Howdy. I did a couple of searches & really didn't come up with a good thread. I have the notion of wanting to crank the heck out of my system just once. We all have a lot of mmoney invested in our systems & frankly I am seriously paranoid about frying something. BUT it would be a gas to try it a time or two. Maybe a little Dark Side of the Moon, both sides start to finish..? Any insight on doing it without fritzing something? System is; Krell KRC2, pre; Krell KPE Reference phono; Krell FPB300cx, main: Krell Infinity Rennaisance 90 speakers. Highest I have had it is a little past 1:00 (volume)with the gain on high. And that is with the phono. Maybe 12:00 with th CD player. Room is big enough, but my nerve isn't.
You will hear much more detail when you play louder as the dynamic range expands above the noise floor of your listening environment.
Volume control setting is meaningless, as the volume dial is all relative - some music will blow speakers at the same setting that sounds ok with other music - so watch out for loud passages. Get a ratshack meter to gauge true SPL levels but you should trust your ears...distortion sounds like increased loudness and most systems distort badly long before they exceed what your ears can comfortably handle in clean sound (which is why most people play music at modest levels when the distortion is lower and the sound is comfortable). Distortion at high listening levels is what most often blows speakers.
Hi Jsd52756, The first thing you need to do is buy the radio shack or some other SPL meter. I prefer the analogue meter.Do this first and then let us know the level when you have it at 1:00 etc. Also all systems sound different when playing at different volumes due to room and speaker/system frequency response etc. The ultimate goal is full range freq response at a natural volume level and then the recording is the limiting factor. Listen to all recordings at the same volume control setting. Some recordings got the dynamics and levels correct, most do not. If you then want to listen to loud or soft recording it is up to the recording, not your volume control. Bob
Come on! While I don't routinely crank my system to the 100dB level, it sees it enough.
Elizabeth, like the Barber of Seville, when I lived in St Louis we used to play our own music for the fireworks @ the arch every night, scarily people in our building started giving us requests... You could hear that stereo from the 17th floor blocks away....
Do it slowly, if dark side if the moon is your thing, play some dynamic sections so you will know how it will peak out, not cranking it up every now and then is like driving a Corvette and never taking it out of 3rd gear. I listen it 95-105db when I wanna crank it, with no bad affects, except bad looks from Liz.
Yeahhh Baby...I've dun it! It was 1980 and I had finally saved up enough money to get the Sony receiver that I couldn't live without, off lay-a-away at my local HiFi shop. My big night was in motion. After getting everything hooked up with a new roll of 18 ga lamp cord and my Supertramp album cued up I was ready. I cracked open a beer, fired up the old turntable and cranked it up. Way up. My euphoria was short lived. Ten seconds and POP...POP. The smell of something burning. Could it be? I had blown not one but both of my Avid speakers. Anyone remember Avid speakers? The rubber surrounds had both disintegrated. The following weekend I was back at my local HiFi shop buying new speakers. I guess it was fun while it lasted, but I haven't done it again. Oooohhhh to be young again.
Shadorne has a good point about distortion and blowing speakers.
If your KRC2 drives your FPB300cx to clipping (which might be audible), your mids and tweeters are in danger. Also, if you can hear bass distortion, it could easily be caused by the woofers being overdriven, a prelude to blowing out.
Accordingly, I wouldn't turn it up beyond the point where it stops sounding good.
"Back in the day" I fried two ADS L810 tweeters during a party. I could blame it on the disco music (it was the 80's - ugh!), but I got to believe it was caused by bridging the NAD's. Oh well, I got new tweeters. Have some fun. BTW, good power usually works fine, while not enough power will almost always fry something.
The other night my buddy and I, fueled by Victory Brewing Co. Golden Monkey Ale, listerally made the rafters shake with DSOTM. My friend, who is a musician and not an audiophile, pointed something out about "audiophile systems" in relation to "normal" consumer systems - louder doesn't seem that loud because of the lack of obvious distortion. It's almost dangerous...
Thanks to all the educational, humorous, synical & negative notes. That's what makes this site so cool. You folks are the best. Got it all. Time to listen to some quality tunes. Best regards to all, John
Yeah I remember Avid speakers. they were "o.k." My first pair of speakers were Pioneer project 60's I bought when I was 16 yrs old and routinely "popped" the voicecoil against the back plate of the magnet. Same thing with my second speakers, Technics SB 10" somethings. I was jealous of my friend with a Marantz 2285 and Epicure 20's, who could crank it up without any apparent damage.
For God's sake, check with Mr. Scott before you crank it. You definitely do not want Dilithium Crystals to fail. This could lead to a total melt down, leaving your system vulnerable to Klingon attack. Believe me, ringing in your ears for the rest of your life is the least you'll have to worry about then, since the rest of your life is bound to be very brief. If Scott tells you it's OK, well then, rock on dude! I'd suggest a cut from the William Shatner CD.
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