Guys, I have a question regarding the RMS output of my Onkyo 601. Based on the spec sheet, 85W per channel min RMS at 8 ohms and 110W per channel min RMS at 6 ohms. Then there's also Dynamic power output(stereo) 2 X 100 W at 8 ohms. I currently have B&W 601s3 that can be driven at 100W at 8ohms. Would like to know if the Onkyo 601 receiver supplies full 100W at 8 ohms or 85W only or the power output dips b/w 8 ohms to 4ohms.
My apologies to Onkyo users, (actually me included). This is basically my caveat against Onkyo, apart from their ugly rubber footing
, They put in so many power ratings at different points of reference that they can only serve to mislead unwary consumers. Onkyo can't seem to make up their mind which one to use. I also had the same confusion reading their manuals with my older Onks.
To answer your question: yes and no, sometimes. Let me eleborate.
The 85 watts into 8 ohms is measured using FTC (US) standard for all frequencies from 20hz to 20kz. Onkyo should have stopped there as this is preferred by audiophiles. The 110 watts into 6 ohms is measured only at 1khz (IHF, DIN) and is frowned upon by audiophiles as a useless spec and a misleading rating. Nobody listens to music at only 1 khz.
You can safely disregard this particular spec.
While the specs on the net are silent on whether the 85 watts is CONTINUOUS, I will assume it so. But the term is suspiciously absent and the rating could very well have been meaured at the 1khz point. If so, then the actual real continuous rating would be lower than 85, say 70 watts RMS. But let me just give Onkyo's 85 watt rating the benefit of the doubt.
The dynamic power specification is precisely that, measured at transient peaks into the various loads to indicate it is capable of high-current dirves - something older Onkyos didn't bother to print, presumably, they were not high-current amps. But the figures are actually revealing of the amp's inadequate dynamic headroom. If the continuous power is 85 watts into 8 ohms, its dynamic limit at that load is only 100 watts. Hardly sufficient to handle piano and drum attacks even near the rated power. Such transients can draw twice the continuous power. But even so, using the IHF standards that Onkyo uses, the peak transients are only meaured at 1Khz, again an over-estimation. (Most likely there may not be much headroom to talk about. ) So in order to get clean dynamics, the volume should probably be set at around 40% of full power. All the other dynamic figures are useless indication. WHile the spec says the 601 can deliver a dynamic headroom of 220 watts down to 3 ohms, the rear panel has a revealing message on top of the speaker terminals: Caution: Speaker Impedance, 6 ohms
minimum. It's the same caution on my Onkyo reveivers of 1996 and 98.
I don't know if Onkyo's technical guys are talking with their marketing guys when deciding what to put on the manual and at the back of the unit.
But going back to your question. The answer is really yes, no and sometimes. The B&w 601 S3 can handle from 25w to 100w of unclipped signals and is rated nicely at 8 ohms with a minimum of 3 ohms for some unspecified frequency. The onkyo 601's continuous power rating of 85w peaking at only 100w during transients are well within the B&W's abilities. So the amp can deliver 100 watts but only during brief transients. And it may start to sound a trifle bit too loud on certain frequencies that could dip to 3 ohms at instantaneous moments. Just don't set the volume past the half-way mark or you could be sending clipped signals during transients that the speaker can't handle. And a speaker that can't handle what you feed into it will usually fry to a crisp.
On second thought, the two should be perfectly matched, they're both 601.
But let not my assessment of the 601 discourage anyone from getting this. Those are based purely on written specs whose over enthusiastic bent I am essentially criticizing, not the receiver. As a surround receiver, very few can equal its features at its price. None can exceed it at that price. Having accompanied a colleague and influenced him on getting this over another brand and helping him install this, I have heard its convincing sonic abilities paired with an MS914, though not at any extended listening. There is no doubt it's a competent performer. But if the tech specs are any indication at all, one just shouldn't expect it to perform as good at high volume levels.
