Hi-Fi Rookie - Floorstanders + Amp

[RS03]

Hi guys

I am a Hi-Fi rookie, so know little about all of this.
Got a little help from a fellow Pher earlier on about getting some floor standing speakers. He told me I would need an amp to power it (didn't know what an amp was before he told me!)

I have found some Beng floorstanding speakers with 2x 200 watt RMS at 8ohms
I believe I will need an amp for this to connect the 2 speakers together and use an AUX cable to plug in my iPhone?

Have found the Auna AMP-2540-S which is 400w max output (less than the 480w max of the speakers - will this matter?)
It says it is 4-8ohms. If I needed a subwoofer, would this connect as well?


Thanks for the help guys. If the explanation could be in simple-ish terms that would be great

[Speedracer329]

Well to start with that amp is a 5 channel home cinema amp, not the best choice to be playing an ipod through, & the speakers themselves are the same, & not very good to be honest. Do you want a stand alone system to play your ipod through or are you just intending to plug it into an existing home cinema set up?

[RS03]

Speedracer329 said:

Well to start with that amp is a 5 channel home cinema amp, not the best choice to be playing an ipod through, & the speakers themselves are the same, & not very good to be honest. Do you want a stand alone system to play your ipod through or are you just intending to plug it into an existing home cinema set up?

Yeah just a stand alone system (speakers, amp and maybe sub) because I have heard all-in-one systems are rubbish and a waste of money.
This is a fairly budget project because I already have a good system, and this one is just for the gym area. My budget is not high at all (around £300-350)
So the speakers were fairly budget and the amp is cheap - does the function (AUX input, plugs in my speakers)

Edited by RS03 on Friday 15th April 13:18

[RS03]

I'm not using a home cinema for this project.
Will the 2 speakers still work with a 5 channel? Or will it subtract from the quality?

Thanks for the help...

[900T-R]

Trying to find an amplifier with a gazillion watts is not a good idea in general, and particularly not if you're on a budget.

How large is the room this is going to be in, and how loud does it need to go? If the room is large and you want 'club/concert' sound pressure levels (hopefully you are in a detached home and/or your neighbours are deaf in that case) you will need efficient speakers (sensitivity ideally well in the 90s dB/W/1m range) that need to be an 'easy' load (impedance curve and phase) for the amplifier, too. After you've chosen your speakers you can choose an amp to match. The amplifier's output in relation to whatever the manufacturer of the speaker quotes as their power handling is totally inconsequential, and I wouldn't read too much into the amplifier's power rating, either.

[NDA]

I'm not sure I totally understand some of the questions - but here goes....

Your loudspeakers will connect with speaker wire to the speaker terminals at the back of the amplifier. I'm not sure what the back of your amplifier looks like, but it should be pretty clear which are the speaker terminals.

The speaker terminals will be in pairs, one pair for left and one for right. The will either be black and red per pair or marked + and -. You need to make sure (no damage can be done with this) that if you wire both speakers in the same way.

The auxiliary (aux) input is fine for putting your iPod into, you will need a cable that looks like this:

[RS03]

NDA said:

I'm not sure I totally understand some of the questions - but here goes....

Your loudspeakers will connect with speaker wire to the speaker terminals at the back of the amplifier. I'm not sure what the back of your amplifier looks like, but it should be pretty clear which are the speaker terminals.

The speaker terminals will be in pairs, one pair for left and one for right. The will either be black and red per pair or marked + and -. You need to make sure (no damage can be done with this) that if you wire both speakers in the same way.

The auxiliary (aux) input is fine for putting your iPod into, you will need a cable that looks like this:

Yes, I think you have got it. I am not 100% sure if the amp I have picked out will work with the speakers.
I have heard from a couple of people that the speakers I have chosen have too many watts for most amps.
Thanks for the help though

[RS03]

900T-R said:

Trying to find an amplifier with a gazillion watts is not a good idea in general, and particularly not if you're on a budget.

