substance wrote:
I wouldn’t worry too much on the Audyssey levels. Audiosource amp most likely has a lower gain (internally) than the Denon AVR, that’s why Audyssey increases the front levels.
I assumed that as much too but thought it was still indicative of the need for more power. I currently have the external amp on maximum volume/gain so I figured that meant there wasn’t much gain left to push the speakers when I did want to turn it up.
substance wrote:
Perhaps the Sony speakers have higher sensitivity than the Totems.
Per the manuals, the Sony has a sensitivity of 90db. The Totem’s sensitivity has a sensitivity of 87db. Not a huge difference. Also, I didn’t realize Sony rated these speakers to hit 40hz (didn’t have the spec sheet until recently) and I can tell you they don’t as I did test its response with tone provided on a test CD (just barely hit 60hz).
substance wrote:
Keep in mind this is the sum of all ohmic values since the Sony’s have multiple mid/bass drives that overlaps in frequencies. Typically, fewer crossover points (fewer drivers) should be easier on the amps.
Here’s the kicker for corrections sake; the Sony’s are actually two way speakers. The third driver is actually a passive radiator. So yeah… maybe I will try to run the Totem’s from the internal amp just to see if my Receiver will start heating up too much. I can always go back later to an external and hopefully use my Yamaha instead of this Audiosource.
substance wrote:
I highly recommend adding 1 or 2 subwoofers to your system and cut off some of the heavy lifting (bass) from both your amps and your new Totem speakers.
If you don’t really crank the volume up often, even the Denon AVR will probably handle these speakers fine without an external amp.
I am already running one sub (located to the right in the middle of the room). I actually prefer to have the Totem’s deliver the 40hz bass frequencies since I prefer to have more directional bass and more bass in general anchored to the front soundstage. And I don’t feel it’s an issue of having the external amp do more of the heavy lifting since my bigger concern was my AV Receiver running hot. This Audiosource amp appears to run cool regardless what volume level I throw at it (I can only imagine what the Yamaha amp will do as it would definitely have more reserve power on hand).
I’ll update this posting as I continue to test and make changes.