Receiver / speaker power compatibility

Does this mean I had a mistaken understanding about comparability between the two specs?

It can only be answered "maybe". FTC continuous average power and "RMS power" can be synonymous, or not. Have to look at the full spec.

"RMS power" in and of itself is a misnomer, but it is common parlance usually intended to mean continuous average power. FTC continuous average rating usually implies the 20Hz to 20kHz range whereas simply stating "RMS power" doesn't necessarily (inherently?) mean full range like the FTC rating method.
 
It can only be answered "maybe" FTC power and "RMS power" can be synonymous, or not. Have to look at the full spec.

"RMS power" in and of itself is a misnomer, but it is common parlance usually intended to mean continuous average power.

Thanks for the clarification. Something I gleaned from another poster in another thread awhile back may have been incorrect - or I may have misunderstood. "Maybe" seems a likely answer to me - as it is so often with audio - so I'll take your word for it and be more careful with dissemination. However, I did make some assumptions about the OP's budget (based on the used receiver he considered) with my answer. For short money, I'd probably still opt for two channels.
 
The chances are pretty high for the volume knob to be maxed out at times depending on the crowd and beverages consumed.

Do you know anything about these Soundtubes!? I was told they were $250+ ea. new. Buddy remodeled a dentist office and they told him they could just have or throw them out...so he took them.


You need to listen to the advice given about listening to the sound itself. Maxing out the volume knob in a literal sense on most gear is a recipe for trouble as that's usually well beyond the point of clean output.

Looking at the documentation for the speakers I'd say they're decent/quality pieces (junk typically isn't as well-documented as these speakers are).

I think you could get decent, perhaps even pretty good sound, but if you're after a rip-your-face-off party system then there might have been better choices.
 
Thanks everyone for your input. I feel like such an idiot for even posting on here...but I had no other resources at my immediate disposal.

I did talk to a buddy who owns a car stereo shop and picked his brain. HE said the speakers appear to be pretty nice and "adequate" for what I intend to use them for. They evidently have a "switch" on the top of them allowing them to be flipped from 4ohm, 8ohm, 7 volt etc. etc. He suggested I only use 4 of the 5 as well as what a few of you speculated.

He said I may be able to get a "speaker switch" and simply add that to my existing receiver or look for a decently powered (100-200w) home receiver (maybe capable of 5.1 etc.) and he also agreed that I may need a POWERED sub vs the small receiver-driven sub I currently have.

Again, I realize I am WAY over my head with this group and all the knowledge here. I'm the first to admit I don't comprehend most of this. I basically wanted / needed to know if these Soundtubes were even a viable option for me to crank some tunes through. :)
 
You're not as dumb as you think! Millions of us had the exact same type of questions at some point. You were smart enough to ask people before things started smoking, so you got that going for you, and not everyone does. :biggrin:

Let us know how this works when you finally get things set up, and don't hesitate to post more questions.
 
Don't feel like an idiot! We all started from the same place and the most here like to share what we've learned which is why this site is so good.
The dumb thing would have been to bodge it all together and hope for the best without asking.

I personally would look for an older TOTL AV receiver that puts out decent power and then continue with the plan to use four of the five (spares are nice to have for sure) and pick up a powered sub (or two). Lots of the older AVR gear had stout power amp sections that should have no problem driving those speakers and as a bonus go for super short money as they are obsolete due to lacking HDMI and the latest decoding.
 
They evidently have a "switch" on the top of them allowing them to be flipped from 4ohm, 8ohm, 7 volt etc. etc. He suggested I only use 4 of the 5 as well as what a few of you speculated.

The speaker appear primarily intended for a constant voltage distributed sound system. However, they also have a setting for conventional 8 ohm impedance too.

You could connect two speakers in parallel for 4 ohms nominal load if you have/get a 2-ch amp or receiver capable of 4 ohms operation. Most standalone power amps will handle 4 ohms no problem. Many receivers will too but since it sounds like you have somewhat of propensity to crank it and, coupled with the average sensitivity, a standalone amp probably would be better.

I don't necessarily disagree with the "obsolete" HT receiver recommendations but you have to be sure it's properly configured/can be properly configured for what you want to do, or else the results are all but certain to be disappointing.
 
OK. So here's a followup to where I am at right now (since some of you asked).

With the advice from a car audio shop (friend)...I picked up a used Sony receiver (see pics STR-SE501) that seemed to have decent power for my needs. 100W/ch into 8ohm. It had A & B speaker outputs, so the plan is to only use 4 of the 5 ceiling speakers. Connect 2 of them to the A, and 2 of them to the B side. Rear of the receiver has an impedance selector switch to be either 4 or 8 ohm. I was told to leave it on 4ohm.

The speakers have a "selector dial" on them as well (see pic). I was told to turn it so that BOTH the OHM symbol was lined up. Car audio guy actually called a tech from SoundTube directly to discuss all this (thank God).

I hooked 4 speakers up and just had them sitting on my work bench to "test" them and they sounded great (LOUD)! Anxious to cut them into the ceiling now.

