QuestionFOLLOW-UP IS BELOW
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Followup To
Question -
Kevin: I probably put the cart before the horse here .......... since we were remodeling and having electrical work done, I'm having them run wiring out to our deck and install a pair of Polk Atrium45 speakers rated for 80 watts.
I don't have anything planned as of yet for a system. They are run from our den where we have an average size TV at the moment. I was thinking of a mini-system that might include a CD/DVD player( I think Sony makes one). I'm familiar with a switch box that would allow me to switch from indoor speakers to outdoor speakers.
I know this is a very general question but I'd be open to any advice you have.
As for a specific question ...... what is the most power I can run thru those speakers (160 watts?). If that is the case what could I do to allow them to be run off a system that is more powerfull that I might get to run bigger speakers I have inside.?
TIA!
Chuck
Answer -
Dear Chuck,
The Atrium 45's recommended power input is 10-80 watts per channel (WPC) RMS. (There's no such thing as a speaker's "power rating"--that's marketing hoo-ha.) That means that if you pump up to 80 watts continuously for a long period of time, the speaker will be able to handle it. However, if you pumped 100 watss continuously, the speaker would probably blow a voice coil. Bad news.
However, 80 watts is a lot of power. Speakers draw power as the program reproduced demands it. For example, a solo acoustic guitar will draw no more that 5 watts of power, but a full orchestra tutti passage will draw up to 60 at its loudest passages--maybe more depending on the program. The point is that no speaker ever draws the same amount of power in a straight line. Also, a speaker which will handle 80 watts of continuous power will be able to handle power peaks far greater than that, but Polk doesn't provide what the maximum is for the Atrium 45.
Yes, you can run 160 watts per channel (enormous amount of power--are you sure you really need all that?) into the Atrium 45. Most of the time, it will require only 20-25 watts--depending on what you listen to--and will draw more as the program demands. Just don't overdo it: earsplitting volumes for an hour or so probably won't be a good thing for the speakers.
What are the big speakers you have inside that require 160 watts of power? They must really be something.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
I hope this is where I'm supposed to put the follow-up:
Kevin: Thanks for the info, you are making it more understandable to me!
Actually I don't have speakers I'm trying to drive other than the Polks that will be outdoors. I'm just looking at systems and seing some big numbers on shelf systems that are inexpensive (relative to component systems). 800 watts of peak power, 520, 340, 200 etc.
The Sony I'm looking at(CMTDV2D) is 100 watts, would that be a good match?
Here's another question to help me understand better ....... you say as an example that an acoustic guitar would draw 5 watts. But I assume that's at a normal listening volume and doesn't it vary depending on volume? If I accidently turned it up to 11 wouldn't we be talking 2 or 3 times that amount? Probably not a big deal unless we were starting with the full orchestra and went from 60 to 180.
Maybe volune doesn't matter?!?!?! The more I think about it the more important it is that I understand that factor since the Polks will be outdoors and I or someone else may be tempted to push the volume up in order for the sound to reach farther. After all the listening area is theoretically infinate!
Thanks again !
AnswerDear Chuck,
I'm going to leave aside for a second my dislike of micro-systems.
The Sony CMTDV2D puts out 50 watts per channel. Yes, they say it's a "100 Watt System!!"--but again that's misleading marketing. The number that counts is watts per channel (WPC), and for this unit, it's 50. That said, 50 WPC is more than enough to drive the Polk Atrium 45 speakers. The problem is that none of what I've read about the Sony indicates that it has any more speaker outputs than the two used to drive its own speakers. IOW, I don't think you can drive two sets of speakers with this unit.
(BTW, if you connect both sets of speakers to the same output terminals, you'll likely cause the amplifier to clip and disable it. However, I don't think this unit even has speaker terminals. I'll bet that like most micro-systems, the speakers are hard wired.)
If you really want to drive two sets of speakers without damaging the amplifier, you need to get a receiver that has "A/B" main speaker capacity. There are many out there. Denon, Sony, and Onkyo are good brands.
But if you get a receiver that isn't a micro-system, what to do about the rest of the stuff? Okay, here are my recommendations: PSB Alpha Mini speakers ($200/pair--if that--www.psbspeakers.com for dealer info); any cheap DVD player for your CDs--the electronics are superior to any CD player, and they all play CDs. A receiver will cost $200 tops. Add the $200 for the speakers and $50 or so for a DVD player, and you're going to spend $450 versus the $250 (and probably less) for the Sony CMTDV2D, but at least you'll have something that: (1) sounds way better than any micro-system (Sony's speakers are among the very worst made--virtually any mass marketed Japanese speaker is pretty much crap); (2) if something breaks, you won't have to trash the whole shebang; and (3) you'll be able to drive the Polks as well as your main speakers.
Finally, IMHO micro-systems are the cheapest, most poorly made units marketed by any manufacturer. They're designed for very casual use and for folks who don't care about sound quality. Aside from the fact that the Sony CMTDV2D probably won't do what you want it to, I'd still recommend a receiver, speakers, and DVD player because it's money better spent. Do you really need the dual-well casette player?
To answer your last question, yes, volume does indeed matter. When I talk about "cranking it up" or "ear-splitting levels", I'm talking about very high volume. But if a system only puts out, say, 50 WPC, it's probably fair to say you couldn't possibly overdrive speakers designed to handle up to 80 WPC.
More questions, issues? Don't be shy. That's why I'm here.
Kindest regards,
Kevin
