Speaker Compatibility

Can someone help me?

I want to be sure that I am not about to make a ghastly mistake and find that the speakers I am hoping to buy (KEF Eggs) will be incompatible with my proposed amplification (Denon ADV-700 DVD Receiver - I know all in one's are not favoured but unfortunately space and a possible divorce prevent me from going the preferred separates route). The reciever's stated output is 35w per channel at 6 ohms, whereas the speakers stated sensitivity is 8 ohms coping with any power source from 10w to 100w.

Will this work?

 

Yes, from a functionality viewpoint, no problem at all!

 

MikeK,

Thanks but from your response I suspect that you are implying that allthough it will work, it won't give the best in sonic terms. Is this true or do I need to match output and input impedances to get a good result?

 

I think what Mike means is that the Denon will happily drive the Eggs and sound good. However with a much better seperates system the Eggs will sound great. Don't panic about this, buy the Denon and enjoy. Without a true (high-end) seperates system in the same room (your living room) doing a direct demo comparison, you won't feel short-changed on the Denon/Egg combo.

Edit: I hear the Denon does a pretty good picture from DVD too

 

Actually, I wasn't really implying anything

Your question was specifically about whether it would work - I just tried (and failed it seems ) to limit my response to the question at hand. As you didn't ask for anyone's opinion of the performance, I purposely tried to avoid giving one.


However, as you seem to be asking now.....
First, I've never heard the Denon unit. That said, while it may not be quite up to the standards of some of their seperates type products, I'd be very surprised if it were crap - in common with most of the major manufacturers in this arena, Denon really don't make anything which could be desribed that way IMO. Their stuff may not be the best in absolute terms, but it's always of a decent enough standard for the price - at least that's always been my experience.
The only other point I would make, is that your usual AV receiver isn't really a "seperate" as such either - it combines a decoder, preamp, power amp and tuner all in one box, all that the 700 adds is the DVD player built into the same box as well.
To limit the size (which is after all one of it's major selling points), and keep the unit price competitive, inevitably a few compromises
have to made though, but for many people they are probably not that big a deal.

The Kef Eggs?
If anyone asked me which £600, 5.1 speaker setup gave maximum performance, then the Kef Eggs wouldn't be my choice.
Too many compromises based on looks and size.
In other words, if performace alone were the sole buying criteria, then IMO, there are better ways to spend £600.

However, if anyone asked me which £600, 5.1 speaker setup would give good performance while at the same time being small, good looking and well made by a respected company, then the Kef Eggs would probably be at or very near the top of the list.

Often, for a variety of reasons, performance isn't the sole reason
for purchasing AV kit. Denon, Kef and others know this, and is why these products exist. A company could come out with a fantastic sounding set of floorstanders for £100, but if the cabinets were plain chipboard, I doubt they'd sell that many - I certainly wouldn't buy a set (I myself want my stuff to at least look half decent in the lounge, let alone the wife).

Given the restrictions you are buying under (and I think many of us have some sort of restriction like this to varying degrees), my opinion is that you've made about as good a choice as you can for the money - there are always alternatives, but whether these would actually be any better performance wise while still meting your other criteria is debatable!

Whether you will be happy with the end result is impossible for either myself or anyone else to answer - only you can answer that. Unless you have a critical ear or class yourself as a true audiophile, then I'd suggest the performance would be entirely satisfactory - certainly a million miles better (I hate these cliches, but what else can you say ) than just TV sound. True, it could be bettered for similar money, but probably not whilst staying within your buying restrictions.

Hope this helps!!!

 

MikeK,

Many thanks for your opinion, it is most reassuring.

Although I wouldn't consider myself a true audiophile, I have always loved hi-fi of the 2 channel variety and have a fairly decent setup with Arcam CD and Amp and Castle Harlech Speakers. Unfortunately due to arrangement of our living space it isn't possible to integrate this system with what will be my first steps in home cinema. None of this would be happening anyway if it wasn't for the fact that our faithful old Phillips 4:3 29" TV literally blew up the day before the World Cup final!

Although I had been tempted by home cinema before, I felt that the TV didn't do it justice and that it would have to wait for a nother day. Now, however, as a proud possessor of a shiny new top of the range 32" widescreen TV I feel that picture needs the benefit of a half-decent sound system to doit justice.

Many thanks, once again.

 

Silverpines

I can't help but think that you're about to tread the tortuous path that I've just been along. Leaving aside the audio aspects of your setup, unless what you are watching is all widescreen I suspect that you're about to find that 32" widescreen is just not big enough after a 29" 4:3. In 4:3 ratio a 32" will give you a picture roughly equivalent to a 25" 4:3.

I had a Tosh 29". I traded "up" to a perfectly adequate Philips 32". It lasted a year until the pangs finally got the better of me and I sold to it to partly (very partly!) finance a RPT Tosh 50". Now at last my symtoms are receeding. Be warned!