old speakers vs HTiB Speakers

[diduknowthat]

So my parents just purchased the Onkyo HT Sr800 HTiB. I am quite happy with the sound quality except I found the rear surround sound speaker's sound to be a bit thin. So I pulled out some old speakers we had that used to belong to a stereo system. Even though it is only rated for 30 watts (it has 3 driver's, a tweater, a slightly larger one, and a roughly 4-5" driver), it sounds alot better than the 130 watt rated "full range" single 3.something inch driver onkyo rear speakers. Why is this so and is it safe to continue to use this old speaker?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Michael]

As long as you match the impedance, there shouldn't be a problem using those 30w speakers.

The 130w rating seen on those Onkyo speakers is most likely a max rating.. ignore it, the nominal rating is all that matters, and is probably closer to 50w.

Most HTIB will run 6-8 ohms, so, as I said before, make sure that those rear speakers are matched to the correct impedance of the head unit and you'll be fine =)

PS: The 'slightly larger one' is most likely a mid-range, for reference .. and those old speakers you're claiming sound better probably sound better because HTIB's aren't generally packaged with the nicest speakers to begin with and/or the built-in crossovers cut and apply the frequencies more accurately on your 'older' pair of speakers.

 

[diduknowthat]

I checked the speaker out again. I really can't find the impedance on it. All I can see on the back is 30watt rating. But right now it's sounding pretty nice. I might have to redo the crossovers as these speakers handled bass pretty well back when we used it as a stereo.

Also, I'm pretty sure the "slightly larger one" isn't a mid-range, when i saw slightly larger, I meant like 1-3/2" drivers .

 

[diduknowthat]

wait, I found the ohms, it's rated for 6 ohms but my receiver is rated for 8-16 ohms. I usually dont turn my sound anymore than half way up, will I risk damaging my speakers if I keep it?