What is considered sensitive speakers ?

[ozzman]

My front speakers sensitivity are 84db at 2.8v,1 m anechoic chamber 88db

Can someone explain this in a easy way that maybe someone as slow as me could understand ?
Paradigms studio 40's sensitivity is 98db/89db.
Iam assuming the Paradigms are more sensitive?

Spec wise is the paradigms more sensitive then my Mirage's?

What does sensitivity mean? Is more sensitivity Better? Teach me Please

[Clark Kent]

In laymen terms, the sensitivity of a speaker measures how easy it is to drive by an amplifier. A more sensitive speaker will be easier to drive with a lower powered amplifier. In your example above the Paradigms are the more sensitive speakers if the listed numbers are correct. Typically the less sensitive your speakers are, the more powerful the amplifier you'll need to attain the same volume. As you surmised higher numbers mean the speaker is more sensitive.

[ozzman]

That was very simple and straight forward.Thank you..Is there a reason some speakers are made more sensitive then others ?

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by ozzman

That was very simple and straight forward.Thank you..Is there a reason some speakers are made more sensitive then others ?

It's not something that is as easily controlable as say cone material. Manufacturers make a speaker and aim for other factors, like Q factors, frequency response, air volume required. There are things they can do to control the sensitivity, but it may come at a trade off for those other factors.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by ozzman

That was very simple and straight forward.Thank you..Is there a reason some speakers are made more sensitive then others ?

Great sounding speakers can come in all sorts of different sensitivity measurements. A word of warning is that some manufacturers lie about their numbers, so I always go by an independent third party's measurement of sensitivity like Stereophile. The sensitivity rating is really a byproduct of how the speaker is designed and with what components it is made with. Some speaker designers aim for an easy to drive speaker since many consumers don't have massive amps that can drive anything to loud volumes.

[ozzman]

It was always told to me and in a couple of reviews on my speakers were that i needed a powerful amp to run them and get the full potentially out of them .
So iam assuming that the spec's on the sensitivity of my speakers are correct.

THANKS

[prerich]

Originally Posted by ozzman

It was always told to me and in a couple of reviews on my speakers were that i needed a powerful amp to run them and get the full potentially out of them .
So iam assuming that the spec's on the sensitivity of my speakers are correct.

THANKS

Yes your mains require lots of power to play at the same volume as other speakers. I see that you have the 3800 Yamaha receiver, personal recommendation - if you can, add an outboard power amp and use your receiver as a prepro - You will LOVE IT!!!!

Basiclly, to get a 3db volume increase you have to double your power. This is where having sensitive speakers comes in handy, this is why many people love Klipsch - easy to drive, but don't let sensitivity become your rule of thumb when choosing speakers - let your ears be the judge and don't be over whelmed because a speaker can play loud. There are many speakers with lower sensitivity ratings (86db and below) that sound awesome!

Your speakers are considered to be moderately sensitive (at 88db). Enjoy Ozz!!!

[ozzman]

Thank you Prerich as always
Will talk about that outboard preamp after Christmas, I'll private message then.If you don't mind i could use your help with that when the time comes.

Right now i love the sound stage i got,But as you know we always could use allitle bit of better for are systems.
The funny thing is my wife thinks iam done.

If you have any threads or info about outboard preamp's and what they do and how to hook them up to a reciever i would appreciate it (gives me something to read and maybe dream about )

Your friend OZZMAN

[Big Daddy]

Sensitivity is calculated by measuring the sound pressure level at one meter, with 1 watt of input power, at 1KHz (1,000Hz).

As Prerich indicated this may be important because it requires twice the power to increase the volume of a speaker by 3dB. However, sensitive speakers do not necessarily produce better sound.

Horn loaded enclosures such as Klipsch are used to manufacture very sensitive loudspeakers. A funnel is placed in front of the speaker, acting as an acoustic amplifier, thus improving the efficiency and the directivity of the speaker.

I use my receiver as a preamp/processor and drive all my speakers, including the subwoofers by external amplifiers. The connection is very simple. You disconnect all the speaker wires from the receiver. Then you buy a 5 or 7 channel amplifier, depending on the number of speakers. Next, you have to connect the pre-outs for the fronts, center, surrounds on the receiver to the inputs of the amplifier with RCA cables. Finally, you connect the speaker wires to the new amp.

Emotiva makes the best reasonably-priced multi-channel amplifiers.

[ozzman]

Thanks BigDaddy.

This sound like it could get expensive

Iam going to keep my eyes open around some of the pawn shops down here.
I guess i would be looking for one a 7 speakers channel amp
What wattage would you boys recommend in a preamp my fronts are 200 rms

Are the watts that the reciever puts out added with the pre amp watts(could i be so lucky)

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Thanks BigDaddy.

