Hi siles, pls don't turn up the volume too loud because if it gets broken because of consumer misuse then it will void the warranty.

Hivi speakers is able to handle big volume, the sound just doesn't crack n misshape. It's a good speaker

alright thanks

This is where the confusion starts. What do you mean by "as long as the volume is fine"? That is also such a vague term.

Hence similarly, the advice from Cyntrix about being careful with the volume is an appropriate general advice. It's like someone telling you, "be careful on the road and don't drive too fast". Just general advice.

If you ask a vague question then how to expect a precise answer? Also, when it comes to speakers, I don't think I've ever seen any manufacturer give a precise answer about how loud is the volume which is the safe limit for a particular speaker.

What vague question? I asked if I could use a pre amp I got that answer how vague can "can I use it with a pre amp?" be? I think you should read previous posts to know what's going on.

So I can't ask the manufacturer or distributor for support on their product? I'm not sure on something so as a smart consumer I want to ask so I can prevent anything bad is that wrong of me.

This post has been edited by siles1991: Jun 2 2013, 09:52 PM

Of course you can ask support questions. I guess the answer from Cyntrix was yes you can use it but be careful with the volume.

yet in his next reply he straight away told me that the coils will melt and other stuff etc. so i wouldnt know whether that's going to happen the moment i plugged it into the pre-amp or when i raise the volume too much

Hi siles,

Preamps shouldn't add gain into a line level signal like an amp would, so normally it should not damage your speakers by double amping or overdriving the speakers to the point of damaging the drivers.

However, should you go over the top with the volume, you may damage the drivers. And since this is out of user negligence/misuse, it will not be covered in the warranty.

And to explain how such damage could occur, cyntrix had described what will happen to the coils if you drive them to very loud volumes. Also, if your preamp somehow causes damage because of double amping (or anything else for that matter), this will also not be covered in the warranty for the same reasons. Such speakers are not designed to be fed from a preamp, more so a modded tube preamp from a tube amp. Such link in the equipment chain may cause damage and it is under the user's responsibility, not seller/manufacturer.

alright thanks again for explaining much appreciated

I think Cyntrix was just elaborating what might happen if you raise the volume too much. I guess that part was a bit confusing and he could have clarified a bit more.

I think manufacturer should be held responsible. I blew a couple of my sattelite drivers before for Altec Lansing ACS48 as well as Boston Acoustic BA7500.

How loud is too loud? After all we are all just using a normal pc with a soundcard. Its the manufacturer's responsibility to test their products extensively against the current marketed sound card to ensure that most will not run into overloading the sattelite drivers. I have a tendency of blasting my speaker at full volume or even 90% sometimes. If you think your product cant take it, then lower the amplification and design better circuitry. Just like the Edifier S2000 Im currently using. The LM3886 is rated 60W and yet Edifier only marked it as 40W. I have yet to have anything damaged due to my excessive usage.

you'll be surprised of how many products that can cause damage to itself if operated outside of their boundaries. Cars may blow their engine if idled in redline for too long, hairdryers may overheat with prolonged continuous use, handphone batteriss may explode if charged with an incompatible charger. Speakers are also
Bound by these rules, they may get broken if misused.

In the case of siles, he is using an external amplifier as a preamplifier that may, or may not, cause undue stress to the components well over its tolerance level.

I believe powered speakers will run well if driven to the max, provided they are not modified or amplified further from an external source. Manufacturers know what their speakers are capable of, and used amplifiers tailored to their specifications. But when other factors come in that may cause undue stress towards the components, this I believe shouldn't be covered in the warranty.

It may be easy to measure system specifications under controlled conditions, but with virtually unlimited possibilities out there to drive an audio chain of equipment, its only reasonable and fair that speakers that get damaged after being driven to excessive volumes/powers/gains are not covered in warranties. Here comes your question; how loud is too loud?

Don't know, as long as it doesn't damage the drivers. You want loud, go get a PA system. They go to hundreds of decibels. But that's another story.

