Hi, Last week I got the JM Lab 800V 5 channel system (without SW) and hooked it to Onkyo TX SR875. Playing some bass heavy rocks songs in stereo mode without SW, at moderate volumes (60 on absolute scale), the Chorus sounded very controlled on the bass. Raising the volume to 72 on the onkyo, the music was loud but still very clear and the bass notes tight with no distortion. All of sudden, the onkyo 875 shut down with no warning. Switching it on, tried it again, this time, steadily raising the volume to 68. In a couple of seconds again the same with the onkyo shutting down.
Fearing further damage, the 836Vs were connected to NAD C352 for stereo music. To my horror, i notice that the 836 bass has become very BOOMY and not TIGHT as it used to be earlier.
After those two clipplings by the Onkyo 875 (the receiver is ok after switching it on), now the Chorus 836Vs (with 3 bass drivers each) seems to have lost their control on the bass and sounds boomy and not taut.
Any suggestion on how to rectify this problem with Chorus836 V will be greatly appreciated. Iam fairly new to hifi and dont know if the speakers are damaged beyond repair
The fact that the amp switched off after just a few seconds could indicate an issue. If I recall correctly, I believe the 836Vs are 4-ohm speakers and I believe the 875 has to be set for 4-ohm loads. Check the manual, because the amp is switching off for a reason. If it's simply because the impedance is dropping too low (thus putting the amp into protect mode), it could just be a simple matter of telling the amp about the 4-ohm load.
Is it possible for you to biamp the 836Vs with 4 channels of the Onkyo? It seems to me that the Onkyo was displaying better control than the NAD - that's why it wasn't as boomy. If you double up using the extra 2 channels, then you may gain even more control.
Thank you very much for the inputs. The rated impedence of Focal 836 towers is 8 ohms. The onkyo has provision only for 4 ohm and 6 ohm. In this case, the onkyo was set to 6 ohms.
On further checking, i now notice that only one of speaker has become boomy with no control on the bass.
To further narrow down to see if its a speaker / amp issue, the speaker tower were interchanged. After interchanging, the same speaker which was boomy was again boomy while the other one had tight control.
Dont know if I have blown any crossover circuits / voice coils. Have called up the JMlab support guys and waiting for their assessment.
