# Receiver amp speaker question.



## Leadreign (Dec 14, 2013)

Apologies if the answer is posted a 100 times already but running out of patients and time tonight ha.
Ive asked people on other random forums, many searches and not getting a straight answer.

I bought a Yamaha RX-V375 5.1 Channel 3D A/V Home Theater Receiver. Watts/Channels is 100x5.
Also bought Sony SSF-7000 Floor-Standing 4-way Speaker with 8" Woofer. 8ohms and RMS power range is 200watts.

Over the course of about 4 days, I only used it a collective 5 hours. 2-3 times it turned off by itself then eventually, 4 days after I set it up, it blew. I have an exact model replacement. My setup is the 2 Sony speakers up from with built in subs, and 2 I would say 8" speakers in the ceiling.

Question being.. did the speakers demand too much from the receiver hence possible overheating and blowing the power? Is an additional amplifier required? Or was it just a freak accident.

Thanks for any help provided.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Welcome to the Home Theater Shack.
There are several aspects to what you have asked about.

The Yamaha AVR you have chosen is not a very powerful unit, it is rated at 100w with only one channel (speaker) driven and 70w with two channels driven. As more speakers are added that power will continue to go down.
Question is...is the power capability a problem ?
Answer depends strictly on how loud you play the system. If you are trying to achieve dance club / concert levels it's a problem. If you are in an apartment and the neighbors are not complaining about the loud music then you are going to be ok with it. If you are in a house and listen to it loud it becomes less clear if the AVR has enough output capability.

Assuming the speakers and the AVR are in good working condition you should be able to hear distortion when you turn the volume up to the point it will cause the AVR to shut down.
It is not wise to operate the unit with audible distortion.
AVRs have protection built in to shut them down when they overheat, there may be over current protection built in too but that is less common.
In any case the AVR needs to be placed so air can circulate around it.
Putting it in a equipment rack without forced air cooling may cause it to overheat and shutdown or fail completely.

Speakers do not demand power.
A speaker is a device that responds to the voltage that is applied to it by an amplifier.
The higher the voltage, the higher the current that flows through the speaker and back to the amplifier.
The amplifier completely controls the voltage applied and the current is determined by the speaker's impedance.
8 ohms is a very common speaker impedance and should not present any issues to the AVR.
It may be semantics to many, but that's the way it works.

Please explain what you mean by this
".......the 2 Sony speakers up from with built in subs......."

The Sony speakers you referenced are three way speakers with four passive drivers, there is one tweeter, one mid-range, and two woofers.

The people here will be happy to help any way they can. Visit often and ask about anything you want to.


----------



## Leadreign (Dec 14, 2013)

Thanks for replying. I only took a quick glance at the dimensions of the speakers when I bought them. Didn't realize they were that big. This setup is for an average living room. Those Sony speakers are way too much, I know haha. I'm all for creating a ghetto movie theater in my living room. 

What I meant by the 2 up front is those speakers sit next to the tv, 2 other speakers in the cieling and no subwoofer unit since the Sony speakers have a built in that, for a moment, sounded good enough. But I didn't get much of a chance to test them.

I work for a cable company so I know all about equipment overheating. There's 3" of space all around the AVR. Always make sure its off when not in use. 

Ill assume, after reading your post, the AVR turned itself off a few times because of possible overheating issues trying to feed to speakers and didn't have enough juice. Right?
Figured that AVR was much better than my 13 year old Yamaha receiver and could handle a speaker upgrade. Luckily the AVR was replaced without a dollar being spent. 

Best answer I've receiced so far and I thank you.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Unless you are playing the system at ear bleed levels the AVR should not shut down.
Those speakers are going to be very loud (106 dB SPL) with 32 watts going to them and the Yammy should be able to do that all day.
It is quite possible the first unit was defective.
If the new one shuts down (assuming less than ear bleed levels) you will have to look at your speakers and wiring.
Probably a good idea to check the speaker wires looking for a single strand that may be shorting across the terminals.
Let us know what happens.


----------



## Leadreign (Dec 14, 2013)

Ok thanks. New one sitting in the box in the living room until I had a definite answer. All I needed was a simple answer like that before I dropped a hundred on a amp. Thank you my good man. Lets see how this one acts.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

With the Yamaha RX-V375 you would not be able to add an external amp as there are no pre outs for any of the channels. 
The 375 would not be able to drive those speakers very well at all if your running them full range particularly if you have it in a cabin ate where there is not enough airflow. It's rated to output 100 watts but as with many entry level receivers you can probably cut that by half and then some.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Leadreign said:


> Ok thanks. New one sitting in the box in the living room until I had a definite answer. All I needed was a simple answer like that before I dropped a hundred on a amp. Thank you my good man. Lets see how this one acts.


When you start talking about processors (or AVRs with preamp outs) and amplifiers you are not talking about dropping a hundred on it.
You will be playing in a completely different price bracket than where you at currently at.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> With the Yamaha RX-V375 you would not be able to add an external amp as there are no pre outs for any of the channels.
> The 375 would not be able to drive those speakers very well at all if your running them full range particularly if you have it in a cabin ate where there is not enough airflow. It's rated to output 100 watts but as with many entry level receivers you can probably cut that by half and then some.


Sony specs the speakers at 8 ohms with sensitivity @ 90dB.
Assuming less than very loud volume requirements any AVR should handle the speakers just fine.


----------



## Leadreign (Dec 14, 2013)

Goinf well so far. Guess it was a bad receiver. I did turn it pretty loud a couple times for a moment but nothing happened. Would be a huge pain in the to return these speakers so was wondering what's my best hope. But I'm fine with where they are at. Probably sell the speakers in a year or 2. 
Lets hope nothing else pops :crying:


----------



## WSJ (Jan 6, 2014)

My Yamaha RX-V667 Receiver is about 3 years old. I installed a fan on my receiver the first day because it was over 30° F hotter than the room temperature without driving speakers.

Reliability is directly proportional to heat, for every 10° C rise the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is cut in half.


----------



## fmw (Aug 11, 2013)

It seems clear to me that it was a case of infant mortality. Get the receiver replaced and you should be good to go.


----------

