AVR300 volume advice

182

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Hi. I've had my AVR300 for a few months now, i'm very happy with it but i'm wondering what volume other owners useually play dvd's cd's at?
I find that when i turn it up to about 75db it's starts to sound real good, anything under sounds a little lacking. 80db sounds great but i'm just worried i may damage my speakers at this volume? b&w 600 series. If not then can it go louder? I've never had the courage to try.
Thanks. :smashin:
 
If you do a search on this subject you will find this has come up for discussion many times before.

At the risk of sounding repetetive, here we go again.

The volume scale on the AVR300 is a logarithmic scale allowing fine degrees of control at lower volumes whilst towards the top end of the scale it tends to increase quite quickly.

I regularly use mine at about 80-85 for movies, 70-80 for television and sometimes up to 90 for DVD-A disc which tend to be quieter. I do not use mine for CDs as I have a far superior system for that.
 
If my memory serves me correctly, the 603's like many about their size are rated at about 150 watts. Check your manual. If so, they should handle the AVR300 output with ease and then some. I think also that they are about 90db efficient. My speakers have similar specs and for reasonable sound level, I listen to CDs at about 70/75db and movies75/80db. 5db or so more sounds better but is about as loud as I practically go. As Crusty points out, the scale is logarithmic. The AVR300 is designed to minimise clipping (which is what really kills speakers) at full volume so I would have no problem going beyond 85db from the equipment point of view. But my ears are another matter.
 
Thanks very much for your help. Since you've reasured me i can go louder, i've cranked it up a bit, and it's frightening how good it sounds!! I love this amp.
My 603's are 120w which i beleive is the output of the avr300 right?
Anyways, thanks again for your help :smashin:
 
Dam right! You can happily crank the AVR300 into 603s no problem.
 
Hi 182,

With my former speakers, the Dali suite 2.8, I played cd's at 65 to 70 db and dvd's at 60 to 65. These Dali speakers can be compared with B&W 604.
Now I'm using the Paradigm reference studio 60 speakers (same league as B&W 703 / 704) and I have to turn the volume down about 5 to 10 db if I don't want to ruin my ears.
What I'm saying is that your speakers may not be abble to bring the best out of the AVR300. So you might audition a pair of other speakers?
What really will improve the sound to is when you bi-amp your fronts by using channels 6 and 7. Good luck, you haven't heard the best of your amp yet!
 
Thanks Francois1968.
I would love to upgrade to the 700's but money is a real problem for me right now. I am bi-amping the 603's and yes it does make a very noticable difference.
I'm not to worried about ruining my ears, as i've been a proffesional drummer in heavy metal bands for years, so my hearing is pretty much shot now anyways lol.
I have to say that the arcam realy works well with metal stuff, i tried out some musical fidelity stuff a while back and metal just sounded wrong through that.
I'm sure the AVR300 would blow my mind on better speakers, but to be honest, everytime i turn it on it brings a huge smile to my face. I really do love it.
 
The pure, high quality output of the AVR300 should ensure that, even at full volume, these speakers will not be damaged. Generally it is underdriven speakers, married to poor amps that can wreck speakers.

The 603's are not particularly sensitive and, if my experience with MA GR20's is anything to go by, you will need to go close to 90 dB to get a decent volume on DVD I often run at 92 and, after Andy Dutton's reassurance, I find that I can do this and more without worrying about my speakers.

Actually, I probably need more juice to really get the best out of the MAs .... AV9 +++ here I come?!
 

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