# Does my power of receiver match the power of the speaker needed?



## jeff12138 (Jan 8, 2021)

On the jamo website, I see S809 has Power Handling 120w/240w with impedance 8 ohm. Is that the power needed per channel? If so, I see most receivers under $1000 will have RMA output below 120w per channel. Like "Pioneer VSX-LX304" and "Yamaha RX-A2A" both have a price tag of around $800, but both receivers only rated output power of 100 W (8 ohms, 0.06% THD) (20Hz-20kHz, 2-ch driven) what is smaller than 120W what this S809 need. Does that mean even an $800 receiver will not be powerful enough to push a $350 speaker? That doesn't make sense to me.


Here are the products and spec I mentioned above:








S 809


The Jamo Studio 8 Series S 809 Floorstanding Speaker delivers contemporary design, high performance, and balanced, natural sound.



www.jamo.com












Pioneer Home Audio VSX-LX304


VSX-LX304 9.2-Channel Network Elite AV Receiver




www.adorama.com












Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A2A


AVENTAGE RX-A2A 7.2-Channel AV Receiver with MusicCast, Black




www.adorama.com









Amazon.com: Jamo Studio Series S809 Floorstanding Speaker Pair (Black): Home Audio & Theater


Buy Jamo Studio Series S809 Floorstanding Speaker Pair (Black): Floorstanding Speakers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



amzn.to


----------



## dschlic1 (Mar 15, 2013)

It really depends on several things. First is what is called the sensitivity of the speakers. This is determines how loud the speaker will be for a given input. The more sensitive the speaker is the lees power it will take. Second is the size of your room. 

That being said, small changes in power will not produce large changes in sound levels. For example say you drive a speaker at 90 watts. doubling that power to 180 watts will only increase your sound level by 3 db. 

I would say that in most cases any for those AVRs would drive your speakers without problems.


----------



## the_clangers (Dec 2, 2013)

I have speakers that have a program/peak recommended power input of 220/400 watts at 4 ohms. 
I drive them with an amp that can do 200 into all 5 channels or 350 into one and I have never wanted more.
Try and get at least above your program power level. Peak is not so important, but it reduces the distortion at near maximum levels.


----------



## gewiz44 (Oct 24, 2007)

As "dschlic1" and "the_clangers" have said, efficiency of the speakers are the greatest determinant of db's of sound per power watt output. If you currently have a amp/receiver capable of 8 ohms output try it with your new speakers. I used to have a old amp with analog dials for wattage output and with the speakers I had at the time when I got around 1 watt output it started to get uncomfortably loud. If the speakers are rated at 200 watts, that is usually the amount of sustained power they can take before starting to self destruct. I don't think you would enjoy listening to speakers driven to their full capacity. Now days, it is hard to find any amplifier / receiver with output under 50 watts per channel. With the correct impedance matching, I'm pretty sure any of your choices would bring satisfying results. Enjoy!


----------



## Ravedave (Mar 6, 2021)

jeff12138 said:


> On the jamo website, I see S809 has Power Handling 120w/240w with impedance 8 ohm. Is that the power needed per channel? If so, I see most receivers under $1000 will have RMA output below 120w per channel. Like "Pioneer VSX-LX304" and "Yamaha RX-A2A" both have a price tag of around $800, but both receivers only rated output power of 100 W (8 ohms, 0.06% THD) (20Hz-20kHz, 2-ch driven) what is smaller than 120W what this S809 need. Does that mean even an $800 receiver will not be powerful enough to push a $350 speaker? That doesn't make sense to me.
> 
> 
> Here are the products and spec I mentioned above:
> ...


Hi Jeff,

i purchased the yamaha rx-a2a and jamo s809 hcs. For some reason, the audio quality just sounds terribly distorted and soulless coming from the speakers. I tried different inputs, different cables, different placements.. ****.. even a different receiver with the same specs. But nothing works for me. Anybody having similar issues?


----------



## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Ravedave said:


> Hi Jeff,
> 
> i purchased the yamaha rx-a2a and jamo s809 hcs. For some reason, the audio quality just sounds terribly distorted and soulless coming from the speakers. I tried different inputs, different cables, different placements.. ****.. even a different receiver with the same specs. But nothing works for me. Anybody having similar issues?