This sound like it could get expensive

Iam going to keep my eyes open around some of the pawn shops down here.
I guess i would be looking for one a 7 speakers channel amp
What wattage would you boys recommend in a preamp my fronts are 200 rms

Are the watts that the reciever puts out added with the pre amp watts(could i be so lucky)

Pre-amp does not have power. It does all the switching and processing like your receiver. The amplifier has power in watts. If you use your receiver as a pre-amp, you are bypassing the amplifier inside the receiver. All your speakers will be driven by the new amplifier. The more power the better. The Cinepro amplifier in my sig cost me $3,500 in 1998. I bought it directly from the manufacturer at a high-end show. It is massive and can output up to 700 watts per channel for 4 ohm speakers.

[ozzman]

So BigDaddy,
You know the reciever i have,What should i be looking for in a pre amp... channel wise? I have a 7.1 setup do i need 7 channels?
Is there a feature on the pre amp that i should also be looking for?

I would appreciate if you gave me some Hints so iam not going in Blind while looking for this item

Thanks

[petenad]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Sensitivity is calculated by measuring the sound pressure level at one meter, with 1 watt of input power, at 1KHz (1,000Hz).

As Prerich indicated this may be important because it requires twice the power to increase the volume of a speaker by 3dB. However, sensitive speakers do not necessarily produce better sound.

Horn loaded enclosures such as Klipsch are used to manufacture very sensitive loudspeakers. A funnel is placed in front of the speaker, acting as an acoustic amplifier, thus improving the efficiency and the directivity of the speaker.

I use my receiver as a preamp/processor and drive all my speakers, including the subwoofers by external amplifiers. The connection is very simple. You disconnect all the speaker wires from the receiver. Then you buy a 5 or 7 channel amplifier, depending on the number of speakers. Next, you have to connect the pre-outs for the fronts, center, surrounds on the receiver to the inputs of the amplifier with RCA cables. Finally, you connect the speaker wires to the new amp.

Emotiva makes the best reasonably-priced multi-channel amplifiers.

So when I'm looking at the back of the 7channel Emotiva for example there are the speaker connections at the bottom and at the top it looks like RCA connections and then XLR below that, so all we would need to do is run one cable to each of the upper connections? And they would be coming in my case from the TX NR905 Just the one cable for each channel?? Am I right?

[ozzman]

Also when you do it this way ,For Me,Would i lose all the DSP Modes my
Yamaha Has to offer?

I think were putting BigDaddy to work Today

[prerich]

Originally Posted by ozzman

So BigDaddy,
You know the reciever i have,What should i be looking for in a pre amp... channel wise? I have a 7.1 setup do i need 7 channels?
Is there a feature on the pre amp that i should also be looking for?

I would appreciate if you gave me some Hints so iam not going in Blind while looking for this item

Thanks

That's the point Ozz your receiver is the preamp You're already half way there!!! Here's the Emotiva everyone talks about http://www.emotiva.com/mps2.html that's $1700.00 That's the only thing you need besides RCA cables.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Also when you do it this way ,For Me,Would i lose all the DSP Modes my
Yamaha Has to offer?

I think were putting BigDaddy to work Today

No you keep all of your DSP modes (receiver is still the preamp and DSP happens in this stage) you gain power and dynamic headroom. Look at my signature - its the way I do it also

[ozzman]

Thank Prerich,
WOW that looks amazing.do i want one ,YES,When could i get one.Prerich i don't know.
1700 is kinda high to hide from the wife.This could take some time.
Iam just buying a PS3 right know for a backup blu-ray.(Just in case my samsung player feels like taking a dump)

Iam going to look around here in Canada and if i see something that sparkles my eye ,I'LL get back to you

OZZMAN

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by petenad

So when I'm looking at the back of the 7channel Emotiva for example there are the speaker connections at the bottom and at the top it looks like RCA connections and then XLR below that, so all we would need to do is run one cable to each of the upper connections? And they would be coming in my case from the TX NR905 Just the one cable for each channel?? Am I right?

Correct. One RCA cable from the pre-out for each channel from the receiver or Pre/Pro to the amplifier and two speaker wires (+,-) for each channel from the amplifier to each speaker.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ozzman

1700 is kinda high to hide from the wife.This could take some time.

The solution is very easy. When I married my wife, she had one of these awfull THINGS that she had purchased from KMart. I can't say that it actually played music. It only made noise. At the time I had a good system and used to play music for her that she enjoyed. Slowly, I got her involved with higher end products. I started taking her to all the high-end audio/video shows sponsored by Stereophile or other magazines and then we would go to a nice romantic dinner. She caught the bug very quickly and used to tell me how much she enjoyed the shows. Of course, the dinners and the movies after the dinners were also effective. Now, she supports every decision I make. Every time I buy a new equipment, I ask her to give me her opinion. I rarely buy anything without her and she always talks me into buying the higher end model. She has turned into an amateur audiophile.

[ozzman]

Your Smooth ,Iam just coming up to 2 years married .
This could take me years.
Maybe I'll start taking her for dinner on Saturdays.This pre amp is going to cost me around 4000 after iam done LOL

Your New name Is BigDaddySmooth