How large is the room this is going to be in, and how loud does it need to go? If the room is large and you want 'club/concert' sound pressure levels (hopefully you are in a detached home and/or your neighbours are deaf in that case) you will need efficient speakers (sensitivity ideally well in the 90s dB/W/1m range) that need to be an 'easy' load (impedance curve and phase) for the amplifier, too. After you've chosen your speakers you can choose an amp to match. The amplifier's output in relation to whatever the manufacturer of the speaker quotes as their power handling is totally inconsequential, and I wouldn't read too much into the amplifier's power rating, either.

The room is like a gym room, fairly long but not too wide. No, there aren't any neighbors
Just for music, so amp needs an AUX connection for my iPod

Here are the specs of the speakers:
• 2 x 200 Watts RMS / 2 x 480 Watts Max
• 1 x 16.5cm Subwoofer
• 1 x 9.5 cm Tweeter
• 2 x 9.5cm Mid range
• Connections: screw or clip speaker terminals
• Frequency range: 20 to 20,000 Hz
• Impedance: 8 Ohm

[RS03]

And the specs of the amplifier:

5.1-channel surround amplifier with radio
600W max. Overall Performance
2 x RCA input, 1 x Jack Input
Connections: 2 x 6.3 mm jack, microphone input (front), 2x RCA stereo line input, 1 x 3.5mm mini-jack auxiliary input (front), 2 x set of screw terminals for connecting the front Speakers, 3 x set of terminals for connecting the stereo surround speakers, 1 x RCA output for connecting the powered subwoofer
Digital frequency display
40 presets
Adjustable mic echo delay effect
Adjustable microphone volume
Controlled balance
Controllable master EQ - Adjustable bass and treble
Adjustable master volume
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Signal to noise ratio:> 76dB
Power supply: 230V, 50Hz

[900T-R]

RS03 said:

Yes, I think you have got it. I am not 100% sure if the amp I have picked out will work with the speakers.
I have heard from a couple of people that the speakers I have chosen have too many watts for most amps.

A speaker is not a light bulb; it doesn't 'have' any Watts. Manufacturers tend to give a 'power handling' figure which is mostly a pie-in-the-sky number; as said what counts is the sensitivity and impedance/phase curve.

You will hardly ever 'blow up' speakers with a too powerful amplifier, you will damage them much sooner by cranking up a less powerful amplifier too high.

If the amplifier connects to the speakers, sounds OK and doesn't run too hot so that it switches itself off after a while, it can run the speakers. Simple as that.

Whether it's a good match sonically... well, you have to hear for yourself.

[RS03]

900T-R said:

A speaker is not a light bulb; it doesn't 'have' any Watts. Manufacturers tend to give a 'power handling' figure which is mostly a pie-in-the-sky number; as said what counts is the sensitivity and impedance/phase curve.

You will hardly ever 'blow up' speakers with a too powerful amplifier, you will damage them much sooner by cranking up a less powerful amplifier too high.

If the amplifier connects to the speakers, sounds OK and doesn't run too hot so that it switches itself off after a while, it can run the speakers. Simple as that.

Whether it's a good match sonically... well, you have to hear for yourself.

Thanks very much. Cleared up a lot of things. I am not so worried about having a 600W amp for 960W of speakers!
Yeah I will probably buy it all and see how it turns out. If worst comes to worst, I will spend a bit more buying a sub and just getting a LOT of bass!
Will a sub be able to plug into a 5.1 cinema amp?

[greggers]

Yes an active subwoofer will plug into a 5.1 via an RCA cable... Whether you would want to though is another matter. A decent 2 channel hi-fi amp with matched speakers will give you more than enough bass.

If it's a big room and you want lots of volume, you could do things PA style but that a whole different kettle of fish from hifi.

[RS03]

greggers said:

Yes an active subwoofer will plug into a 5.1 via an RCA cable... Whether you would want to though is another matter. A decent 2 channel hi-fi amp with matched speakers will give you more than enough bass.

If it's a big room and you want lots of volume, you could do things PA style but that a whole different kettle of fish from hifi.

Yes I agree, but the problem is finding an amp which is 2 channel, AUX capability and enough watts to support these speakers (200w x2 RCA)
I'm sorry I don't know what "PA style" means!

[grumbledoak]

If you are going to run all this off an iPhone why not just get a decent mini system and let their engineers match all the bits up in development?