Have you tried any other speakers with that AVR, or auditioned any other speakers in general? Almost 100% of your sound quality will come from the speakers. Different receivers use different auto setup functions, and that can also change their sound. Did you run ypao?
I think the speakers are just not that good. Jamo used to make very nice speakers, but seems to me the company was purchased and just not the same anymore.


----------



## Ravedave (Mar 6, 2021)

willis7469 said:


> Have you tried any other speakers with that AVR, or auditioned any other speakers in general? Almost 100% of your sound quality will come from the speakers. Different receivers use different auto setup functions, and that can also change their sound. Did you run ypao?
> I think the speakers are just not that good. Jamo used to make very nice speakers, but seems to me the company was purchased and just not the same anymore.


Hi Willis,

Thank you kindly for your reply!

I tested the receiver with different speakers and already sounds way better.
Can now 100% guarantee it's an issue with the 2 front speakers (Jamo s 809).
Perhaps a factory mistake, but now i'm considering the Ultima 40 surround 5.1 set from Teufel.
Would that be a better choice or should i wait for a substitute of the Jamo set (i'm still under warranty)?

Kind regards


----------



## the_clangers (Dec 2, 2013)

Source Material...?


----------



## Ravedave (Mar 6, 2021)

the_clangers said:


> Source Material...?


PC (hdmi), PS5 (hdmi), vinyl. Used for music (40%), gaming (40%) and movies (20%). I’m keen on good audio, but surround is a nice thing for movies and gaming.
Receiver is Yamaha RX-A2A/RX-V6A
What would be best:
1) Ultima 40 surround 5.1 set from Teufel?
2) Jamo S 809 HCS?
3 Something completely different?


----------



## the_clangers (Dec 2, 2013)

Ravedave said:


> PC (hdmi), PS5 (hdmi), vinyl. Used for music (40%), gaming (40%) and movies (20%). I’m keen on good audio, but surround is a nice thing for movies and gaming.
> Receiver is Yamaha RX-A2A/RX-V6A
> What would be best:
> 1) Ultima 40 surround 5.1 set from Teufel?
> ...


Um, I have looked at the receiver and it is going to be somewhat limited due to the low output. This is basically their bottom of the line reciever.
I don't want to start a flame war, as I had a Yamaha low end reciever that I was fairly happy with, for quite some time.
Then I bought M&K 2510 LCRs for my front speakers and SS150 speakers for the surrounds, which have a 4 ohm load and need power to work properly.

The problem was that Yamaha's lower end equipment have a propensity to be unhappy driving 4 ohm loads at anywhere near full output. My particular HT unit was known to be capable of over loading the VoltAmp rating of the Power Transformer if running at full power into 4 ohm loads. Even at moderate levels it sounded flat and distorted, so my wife told me to get a better power amp.  This started the cycle of eventually replacing the Monitor and Pre-Processor and source material (BluRay). I still have the Amplifier that I bought.

Now that I have waffled on a bit, the other problem that you are probably having is that your receiver's specs are for 100w into two speakers at 8 ohms. That is not a mistake to list it's power output like that and I am not misreading it. 
What that means is that your amplifier can only really push 200 watts total. Whereas you are trying to drive a speaker system that can easily absorb easily a transient power of over 200 watts per box. Multiply that figure by the number of boxes that you may be trying to simultaneously drive and that means you are way, way underpowered. And if you are trying to watch stuff with a lot dynamic range, you will notice it. And it would appear that you ARE noticing it.

If you want to be loud and powerful, you are going to need more power amps or a new receiver.


----------



## greglett (Dec 10, 2006)

I have the Jamo C95 II and I can tell you the audio chain matters! They sound much better with a 200W am then with a 100W amp. I am currently using a Tube pre amp and a Panasonic DVD player as my source. I'm playing CD's this is a two channel setup currently.
My setup really shows up bad recordings. Cables also made a difference. I'm waiting on a processor to see what they would sound like with that. 
I'm using the outlaw 2220 amps.


----------



## Mr645 (Apr 9, 2020)

That receiver will be fine. 95% of the time your going to be use less than 5 watts. Also, receivers are typically rated with only 2 channels driven. The "power" of receiver is the least important spec


----------

