Does this make sense?

I recently bought an Outlaw 1050 reciever to replace my old Rotel DPL pre/proc & decoder. In the process of level-matching the speakers I noticed something that I'm was confused/curious about.

First of all here is the equipment used:

Preamp/rec: Outlaw 1050; aprox. 65 wpc
Main amp: Tandberg 1026 150 wpc
Main speakers: B&WS2
Rears: Paradigm Atoms
Center: Vandersteen center

I realize that the speakers are not necessarily closely matched, but my problem is that I had to increase the level by over 6db in the rears to get to 70db. The efficiency rating on the 602's is 90. I'm not sure about the Paradigm's though. They list two figures: 89dB / 86dB with the labeling being "Sensitivity -- Room / Anechoic". I don't know what that means.

The other main differing factor is the wattage being used to drive the two sets of speakers. The 602's are being fed with a comfortable 150wpc, while the rears live on something close to 65.

Is this normal?

Thx

I found something similar based purely on power level recently -- I have a Model 750 (165W per channel) driving mains, center, and surrounds and a bridged two-channel amp (100W per channel, 200W when bridged to mono) driving the single surround back speaker. The surrounds and surround back are identical speakers (3 Paradigm Studio/ADP's), but I had to crank down on the surround back channel by something like 6 or 8 dB to get the speakers balanced. I suspect you're encountering something similar with your mains on the Tandberg and the rest on the 1050.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Thanks Gonk. I just needed some verification since a +6-8 db just got my attention. I have begun to realize why I like my Tandberg unit so much.

ralittle2....Your problem is based on your main amplifier,this amp is much more sensitive than the Outlaws own amplifiers it is not that is any more powerful or that it is better,but is just on the sensitivity of the design;just like your speakers,some are more sensitive then others.But if you can calibrate your system to be in balance why does it matter?The problem could arise if you couldn't adjust your surrounds to the same level as your fronts,you did not state that in your question so i couln't comment on that,but i hope i have help with your question.(The same is true with gonk's system same speakers,but different levels.It's all in the sensitivity of the amplifier.)

Different power amps can have very different gain specs. It would be natural, I think, to assume that you could get very different levels before calibrating.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net