Should i get a new Amp? Denon x1300w with RP 280F, Klipsch

[anandk2710]

Hi guys,
I have recently purchased Klipsch RP 280f Floorstandings. these speakers are rated at 150W each, maximum output of 500W. I had already purchased the Denon x1300W amp, which is rated at 90W per channel output. Its underpowered, but i had purchased it before buying the speakers, and when it came to the speakers itself, the budget got increased slightly
what i wanted to know was, will this amp be able to drive the speakers without causing any damage? on this group and other forums i read a lot about clipping issues and how it is more dangerous than using an overpowered amp, but then the speakers operate in a range, and klipsch having high sensitivity should be easier to drive.
What would be your suggestion? if the damage is highly probable, i will go for a better amp right away, otherwise i plan to use this for some time and then resell it.
Looking forward to your expert opinions, thanks in advance

 

[sanloyn]

Denon x2300w will be a perfect match.
You post an ad in sale section and see if you get a good deal so that you can let it go for minimum damage.
In the meanwhile you can use the x1300

 

[MaSh]

That's a tough situation to be in. X1300 is clearly underpowered.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[rbalagopalan]

Hi guys, on this group and other forums i read a lot about clipping issues and how it is more dangerous than using an overpowered amp, but then the speakers operate in a range, and klipsch having high sensitivity should be easier to drive.
What would be your suggestion? if the damage is highly probable, i will go for a better amp right away, otherwise i plan to use this for some time and then resell it.
Looking forward to your expert opinions, thanks in advance

Hi I think you are scared too much after reading clipping phenomenon in various forums. Don't be and you will not be once you know it technically why clipping possibility is more with the low powered amp than the high powered ones.

Let me explain:

Your amp is designed to deliver 90watts which will be achieved by some amount of volts and current (Amps) given to the speaker's driver coils. Now let's assume a situation that on a given day you are playing louder and pushing the speaker's to its limit inturn pushing the drivers to produce it's rated output of 150watts, then where the drivers will get the energy because your amp can give a specified volt and current only for 90watts, the volt cannot be increased so the voice coil in the driver will draw more current to achieve 150watts of power. Here comes a high current situation (higher the current is higher the temperature) due to this the voice coil in the driver gets charred / burnt which is called as clipping.

When your using a over powered amp (or even a high current amp) high current situation never comes to the voice coils as the voice coil gets enough energy to pump out the watts.

Hope I am not confusing here. So you don't have to be worried about clipping as it's a rare phenomenon and just by saying the possibility is more with an under powered amp it doesn't mean that it will happen. The highest possibility of clipping is shutting down the power amplifier while playing very loud that too the first casualty will always be the tweeters.

Now let's come to the point of musicality. This is purely dependent on the sensitivity of your drivers / speaker as a whole. As long as the sensitivity is 92+dB Denon 1300 will be able to do fairly a descent job. If the sensitivity is less than 90db then your speakers will shout and not sing.


I just saw the spec of your speaker it's 98db. So don't worry 90watts of power will handle your speakers like a breeze. As long as your Denon is truly delivering it. Given this sensitivity your speakers are really going to be louder not making you to pump up the volume.

NB: I have an Altec speakers build with 101db and you know what I am driving them with 8watts of power (of course true 8watts with a tube amp). You have to hear it to believe the sound quality.

My two cents.

Please do post your experience after hooking up.

R. Balagopalan.

 

[rbalagopalan]

Having said all the above your towers are quite sizeable so a better amp will do more justice.

 

[square_wave]

At 98 db, you need just a 20 to 30 watt amp to drive it well. Either the spec is misleading or the amp is a bad design.

I once knew someone using the older RF series from Klipsch with a cayin 25 watt tube amp. It sounded better than the rotel separates he used to have.

Something is amiss.

 

[insane79]

yes you should upgrade the receiver now or later as you will never do justice to those speakers.

Cheers.