[RS03]

grumbledoak said:

If you are going to run all this off an iPhone why not just get a decent mini system and let their engineers match all the bits up in development?

Because mini systems have awful sound quality and poor bass, and a good one will set me back more than this sound system, as I am on a budget.
Plus, it is a good experience to educate myself about all this hi-fi business.

Looked up some micro-systems/mini-systems.
They are all around 40 watts and around £200.

Edited by RS03 on Friday 15th April 18:42

[TonyRPH]

RS03 said:

• 2 x 200 Watts RMS / 2 x 480 Watts Max
• Frequency range: 20 to 20,000 Hz

I will be surprised if those speakers could handle a sustained 200W RMS.....

Even more surprised if they'll manage to take much more than 300W let alone 480W

And 20 to 20000 Hz? But at what limits? They are probably 50 to 15000 Hz +- 3db and are probably 10db down at 20Hz!

You would be far better finding a used pair of Wharfedale Valdus 400 Speakers on Ebay. At least you know they'll have a genuine wattage rating.

And they'll probably give far better bass too.

These for example.

You'll be surprised just how little power you really need to fill a largish room with a decent pair of speakers.

I did the odd disco with a 50+50W JVC amp back on the 80's, and it rarely broke out in a sweat.

[TonyRPH]

RS03 said:

Yes I agree, but the problem is finding an amp which is 2 channel, AUX capability and enough watts to support these speakers (200w x2 RCA)
I'm sorry I don't know what "PA style" means!

AUX is just a generic term for a line level input. Any amp with CD / TUNER / DAT / TAPE inputs would do.

It doesn't necessarily have to be labeled AUX.

And you can still drive 200W speakers with a lower powered amp.

The important thing is the sensitivity of the speakers - for example how many of those watts they turn into SPL (Sound Pressure Level).

So for example - a 100W speaker with a sensitivity of 90dB per watt will play louder than a 200W speaker with a sensitivity of 85dB per watt. (with the same amplifier)

Power isn't everything in this case.

[RS03]

TonyRPH said:

And you can still drive 200W speakers with a lower powered amp.

The important thing is the sensitivity of the speakers - for example how many of those watts they turn into SPL (Sound Pressure Level).

So for example - a 100W speaker with a sensitivity of 90dB per watt will play louder than a 200W speaker with a sensitivity of 85dB per watt. (with the same amplifier)

Power isn't everything in this case.

OK thanks for the help. So how do I find out the sensitivity (SPL) of a set of speakers and of the amplifier?
And if I had a 5 channel amp, which port do I use for the 2 speakers?
Is it the 2 screw terminals on the back?

Thanks

[TonyRPH]

RS03 said:

OK thanks for the help. So how do I find out the sensitivity (SPL) of a set of speakers and of the amplifier?
And if I had a 5 channel amp, which port do I use for the 2 speakers?
Is it the 2 screw terminals on the back?

Thanks

Most manufacturers quote a 'sensitivity' figure for their speakers, usually expressed as db per watt at 1 meter.

The higher the db figure the better - but even small differences (as little as 2db) can be audible.

An increase of 3db is double the SPL. So a speaker that is 87db per watt will be half as loud as a 90db per watt speaker, for the same input level.

On a surround amp, you want to use the 'front' channel, and set it to 'stereo' or 'direct' mode.

That will bypass the surround processing, and usually also yields optimum sound quality.

[Super Slo Mo]

How big is the room you're wanting to have the system in? Is it huge? If it's not, you won't be needing 200W (RMS), and to be fair, if you do, the system you're mentioning is not likely to sound all that impressive at full chat.

If it were my money, I'd be looking for something like this (however, I appreciate everyone has different musical tastes etc):

A second hand NAD 3130 or similar, plenty available on Ebay for under a hundred quid.

For speakers, either a pair of new KEF IQ5SE's or Cambridge Audio S70's from Richer Sounds (£250 and £200 respectively), or a second hand pair of something like KEF Q35, something from Mission (do a spot of research), or similar. There's plenty of choice for your budget.

As a matter of interest, what's your main system? You say it's very good, but admit you didn't know what an amplifer was until recently. Without wishing to be rude, I think I'm missing something here.

Edited by Super Slo Mo on Friday 15th April 22:17