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Onkyo TX-NR818 amplifer with 8 ohms speakers - wattage questions +

post #1 of 5
1/1/13 at 5:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Folks,

Happy New Years!

Sorry for the beginner's question but that is exactly what i am.

I just purchased the new ONKYO TX-NR818 (in the mail) and have also purchased some POLK AUDIO RTI10's for my two front loud speakers. I believe are 8 ohms 20-300 watts (thanks for boxing day sales).

I have KEF C1 surround sound speakers that are 8 ohms and 100 wattage max, along with an old Kenwood 160 Watt 8inch sub (active) and older Athena center speaker.


My questions are:

With my new receiver piping out 135watts per channel is it OK to use them on speakers that are only rated for 100watts such as my surround sound speakers???

I have also read the Polk Audio RTI10's are power angry, that is why i purchased an amp with high wattage per channel and with the option to later on use the 'pre-outs'! (have to convice the wife first two years later - LOL).

I am also planning on Bi-Amping my two front POLK Audio speakers, what are your thoughts on that?


Would love to hear others view points on the ONKYO TX-NR818 receiver.



Thanks in advance,

Newbie Jeremy
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post #2 of 5
1/1/13 at 6:11pm
Yes. You can run 100w speakers on a 135w amp.
Yes. You can run 200w speakers on a 135w amp.

"Power hungry" is defined by resistance (8ohm is not a problem) and sensitivity.

The difference between a 100w amp and a 200w amp is 3db.

Passive biamping does basically nothing useful (there are fringe cases for it)
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post #3 of 5
1/1/13 at 6:16pm
The KEFs will be safe: The AVR will likely not put out 100W/ch in multi-channel mode but, even if it did, more-but-clean power is safer than less-but-distorted power.

The RTi10s are 89dB sensitive, which isn't exactly "power-hungry", so I think you're pretty safe there, too.

As for bi-amping, it's generally considered to be a waste of time, but there's no harm in trying it out. smile.gif
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post #4 of 5
1/2/13 at 4:46pm
The speakers you've got or are coming will be fine with the 818. I've had the 818 since late July and just love the thing. I'm driving a pair of KEF 104/2's, JBL center, Polk surrounds and Definitive rear surrounds and they are all driven nicely by this receiver. I wouldn't worry about bi-amping your fronts as there's little real benefit for most folks. My 104/2's are bi-amp-able and I've never used the feature. It'll also limit the number of channels you can drive with the 818 if I recall correctly. If you bi-amp your mains from the receiver I believe you'll be limited to 5.1 as opposed to 7.1 if that's even a goal for you.

Enjoy the 818 and the new speakers. Make certain to load the latest firmware on the receiver before setting up Audyssey.
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post #5 of 5
1/2/13 at 5:14pm
Your speaker will be fine with the Onkyo. I have the 818 too and I run Arx A5 towers which are 6ohm and 90db and it powers them no problem.

I believe the Onkyo 809 and 818 put out about 85-90watts 7 channels driven at .1% distortion. 115watts 5 Channels driven .1%.
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