Hi Bought an entry level Onkyo A-8130 20 yrs back. Been away for the last 16 yrs and bringing it out of storage the amp still works. So have plugged it in through the soundcard on the computer (aye that's a crime...) and intend to run an Acoustic Energy Aetlite3 or a Rega 3 or 5 through it, mainly for music.
Would anyone by chance know what the ratings for the A-8130 are? Web searches have proved fruitless. Have contacted Onkyo for a spec sheet but still to hear from them. I know this is a long time ago and it was then just entry level equipment however seeking to know if it will satisfactorily drive these speakers?
I remember the 8130 as being in the 35-40 watt range. That should be enough power to get the speakers going but what "satisfactory" means to you is not something I can answer.
When any amplifer has been sitting in storage for years it is not a good idea to plug it directly into the AC outlet and flip the switch. The unit should be powered up gradually on a variable control. Ideally, you would have this on a bench and could monitor the amplifier for excessive current draw. As is, if you've got the amp up and running, you might find some capacitors - usually power supply caps - failing in the next month or so. This will start with a low frequency hum that gradually gets worse. Good luck and maybe this won't happen to your amp.
Hi Jan, Thanks for that insight. Didn't realise the amp became dysfunctional in that manner, with my limited understanding thought it was all or nothing.
Aye, that wattage seems right, sufficient for bookshelf speakers at the time. I doubt it will be ideal for the floor standers I was looking at.
Thank you again for your knowledge there and taking the time.
The size of the enclosure is not what determines whether any particular amplifier can adequately drive a speaker to a given SPL (volume). Look at the efficiency/electrical sensitivity spec for your speakers, as I remember the speakers you're considering are average sensitivity and not a terribly difficult load on the amplifier. The electrical parameters of a speaker change very little when you move from a standmounted speaker to a floorstanding unit. But those numbers only and marginally discuss how loud the speaker will play with a certain amount of wattage available. There's quite a bit more to consider when discussing sound quality and compatibility between amp and speaker.
I have no idea what "satisfactory" means to you but you can try the speakers on the Onkyo and then decide whether you need a new amplifier. Offhand I would say you will find quite a different sound if you listen to the matching Rega amplifiers with their speakers. Whether you will like what you hear is still something I can't determine for you. Listen and choose the best match for the money spent.
"The electrical parameters of a speaker change very little when you move from a standmounted speaker to a floorstanding unit."
Jan you posted an article accounting for why many people think a move from bookshelf/standmounted speakers 2 to floor standing speakers 2 1/2 is not necessarily a dramatic improvement in sound quality initially thought. Can't find that post, if you are able to recall it offhand, it would be quite rewarding to read it again. Many thanks.
With over 12k posts on this forum I can't remember where any one particular item exists. I think you might be referring to my discussions of a 2 vs 2 1/2 way design where the two way is no less than the top 90% of the floorstander. The drivers are the same in both for midbass (60Hz) through to the top end. The 2 1/2 way system simply adds another driver (usually one similar to the 2 way's woofer) which is allowed to blend into the low frequency region without running as far up the range as the first woofer. This allows it to support the effort of the bass/mid driver in the lowest frequencies. Depending upon how the designer worked his system out, the extra driver is not truly a conventional woofer but is a helper and extends the response slightly while taking some stress from the single woofer which would otherwise be trying to make deep bass and mids all by itself.
Computers and a better understanding of the T/S parameters of low frequency drivers/enclosures has made bookshelf/standmounted designs capable of response down into the 40Hz range from a relatively compact enclosure without sacrificing midrange performance. When placed in a room where walls, floor and ceiling give reinforcement to the low frequency region, these speakers can often manage respectable bass extension down into the mid 30Hz range. The laws of physics cannot be repealed by any designer and when all other things are equal smaller enclosures dictate slightly less extension and require longer excursions of the driver to make that response happen. Many listeners would rather have good response down to the 40Hz range than have bad resposne all the way from 30Hz to the midrange crossover point.
Depending upon the music you choose, the most common choice is between clean bass extension and bass quantity. To have both requires a larger box and/or a more expensive driver and enclosure. However, most people over estimate the bass extension required to reproduce the music they prefer. Most rock is limited to the 42Hz bottom of a bass guitar. Quite a few standmount speakers when placed in a typical room can manage this with a reasonable quantity of bass. If you must have more quantity than the average standmount speaker can deliver, then you should look to either a floorstanding speaker or, IMO, the better choice of a small monitor speaker with a top notch subwoofer.