Is my receiver powerful enough for the Sierras?

[YOTR]

I am a yamaha fan mainly because I like the sound and honestly I have never had any issues software/hardware wise that seem to be common with a lot of other brands. I have an Aventage A710 on the way and should have it this week. It's 90 watts per channel. I have read in this forum and noticed varying WPC being used with the Sierras, some lower than mine and some way higher (used with amps). Will I be okay or should I return it and look for something else? I have never had an issue power wise with my previous Yamahas (765 and 667) but I will be running better speakers now (running Energy RC-10's currently). I know the Sierras are effecient 8ohm speakers but I thought I would make sure. I really don't want to mess with an external amp. By the way, I will be doing a 3.1 setup with 3 Sierras and a Rythmik FV12. Thanks in advance everyone!

[Gov]

I am a yamaha fan mainly because I like the sound and honestly I have never had any issues software/hardware wise that seem to be common with a lot of other brands. I have an Aventage A710 on the way and should have it this week. It's 90 watts per channel. I have read in this forum and noticed varying WPC being used with the Sierras, some lower than mine and some way higher (used with amps). Will I be okay or should I return it and look for something else? I have never had an issue power wise with my previous Yamahas (765 and 667) but I will be running better speakers now (running Energy RC-10's currently). I know the Sierras are effecient 8ohm speakers but I thought I would make sure. I really don't want to mess with an external amp. By the way, I will be doing a 3.1 setup with 3 Sierras and a Rythmik FV12. Thanks in advance everyone!

I do not think you will have any problems what so ever.

[YOTR]

I do not think you will have any problems what so ever.

Thanks for the response. I think you are right. I finally got to hear the 340's last night. He is running a lower end yamaha receiver from a few years ago. I was floored by the sound. It honestly made me reconsider the 340's, lol. The sound was incredible and definitely impressed me.

[Dark Ranger]

Hi YOTR,

If you’re not listening at rock concert levels, then yes, the Aventage AVR will handle your Sierras without a problem. In fact, any modern, quality AVR will give similar output performance. The difference between 90 watts per channel and 130 watts per channel is slight. Also, most AVRs are rated with only one or two channels driven, not all 7+ driven simultaneously.

Other thoughts: for what it’s worth, I run my Sierras on an old Denon with 75 wpc (two channels driven). Full disclosure: my listening room at the moment is about 1,050 cubic feet, and I run a near-field setup. The Denon will drive me out before I get close to running out of headroom. However, most of my listening is done at low to moderate volume levels.

FYI: for an extra $200 MSRP, the Aventage RX-A810 (next step up) provides pre-outs for all 8 channels. If you think your listening habits or room size will change in the future, you might check out this option. You can add a 2-channel amplifier to run just the FL/FR and leave the surround/center channels to the AVR. Not trying to upsell here, just pointing out a useful feature.

In my opinion, the RC-10 sensitivity ratings are a bit misleading. The specs page lists 91dB for TWO speakers in a typical room and 88dB for anechoic (assuming 1W/1m). The Sierras are rated around 87dB in-room (1W/1m), which means a pair of Sierras in a typical room will be around 90dB. Bottom line: a 1dB difference between two RC-10s and two Sierras in room is nearly inaudible.

[YOTR]

Hi YOTR,

If you’re not listening at rock concert levels, then yes, the Aventage AVR will handle your Sierras without a problem. In fact, any modern, quality AVR will give similar output performance. The difference between 90 watts per channel and 130 watts per channel is slight. Also, most AVRs are rated with only one or two channels driven, not all 7+ driven simultaneously.

Other thoughts: for what it’s worth, I run my Sierras on an old Denon with 75 wpc (two channels driven). Full disclosure: my listening room at the moment is about 1,050 cubic feet, and I run a near-field setup. The Denon will drive me out before I get close to running out of headroom. However, most of my listening is done at low to moderate volume levels.

FYI: for an extra $200 MSRP, the Aventage RX-A810 (next step up) provides pre-outs for all 8 channels. If you think your listening habits or room size will change in the future, you might check out this option. You can add a 2-channel amplifier to run just the FL/FR and leave the surround/center channels to the AVR. Not trying to upsell here, just pointing out a useful feature.

In my opinion, the RC-10 sensitivity ratings are a bit misleading. The specs page lists 91dB for TWO speakers in a typical room and 88dB for anechoic (assuming 1W/1m). The Sierras are rated around 87dB in-room (1W/1m), which means a pair of Sierras in a typical room will be around 90dB. Bottom line: a 1dB difference between two RC-10s and two Sierras in room is nearly inaudible.

Thanks for the reply. My listening habits or room size won't change any time soon. In fact, I will have a 3.1 setup in the future with no plans to upgrade to 5.1 or greater. My living room is also small. I looked at the A810 but couldn't justify it for an extra 10 watts. I actually thought the 710 had pre outs (I assumed because my 765 and 667 before it had them) but just found out that yamaha dropped them from the 671 and 710 this year. I honestly doubt I would every buy an amp but that has me thinking a bit.


UPDATE: Well I called Electronics Expo and they are going to let me return the A710 without having to pay return shipping and upgrade to the A810. Pretty nice of them to do that and I will only be out the $20 I payed for shipping when I ordered it. There price was good on the A810 so I just had to pay the difference. At least that way if I ever get the itch to add an amp, I have the option.