Volume with Rotel 1095/Onkyo 705

[MikeHe]

Hi, I have a rotel 1095 along with an onkyo 705 along with a pair of ML Vantage as fronts, b&w matrix 805 as center and a pair of 804's as surround. Connection from pre amp to power are with monster interlink 400 cables. However for the rotel making 200 watts * 5, the volume isn't that loud. When I crank it to Max, it is reasonably loud, however not as loud as when I just take the 705 and crank it. I also here a little sound out of the 804's (surround), but also a mad humming. I attached a ground from the reciever to the wall outlet, this helped some. However I don't hear alot of music, (or it being that clear) from the surrounds? What may I be over looking? Could the difference in ratings 4 vs 8 be an issue? Thanks

[Kevin D]

Make sure you speakers are wired in phase with each other. If you can crank the Onkyo to MAX volume and think it needs to go louder, something is wrong.

4ohm speakers will produce more power, not less.

Kevin D.

[Legairre]

Well the cables won't make a bit of difference in your volume level. What did you mean by 4 vs. 8 rating?

[Legairre]

Never mind Kevin answered the 4 vs. 8 question. as for the humming is the 1095 and 705 on the same outlet as all your other gear? Did you re-calibrate your speaker levels after connecting the 1095 by running the 705 auto speaker setup procedure?

[MikeHe]

No I haven't rerun the audessey application again, good point. The speakers are definately in phase (speaker wire fronts audioquest rockefeller, surround spades with audioquest x2 wire and rhodium spades). I had previous issues, so I upgraded the pre amp/power amp cables to monster. Seems to have helped some, (b4 were just el cheapo rca's). I tried to put the gear on different sockets, however on same circuit, voltage drops to 110 and it cuts the circuit breaker. (tried plugging everything into the panamax 5300 as well, ths didn't work) I am forced to run a long orange extension cable from the kitchen in order just to plug in the amp so it doesn't blow the circuit. There is a settting I have noticed in the setup of the onkyo, specifiying if speakers are 4 or 6 ohms. I have chosen 4. I never thought hooking the 1095 into the mix, would be so time consuming and full of some problems. (humm, grounding issues, power requirements etc. Thanks for all your guys insight, greatly appreciated. So with this all said, how can I get rid of the hum? I will rerrun the oddessey stuff in the morning and post results.

[Legairre]

with regards to the hum is your cable TV connected to this system? The key to getting rid of the hum is making sure things are grounded together. For instance try connecting a piece of speaker wire to the lower side screw of the 1095 and the other end to the center screw of the outlet wall plate(it's the screw that hold the outlet face plate on) of the outlet your receiver is plugged into. This will ground the outlet the 1095 and receiver are on together.

I have a 1095 and this solved my hum. If your cable is connected you may have to run another piece wrapped around you cable coaxial connector to the same center outlet screw.

The issue is that your 1095 and cable are on different grounds and you need the tie them all to the same ground.

You are only grounding your gear so as long as you don't stick the speaker wire into the outlet electrical socket hole your are fine.

[Kevin D]

If you can't run your system on one circuit without blowing the breaker, something is wrong with your electrical supply. Are you in an older house? Any idea what else is on the circuit?

It's really starting to sound like you are starving your system of power. You might want to look into a dedicated circuit. You definitely don't want to run the 1095 on an extension cord.

The 4/6 ohm setting in the Onkyo will have no effect on the RCA outputs.

Kevin D.

[MikeHe]

Well I ran the Audessey setup. Sounds much better. I have grounded the receiver to the electrical outlet. I still here a slight hum through the speakers. I let the setup run for 6 hrs, came home, 2 channels gone on the rotel. Noticed massive fluctuation in amperage on the panamax, and a circuit blew. Attached ground from 1095 (screw on side), put this on the panamax ground. It has been running steady now at 4.4 amps on the panamax, going up to max 5.5 when cranked to max. That is with everything plugged into the Panamax. Thanks all for your help. I think during the setup of everything, some damaged was done to the hdmi outputs/inputs on the back of the 705. I only get sound on one hdmi channel, no picture on none . Any hints). Now after troubleshooting this mess for days, (wife complaining about cables, gear, all laying in the living room) It would be time to put everything together, however without hdmi, arghh what a bummer. Might have to look for another used or refurb one. I would think the grounds were the issue of blowing the fuses, as it hasn't been happening since I grounded the gear. Now the speakers are sounding like they should!!! thanks all