether music or HT signals the amps in the unit to reproduce peaks that sometimes require huge amounts of current. If you're already at full gain the amps will clip, sending a squared off soundwave that can damage both the receiver and speakers. There's nothing left in the tank, but the AVRs amps will try to do it anyway (or more probably will go into protection). This is a very simplified explanation.

I'd suggest you get a SPL meter and calibrate your system. I'm sure Audessey has got you pretty close, but it's good to know what your limits are. I'd think you'd be able to achieve peaks in the low 100s safely (more with a sub) in most rooms. Just remember a 3db increase requires twice the power. Output in the low 100s with music is enough to drive most folks out of the room :).

[Kchill]

Ron, with an amp hooked up will it run the reciever hot if you crank it up? Or does it just send the signal to the amp. In otherwords when a amp is hooked up does the pre-outs just send a signal to the amp that lets the amp know how loud to get? Or do I have to turn the amp up with a seperate control?

Kind of like when I use my MP3 player I have to blast it up to full blast then I control the volume with my reciever.

[Erik Tracy]

I hope I never clipped it, paid way to much for it. Should be a setting in the avrr to limit the volume. Doesn't make sense that they make these things so easy to damage

Depending on what is in your owner's manual - there may be that exact feature!

I know for the Yamaha RX-V1800/3800 AVRs, there IS a feature to set the upper limit from -20 to +16.5db

It works, too, cuz before I hooked in my power amp, the AVR would shut down at -10db (which was the default after running auto setup).

Check your manual - you may have that feature and just need to down adjust it.

Erik

[Ron Temple]

Ron, with an amp hooked up will it run the reciever hot if you crank it up? Or does it just send the signal to the amp. In otherwords when a amp is hooked up does the pre-outs just send a signal to the amp that lets the amp know how loud to get? Or do I have to turn the amp up with a seperate control?

Kind of like when I use my MP3 player I have to blast it up to full blast then I control the volume with my reciever.Depends on the amp. Some amps have gain contols that need to be balanced with the AVRs signal during calibration (somewhat like a sub calibration). Once you're calibrated you leave the gain on the amp alone. Others make full power available leaving the gain totally up to the AVR. The signal from the pre-outs utilizes as much power as is needed from the amp to produce dbs at the set MV level. The AVR should run cooler because it's amps are bypassed.