 

[ssf]

if the damage is highly probable, i will go for a better amp right away

Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.08% 2ch Drive)
80 W

Theoretically this spec should not have much trouble driving the 98 db Klipsch. If you are not listening at very high volume levels for extended periods of time, you should be ok.

 

[drkrack]

Hi guys,

I have recently purchased Klipsch RP 280f Floorstandings. these speakers are rated at 150W each, maximum output of 500W. I had already purchased the Denon x1300W amp, which is rated at 90W per channel output. Its underpowered, but i had purchased it before buying the speakers, and when it came to the speakers itself, the budget got increased slightly

what i wanted to know was, will this amp be able to drive the speakers without causing any damage? on this group and other forums i read a lot about clipping issues and how it is more dangerous than using an overpowered amp, but then the speakers operate in a range, and klipsch having high sensitivity should be easier to drive.

What would be your suggestion? if the damage is highly probable, i will go for a better amp right away, otherwise i plan to use this for some time and then resell it.

Looking forward to your expert opinions, thanks in advance

I think Denon x1300 should do just fine for movies without any doubt. If its the music performance that you are looking, then you can buy a stereo amp instead. Stereo amps don't get outdated easily and the stereo performance for music is unmatched by AVRs. Upgrade the AVR if you're looking for some AVR related feature instead of only power requirements IMHO.

A powerful AVR like Denon 4xxx, Marantz SR 7xxx series or Anthem 7xx etc would cost substantially but still may not match the performance of a stereo amp costing half the price. AVR Manfacturers usually bump power ratings and 90wpc Denon AVR will feel Anemic in front of 50wpc NAD stereo amp. So you'll be benefitted by adding a stereo amp for Music performance. For movies the center speaker and subwoofer matter a lot and Denon with its Audessey calibration should be able to handle it easily.

Using the front preouts from Denon AVR and powering them with Stereo power amp is one more option you have, which will enhance your movie or music experience. Investing in a Stereo amp matching the Denon sound signature is better than upgrading the AVR.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dr_rocket]

Front preout not available in x1300, it is available from x2300 onwards

 

[drkrack]

Front preout not available in x1300, it is available from x2300 onwards

Sorry my bad, thanks for clarifying ; I owned x2200w (95wpc) earlier. It was driving Polk RTI a5 easily for movies. But for music I always felt stereo amp was better.
The last option doesn't work for OP in this case.

 

[anandk2710]

thanks everyone for your opinion, it has cleared a lot of things up.
i am planning to buy a better amp. I had demoed it with a marantz one, and the difference was very clearly visible, but i have stuck with this one due to budget constraints. i was just worried that i might ruin my speakers because of this.
So will continue with this for some time, and in due course, hopefully if someone is selling one on this forum i'll go for something better.
thanks a lot, will update once i see how it all works together.

 

[anandk2710]

I think Denon x1300 should do just fine for movies without any doubt. If its the music performance that you are looking, then you can buy a stereo amp instead. Stereo amps don't get outdated easily and the stereo performance for music is unmatched by AVRs. Upgrade the AVR if you're looking for some AVR related feature instead of only power requirements IMHO.

A powerful AVR like Denon 4xxx, Marantz SR 7xxx series or Anthem 7xx etc would cost substantially but still may not match the performance of a stereo amp costing half the price. AVR Manfacturers usually bump power ratings and 90wpc Denon AVR will feel Anemic in front of 50wpc NAD stereo amp. So you'll be benefitted by adding a stereo amp for Music performance. For movies the center speaker and subwoofer matter a lot and Denon with its Audessey calibration should be able to handle it easily.

Using the front preouts from Denon AVR and powering them with Stereo power amp is one more option you have, which will enhance your movie or music experience. Investing in a Stereo amp matching the Denon sound signature is better than upgrading the AVR.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i am using my speakers primarily for movies, my music consumption atleast currently is very less. but now i will definitely take a look at those too.