LOL

No wonder manufacturers are getting their way so easy. If your product can't perform up to the standard you rated them, blame the user. What more to say.

As for preamp usage, I believe there are reason for siles want to use them. After all, preamp does has its usefulness when dealing with tiny power input than power amp like LM3886 used in high end Hivi products. But still, if you said such act are beyond warranty coverage, most would accept it.

Normally what is the performance standard rated by the manufacturer? I believe most manufacturers don't really state this.

Also as a user do you know what is the performance standard rated by the manufacturer?


When u say full volume, you mean volume control at the speaker? What about your PC volume control?

Very simple. It they rated them 40W RMS, I would expect 40W of continuous sound playback.

Full... whats the point? I already said this is not our responsibility to meet their specification. If the manufacturer is selling them as multimedia speakers, they should make sure at the very least, it does not exceed or overload their product specification when being used with a computer, regardless whichever brands of soundcard or signal input being used. Its just as simple as that.

In this world of profit orientated mass manufacturing, its just like saying, my 40 tonnes crane cant lift 40tonnes forever, or my bridge are rated to hold 400tonnes but cant hold them forever.

Safety limits is manufacturer's responsibility. If they think they want to cut corner by using a 60W amplifier with a 60W speaker, rated them 60W as per their specs, then they must be able to endure 60W stress regardless of the equipment being used, as long as I used it as it specified, connected it directly to a computer as multimedia speakers.

This post has been edited by andrekua2: Jun 4 2013, 08:27 AM

Well..
This is Marketing strategies..../ gemmick

usually you buy HHD, they state, storage size up to 32GB, but actually can store exactly 32GB

So for speaker,

Can support up to 40W(usually 40W is Peak not RMS)
Sooo, nothing is perfect, sometimes words is description as compare to real time it is totally different

Don't think it is as simple as that. The RMS rating is the speaker's internal amp rating. The ultimate playback volume is dependent on the RMS rating plus also the output signal fed by soundcard.

In your example how loud is 40W of continuous sound playback? Do you know by listening if it has reached 40W of continuous sound playback?

I guess the manufacturer's should use a different measure for the specification. Using the Watts rating is not very clear and people can misunderstand. A speaker can meet the watts spec and yet be overdriven due to not careful use of the volume knob. This applies whether to multimedia speakers or even hifi speakers. The main thing is that loudness is measured in dB not watts.

Anyway, to do what you suggested (regardless whichever brands of soundcard or signal input being used) the maker would probably need to incorporate a limiter in their design. This is not a common feature, maybe quite costly?

This post has been edited by jchong: Jun 4 2013, 08:47 AM

andreakua2 not sure what u did to destroy ACS48, mine CS21 still going strong @ max volume
its all happening at input source. if gain is too high, things will spoil regardless of watt.

jchong i guess andrea not trying say amp "too power" but speaker side.
passive speaker usually got recommended wattage like 30-100w @ 8ohm to match with amp or receiver.
yea normally we can play very high volume for extended period until human cannot tahan. 0db reduction i will run out of house

unfortunately multimedia speaker never mention it becos they come in a set... maybe lower specs so easily broken during full volume.

If the speaker is sold as an active speaker with a certain rated output and connectivity, it is meant to be connected with only the included connectivity and used within the specific restriction. Adding a Preamp, dialing it to max gain and then dialing the speaker to max is not using the active speaker appropriately. This is the same as buying a 2.0 i4 NA car and bolting a turbo to it. You void warranty immediately. However, that does not mean that the engine will not be able to withstand it. If every brand or manufacturer need to explain to every customer what they can and cannot do with any particular product, one would need a lawyer standing beside for every sale made. There would be a very long list of what you can and cannot do, and by the time you are half way through listening the "rules" you will end up just buying the product with the most vaguely spelled restriction. Exactly the same like graphic card warranty...does removing the heatsink void the warranty? Yes for some brands and No for the others. Just because the others say no doesn't mean there's no catch, it's just a matter of point of how deep someone wants to go into this sort of stuff.

Wooo Finally he online!
still waiting ur X5 + ur DAC