Bobby's Dad's thread....

[pennysdad]

nOPE, IT'S ALL OR NOTHING bd, damn caps lock.........that's why those knobs were made to turn....

then as much as i personally dislike them, i'll talk him into using some fuses on his speakers 'till he gets the hang of things.

 

[laatsch55]

Seriously?? D2 , to me, seems like a fairly level headed guy, start at infinity and work up...... OK, OK, granted maybe not everyone is schooled in what to listen for when pushing but there are several warning signs along the way....smoke, fire....you know.....the usual....

 

[pennysdad]

Seriously?? D2 , to me, seems like a fairly level headed guy, start at infinity and work up...... OK, OK, granted maybe not everyone is schooled in what to listen for when pushing but there are several warning signs along the way....smoke, fire....you know.....the usual....

I'm not saying he isn't but he just won't know the damage is done 'till after it's too late.
It's not the amp I'm worried about. It's his tweeters, his mids, or his woofs, or the x-o's, any of which WILL go before they show any signs of going, purely from the infinite amount of headroom of the amp.

THEN the problems begin, as replacement JBL's in Oz are non existent, and the costs from damages will be exponential.
He should use his other speakers first, and let them go up in smoke, before he gets anywhere near 10 o'clock on the dial. I reckon that'll do it.

I hate to sound like a concerned parent, but he's gotta learn how to crawl before he can fly a Space Shuttle.
(You know I luv ya D2…. not slingin' sh*t.)
Just trying to save him some inevitable heartbreak by constantly hammering the point.

Those JBL's will never see 12 o'clock. DON'T EVEN THINK OF GOING THERE…...

(off to bed….)

 

[laatsch55]

Ok..

 

[derek92994]

If there are volume pots on the amp it should be fine. Even with my current setup I'm even wary of how hard I push the JBLs, I love these speakers and don't want to damage them. The Pioneer does 125 watts a channel and I have never gone higher than 11 oclock on the dial with a strong signal as I don't want to damage the speakers if the amp starts struggling by sending non clean power to them. I understand this amp is going to be crazy in the power department so am going to be using a gentle approach to it. I don't want to actually blow the speakers up just to find out what their limits are, I do wonder how easily this can happen even when being careful about it.

I'm surprised I have not had any noise complaints here so far, something I want to avoid but may be a little difficult when having so much headroom there. I guess there is always that temptation just to push a little more on the volume

I'm still on the edge of my seat here guys

 

[derek92994]

Those JBL's will never see 12 o'clock. DON'T EVEN THINK OF GOING THERE…...

In your professional experience, if I have the volume pots turned to full on the amp, where do you think the range lies on the pre-amp volume dial? Maybe 9 to 10 o'clock max? (Of course depending on the strength of the signal, lets assume CD strength).

 

[pennysdad]

In your professional experience, if I have the volume pots turned to full on the amp, where do you think the range lies on the pre-amp volume dial? Maybe 9 to 10 o'clock max? (Of course depending on the strength of the signal, lets assume CD strength).

…. 1

 

[pennysdad]

… maybe 2.

 

[pennysdad]

you think i'm kidding, don't ya?
you'll see…..

 

[derek92994]

I won't be able to use my remote control then, it turns the pre amp pot up in too higher increments. Unless I reduce the power on the amp pots, doesn't really matter if they are maxed out does it?

 

[derek92994]

I'd believe it George. If I had a house and a job I'd be investing in some K-Horns =)

 

[pennysdad]

I won't be able to use my remote control then, it turns the pre amp pot up in too higher increments. Unless I reduce the power on the amp pots, doesn't really matter if they are maxed out does it?

it's best to run the pwr amp's pots at around 9 o'clock, while you're feeling your way first.

 

[derek92994]

Well that's a good starting point then.

I have to go and visit family, be back later tonight.

 

[pennysdad]

do it this way.
run your preamp up to about 75%.
then turn up the pwr amp's pots to where it's about wot you consider would be the absolute loudness.
(which will be around 9 o'clock, i figure)
then back off the pre, and all is set, and will give you a workable remote again.
then go and save up for another 3 pairs of 4311's

 

[laatsch55]

Yeah, just a process for getting a feel for it. On my K's I finally did get an Idea just how far I could go with them, and then it's a couple caps in the crossovers, not that ,that is a bad thing it actually saved a couple drivers...I know one thing .... speakers are very forgiving of clean power overdriving. My woofs are rated for 150 watts, the mids 85 watts, and the tweets 35 watts. And I am guessing I've had peaks well over 600, and possibly much higher and they still live. My K's are not your average K's, and I'm still amazed at what they can do...

 

[derek92994]

Well the caps in the 4311b's have been upgraded to clarity caps so that's a good thing. I have never tinkered with crossovers before, they have always worked fine for me (have never had enough power to blow anything up really). It will be nice to have some extra punch though, way beyond any territory I have been before. Sometimes I sit here listening to the pioneer thinking there needs to be more headroom, like not having to turn it up as high and still have that deep sound.

 

[Elite-ist]

While borrowing Doug's Laart WOPL 1000, I set the amp's gain controls on both channels to 100% and used the Pioneer preamplifier control for volume control. Like you, Derek, I like to use my remote control for operating the volume on my system. But, George's idea is a way to play it safe without worrying about overloading your speakers. At first, I was tentative on how much power to throw through my speakers, but on a few occasions the analog meters on the PL 700 B were in the red zone at 0 dB scale setting. This was with my preamp control at 11 o'clock position:

Click on image to play video:

Nando.

 

[pennysdad]

I'm only trying to stress that proceeding with caution is the way to go.
D2 will soon find out how deep the water is, but it's better to wade out than just jump straight in.
It's also only too easy to be swamped and disorientated by the enthusiasm of the moment.
It won't take long to get the hang of it I'm sure. (a few minutes in fact.)
Just keep in the back of your mind D2 that they're ONLY 75 Watt speakers, but that's a VERY LOUD 75 Watts to start with.

Think of it this way. The WOPL puts out about as much power of wot a single bar electric radiator (heater) uses.
THAT's wot's happening to your voice coils…….
Wot speakers have you got Nando?
….. and I forgot to ask, wot was that thing you were sitting on?

 

[Elite-ist]

George: My main speakers are Pioneer HPM-150s. They are rated at a nominal impedance of 6.3 ohms and power handling of 10 watts to 250 watts. You see me sitting on something in the video I posted? Most likely my fold-up chair.

Nando.

 

[derek92994]

While borrowing Doug's Laart WOPL 1000, I set the amp's gain controls on both channels to 100% and used the Pioneer preamplifier control for volume control. Like you, Derek, I like to use my remote control for operating the volume on my system. But, George's idea is a way to play it safe without worrying about overloading your speakers. At first, I was tentative on how much power to throw through my speakers, but on a few occasions the analog meters on the PL 700 B were in the red zone at 0 dB scale setting. This was with my preamp control at 11 o'clock position:

Nando.

That's really pumping it Nando, I'm sure the speakers would have appreciated such 'clean' power and therefore were able to handle it well. Nice pictures, your system looks so clean and polished =). As for the scale on the meters, there are two settings? Like one for playing at lower levels and having more meter movement, and the other for true output representation?

I remember noticing the headroom when I obtained the Pioneer 9500s, I had some Pioneer tower speakers and never thought they could put out the sound and punch that they did with an amp upgrade. Going to a WOPL is like 10 times that and then some so that's going to be incredible through the JBLs, using caution of course. But yes I sure will be taking George's advice there operating such a powerful amplifier for the first time. Need to get some nice interconnects as all of mine are old.