 

[anandk2710]

Hi I think you are scared too much after reading clipping phenomenon in various forums. Don't be and you will not be once you know it technically why clipping possibility is more with the low powered amp than the high powered ones.

Let me explain:

Your amp is designed to deliver 90watts which will be achieved by some amount of volts and current (Amps) given to the speaker's driver coils. Now let's assume a situation that on a given day you are playing louder and pushing the speaker's to its limit inturn pushing the drivers to produce it's rated output of 150watts, then where the drivers will get the energy because your amp can give a specified volt and current only for 90watts, the volt cannot be increased so the voice coil in the driver will draw more current to achieve 150watts of power. Here comes a high current situation (higher the current is higher the temperature) due to this the voice coil in the driver gets charred / burnt which is called as clipping.

When your using a over powered amp (or even a high current amp) high current situation never comes to the voice coils as the voice coil gets enough energy to pump out the watts.

Hope I am not confusing here. So you don't have to be worried about clipping as it's a rare phenomenon and just by saying the possibility is more with an under powered amp it doesn't mean that it will happen. The highest possibility of clipping is shutting down the power amplifier while playing very loud that too the first casualty will always be the tweeters.

Now let's come to the point of musicality. This is purely dependent on the sensitivity of your drivers / speaker as a whole. As long as the sensitivity is 92+dB Denon 1300 will be able to do fairly a descent job. If the sensitivity is less than 90db then your speakers will shout and not sing.


I just saw the spec of your speaker it's 98db. So don't worry 90watts of power will handle your speakers like a breeze. As long as your Denon is truly delivering it. Given this sensitivity your speakers are really going to be louder not making you to pump up the volume.

NB: I have an Altec speakers build with 101db and you know what I am driving them with 8watts of power (of course true 8watts with a tube amp). You have to hear it to believe the sound quality.

My two cents.

Please do post your experience after hooking up.

R. Balagopalan.

your explanation is really helpful! now atleast i can hook it up in peace and check if it works fine.
thanks a lot.

 

[anandk2710]

Hi I think you are scared too much after reading clipping phenomenon in various forums. Don't be and you will not be once you know it technically why clipping possibility is more with the low powered amp than the high powered ones.

Let me explain:

Your amp is designed to deliver 90watts which will be achieved by some amount of volts and current (Amps) given to the speaker's driver coils. Now let's assume a situation that on a given day you are playing louder and pushing the speaker's to its limit inturn pushing the drivers to produce it's rated output of 150watts, then where the drivers will get the energy because your amp can give a specified volt and current only for 90watts, the volt cannot be increased so the voice coil in the driver will draw more current to achieve 150watts of power. Here comes a high current situation (higher the current is higher the temperature) due to this the voice coil in the driver gets charred / burnt which is called as clipping.

When your using a over powered amp (or even a high current amp) high current situation never comes to the voice coils as the voice coil gets enough energy to pump out the watts.

Hope I am not confusing here. So you don't have to be worried about clipping as it's a rare phenomenon and just by saying the possibility is more with an under powered amp it doesn't mean that it will happen. The highest possibility of clipping is shutting down the power amplifier while playing very loud that too the first casualty will always be the tweeters.

Now let's come to the point of musicality. This is purely dependent on the sensitivity of your drivers / speaker as a whole. As long as the sensitivity is 92+dB Denon 1300 will be able to do fairly a descent job. If the sensitivity is less than 90db then your speakers will shout and not sing.


I just saw the spec of your speaker it's 98db. So don't worry 90watts of power will handle your speakers like a breeze. As long as your Denon is truly delivering it. Given this sensitivity your speakers are really going to be louder not making you to pump up the volume.

NB: I have an Altec speakers build with 101db and you know what I am driving them with 8watts of power (of course true 8watts with a tube amp). You have to hear it to believe the sound quality.

My two cents.

Please do post your experience after hooking up.

R. Balagopalan.

Sorry about asking this after your already lengthy explanation, but could you please tell me how a tube amp and a regular one are different, with the same rated power?