Fantastic Sound

[Mike Kozak]

I have my new Monitor 70s hooked up to my vintage Technics SA-600 Receiver and it sounds great! Why (I ay have asked this in the past) does it deliver so much more than my Onkyo (new, 7.1 channel) receiver? Really, I do not even need the subwoofer hooked up, the sound is that good. Plus it will play ALOT louder than than the Onk. I have it on 9:00 now and it is plenty loud, might crank it up now since my neighbor had to leave for a while!!! Whoo hoo!!!

[wayne3burk]

Probably because 2-channel stereo receivers were designed to reproduce music -- and 7.1 HT Systems are designed to reproduce Movie experience.... maybe

[phipiper10]

Likely has to do with lower current in the Onkyo- all watts are not created equal.

See this: http://www.polkaudio.com/education/article.php?id=4

[Mike Kozak]

Thanks, that helps explain the difference. The Technics rating is 70 WPC at .0.04@ thd, pretty low for an antique!!! It just plain rocks!! I am listening to a wall of sound right now!!

[wayne3burk]

Cool

[phipiper10]

Awesome - enjoy and bust out your whole audio library. What's old is new again!

[Mike Kozak]

I think I have lumber right now! Is that bad???

[Mike Kozak]

amazing how such a small thing like music can make your day

[xcapri79]

Probably because 2-channel stereo receivers were designed to reproduce music -- and 7.1 HT Systems are designed to reproduce Movie experience.... maybe

This is a case when newer isn't always better. There are also compromises made with 7.1 AVR's vs stereo receivers as you pointed out.

[tonyb]

Thanks, that helps explain the difference. The Technics rating is 70 WPC at .0.04@ thd, pretty low for an antique!!! It just plain rocks!! I am listening to a wall of sound right now!!

Older models were more accurate in their watt ratings also. I forgot what 7.1 receiver I was researching,but it was rated at 110 watts per/ all channels driven. That is untill the reviewer bench tested it,all channels driven came to 40 watts per. I still don't know how they get away with this. Some deliver the watts in 2 channel,then it drops at 5 channel, and falls off a cliff at 7 channels. Do your research before laying out the coin.

[sucks2beme]

Older models were more accurate in their watt ratings also. I forgot what 7.1 receiver I was researching,but it was rated at 110 watts per/ all channels driven. That is untill the reviewer bench tested it,all channels driven came to 40 watts per. I still don't know how they get away with this. Some deliver the watts in 2 channel,then it drops at 5 channel, and falls off a cliff at 7 channels. Do your research before laying out the coin.

Back in the dark days of 2 channel, the rating system was horrible.
Standards came along with a rating system that meant both channels
had to hold that power level for an extended time, or it had to be tagged
as thus. Enter multichannel. They are no longer required to follow the standard.
That means if it hits a 100 watts and catches fire, it still can be claimed as
100wpc. And car amps are even worse. It's time for someone to push
real ratings on multichannel. They get away with it because there is no law or
enough consumer push back to make it happen.

[Mike Kozak]

All I know is the 1978-79 receiver makes my Onkyo sound like a little baby, squeeking for some milk!!!

[billbillw]

Just because that Technics is really loud at a 9:00 volume position, doesn't mean it will really go louder than the Onkyo. Vintage receivers were designed to play back sources that were much quieter than the outputs from current CD players. You end up only using a small portion of the volume control.

A modern AV receiver has much finer volume adjustment and is designed to use most of it to take advantage of a wide variety of inputs. My Onkyo will easily hit 110dB when I take it far enough, but that's going past the - range and getting to + on the volume control.

Its really just comparing apple to oranges.

Volume levels aside, its not uncommon for older receivers to sound better with music because there is a pure analog path through the receiver. Modern AV receivers operate mostly in a digital world. Analog inputs get converted to digital, manipulated by the DSP, then sent back out through a set of DACs and sent to the amp section. All this manipulation can really affect the nuances of the music.

[cnh]

I have my new Monitor 70s hooked up to my vintage Technics SA-600 Receiver and it sounds great! Why (I ay have asked this in the past) does it deliver so much more than my Onkyo (new, 7.1 channel) receiver? Really, I do not even need the subwoofer hooked up, the sound is that good. Plus it will play ALOT louder than than the Onk. I have it on 9:00 now and it is plenty loud, might crank it up now since my neighbor had to leave for a while!!! Whoo hoo!!!

I have an old Kenwood that will drive 4 ohm loads very well--it's much heavier than Kenwoods Digital AVRs were before the bailed out of the business and went on to auto only audio.

For comparisions sake...what kind of Onkyo do you have....because some of the higher end Onkyos...as billbillw.. points out are pretty beefy for AVRs....and can put out their legitimate power ratings in 8 ohms?

cnh

[billbillw]

I have an old Kenwood that will drive 4 ohm loads very well--it's much heavier than Kenwoods Digital AVRs were before the bailed out of the business and went on to auto only audio.

For comparisions sake...what kind of Onkyo do you have....because some of the higher end Onkyos...as billbillw.. points out are pretty beefy for AVRs....and can put out their legitimate power ratings in 8 ohms?

cnh

Yeah, my 805 actually exceeds rated power with only 2 channels driven.

[Knucklehead]

Ive noticed the same thing with my old Allied reciever and my Baby Advent II's, they sound so much better than my H/T for music, I really enjoy listening to music with that simple set-up.

[Mike Kozak]

My Onkyo is only a TX 507, 75 WPC 7.1. I have to crank it up all the way to even get some decent volume out if it. Works great for home theater though!!

[Knucklehead]

My Onkyo is only a TX 507, 75 WPC 7.1. I have to crank it up all the way to even get some decent volume out if it. Works great for home theater though!!

I know what you mean.....Im very pleased with my H/T set-up.

[lightman1]

I though i heard a rubling noise on this side of the lake, Mike. Good on ya! Keep throwin some sound across the sound !