I soon realized that I need a powered sub though! So, the search is on for one of them now. Thanks again for everyone's help/ opinions!
 

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Glad you got it figured out. Are you thinking an in-wall sub, or do you have a spot to place a cabinet type? I have no recs for you, simply curious. These are the kind of things we discuss, after all.
 
Glad you got it figured out. Are you thinking an in-wall sub, or do you have a spot to place a cabinet type? I have no recs for you, simply curious. These are the kind of things we discuss, after all.
Most likely just a "free-standing" sub box placed in the corner somewhere.
 
OK. So here's a followup to where I am at right now (since some of you asked).

With the advice from a car audio shop (friend)...I picked up a used Sony receiver (see pics STR-SE501) that seemed to have decent power for my needs. 100W/ch into 8ohm. It had A & B speaker outputs, so the plan is to only use 4 of the 5 ceiling speakers. Connect 2 of them to the A, and 2 of them to the B side. Rear of the receiver has an impedance selector switch to be either 4 or 8 ohm. I was told to leave it on 4ohm.

The speakers have a "selector dial" on them as well (see pic). I was told to turn it so that BOTH the OHM symbol was lined up. Car audio guy actually called a tech from SoundTube directly to discuss all this (thank God).

I hooked 4 speakers up and just had them sitting on my work bench to "test" them and they sounded great (LOUD)! Anxious to cut them into the ceiling now.

I soon realized that I need a powered sub though! So, the search is on for one of them now. Thanks again for everyone's help/ opinions!


Why was it you replaced your previous receiver? This one doesn't look to be any more powerful?

And, as far as the 4/8 ohm switch, personally, I'd leave it in the 8 ohms position. In 4 ohms setting all it does is limit the voltage or current which compromises real world dynamics and headroom.
 
Ok...got these speakers hooked up and they sound great! Now I'm looking to buy / add a powered sub.

Found a sub, but I'm confused by the 2 inputs (L & R) and my receiver only has 1 output. How does this work!?
 
Ok...got these speakers hooked up and they sound great! Now I'm looking to buy / add a powered sub.

Found a sub, but I'm confused by the 2 inputs (L & R) and my receiver only has 1 output. How does this work!?
Here's pics of the rear of the sub and of the receiver. Is it as simple as just using a "Y" adapter off the sub!?
 

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Those two inputs on the sub are there for receivers that DON'T have a combined sub out like yours does. One can use Tape Out from the receiver and connect to those L and R inputs on the sub, and it will mix them internally. You should be able to just run your one sub out channel to one or the other of those input jacks on the sub.
 
Those two inputs on the sub are there for receivers that DON'T have a combined sub out like yours does. One can use Tape Out from the receiver and connect to those L and R inputs on the sub, and it will mix them internally. You should be able to just run your one sub out channel to one or the other of those input jacks on the sub.
Does it matter which input (L or R) I use on the sub!? Would a "Y" off the receiver do any good or not necessary!?

Another couple questions on this sub:
  1. There is a PHASE switch (0* or 180*)...what do I do with that!?
  2. Crossover dial...what is the idea setting here?
  3. Hi Level Input/Output speaker connections...what's the idea behind these!? Why wouldn't speakers be run DIRECT from the receiver vs these?
Another question considering my setup...do I go with a 12" sub that has 250W RMS or is a 10" with 200W RMS sufficient?

Thanks again for the advice...TRULY do appreciate it!
 
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Here's pics of the rear of the sub and of the receiver. Is it as simple as just using a "Y" adapter off the sub!?

Yes! That is correct. Your sub manual recommends the use of a "Y" when you have a single sub out jack. Now, what I would do is run a single cable from the receiver (I seem to have plenty of these old yellow component video cables no longer in use) and then get a Y like this:

https://www.parts-express.com/rca-y-adapter-2-male-to-1-female--240-125

Regards,
Jerry
 
Those two inputs on the sub are there for receivers that DON'T have a combined sub out like yours does. One can use Tape Out from the receiver and connect to those L and R inputs on the sub, and it will mix them internally. You should be able to just run your one sub out channel to one or the other of those input jacks on the sub.
True, it'll work but the down side to using a tape out is that it's totally independent of the volume control. That's to say that you have to adjust the sub's output on the sub. It won't track the system volume.

Without a preamp put (that IS controlled by the receivers volume control) I'd recommend he use the subs speaker level inputs, assuming the sub has them.
 
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As the skipper posted, a tape out connection is not the ideal place to connect any subwoofer. The level is fixed and doesn't track the volume control.

All things considered, a 12" sub will generally play louder and deeper than a 10" sub.
For setup:
Do the subwoofer crawl to find the best place for it. Set the phase selector switch at the position that produces the most bass. For the crossover setting a good place to start is the -3dB point of your main speakers. For setting subwoofer level just remember, if you can tell you have a subwoofer it's almost always too loud. set the level so that you can't tell when it's on but can when it's off. Bear in mind a certain amount of tweaking (position, level, crossover frequency, phase) is necessary to get a sub properly integrated.
 
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