Connecting the Axe-Fx III to an A/V Receiver

maorgr

Inspired
Hello,

I was wondering given that the volume level will be etiquette, if it would be safe to connect the FX III to a pioneer vsx-521 A/V receiver so I could hear the output on my Polk speakers.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
It'll work fine, but be careful. Consumer audio speakers don't handle excess power gracefully. It's easy for guitar levels that we perceive to be moderate to generate transients that will push those speakers beyond their design limits. Guitar speakers and pro audio speakers can usually handle a bit of that, but home-stereo speakers can be permanently damaged. I once played my Axe through a 30 watt/channel stereo and tore the spider on one of my woofers.
 
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I spent probably 10-15 years using some home stereo speakers for all my DJ'ing and music production before I bought "proper" monitor speakers, and even after that I still continued to use things like multi-media PC speakers for lots of applications, such as working in different locations with my laptop etc. For a while, when I had enough space before moving, I had 3 different sets of monitors hooked up, so I could listen to mixes on my Mackie HR824's, and smaller Blue Sky 2.1 system with powered sub, and then also some typical home "book shelf" JBL units. Nice to hear what stuff sounds like on different playback systems.

Just use a bit of common sense and you'll be fine. Its highly unlikely your going to damage your speakers etc, provided your not trying to make a speaker that is meant for typical at home listening levels crank out 115dB live sound reinforcement levels.

If I'm not mistaken, forum member GuitarDojo usually played his Axe through an old Onkyo home stereo system as his main monitor system, and he created some exceptional SRV and related presets through that very rig
 
If I'm not mistaken, forum member GuitarDojo usually played his Axe through an old Onkyo home stereo system as his main monitor system, and he created some exceptional SRV and related presets through that very rig
That wasn't @GuitarDojo , it was @Gamedojo . Note that he was running a $3000 pair of Boston Acoustics T-930 speakers, which were meant for power amplifiers up to 150 watts and could handle transients beyond that.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...up-my-axe-fx-for-home-use.96631/#post-1159193


We perceive the volume of raw guitar tones differently from how we perceive the volume of program material. "Loud enough " when you're playing guitar can be "too loud" when you're playing a CD.

Also, CDs and MP3s are compressed and limited, so transients never exceed a certain amount. But raw guitar tones can contain some brutal transients. That's what makes the guitar sound punchy in a way that it just doesn't when it's part of a recording.
 
That wasn't @GuitarDojo , it was @Gamedojo . Note that he was running a $3000 pair of Boston Acoustics T-930 speakers, which were meant for power amplifiers up to 150 watts and could handle transients beyond that.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...up-my-axe-fx-for-home-use.96631/#post-1159193


We perceive the volume of raw guitar tones differently from how we perceive the volume of program material. "Loud enough " when you're playing guitar can be "too loud" when you're playing a CD.

Also, CDs and MP3s are compressed and limited, so transients never exceed a certain amount. But raw guitar tones can contain some brutal transients. That's what makes the guitar sound punchy in a way that it just doesn't when it's part of a recording.



I think with some extreme carelessness you could no doubt do some harm, but I think it’s the exception, not the rule.

I used to run a bunch of old analog synths and drum machines etc through home speakers. You can get some massive level spikes, crazy amounts of low freq content etc cranked the resonance and cutoff controls on Moog synth and such and I still never damaged anything, even probably not being in a “responsible” mindset back in the day.

It’s really no different than plugging a set of headphones into the Axe. You can possibly produce a damaging level, the poor ears would be my first worry, but you could also damage the drivers in the headphones, BUT, lots of folks are using modelers at home on a daily basis with headphones and they seem to hold up.

Again, if you think your home stereo is gong to compete with a drummer or soemthing, then probably not, but if your playing at typical home listening levels, it will be fine. Provided you don’t do anything weird like crank the output knob from 9 o’clock to max, or turn the levels of various blocks crazy high etc.

I dial in my patches for the peak levels, and short of doing soemthing really weird, I don’t think there is any way I could physically hit my strings harder, turn on more blocks etc to produce damaging levels. Well leveled patches just shouldn’t do that, and you don’t want to send that to a mixing board, PA etc any more than you would a home stereo system.

Given how many great biamp’d monitors speaker there are, for just a few hundred dollars, I don’t think there is much case for using a home stereo, but it will certainly be fine with a little common sense.
 
I used to run a bunch of old analog synths and drum machines etc through home speakers. You can get some massive level spikes, crazy amounts of low freq content etc cranked the resonance and cutoff controls on Moog synth and such and I still never damaged anything, even probably not being in a “responsible” mindset back in the day.
Ah, but what wattage into what speakers? "Home" speakers (or any other gear, for that matter) covers a wide range of stuff. And maybe used with an audiologist's idea of what "common sense" is? ;) Low-gain guitar tones generally have a higher crest factor than synth tones, but have lower perceived volume, encouraging you to crank them up.


It’s really no different than plugging a set of headphones into the Axe. You can possibly produce a damaging level, the poor ears would be my first worry, but you could also damage the drivers in the headphones, BUT, lots of folks are using modelers at home on a daily basis with headphones and they seem to hold up.
Actually, it's way different. Tiny drivers can usually handle being powered beyond spec better than loudspeakers with some mass behind them.


I dial in my patches for the peak levels, and short of doing soemthing really weird, I don’t think there is any way I could physically hit my strings harder, turn on more blocks etc to produce damaging levels.
Do you mean "peak levels" or "hitting-the-string-hard levels?" You'd need external metering to measure peak levels.
 
My humble opinion is that in the pre-digital days, the dynamic range of an instrument would overwhelm hi-fi systems of the era, leading to popped tweeters and smoking amplifiers going DC, destroying LF drivers. I have seen and made it happen :)
When CDs were introduced, Hi-Fi had to step up their game and support an increased dynamic range, leading to systems that were probably still not accurate, but capable of supporting instruments plugged in directly. The systems of today, can handle it ok in mot cases, and (even if they can't) will normally give you some warnings by obvious distortion before the smoke gets out.

So - as long as your level is ok, go for it!

Thanks
Pauly
 
Amp clipping is what really does it.

Danny W.
Depends. Prolonged amp clipping can cause heat-related speaker failures (that's why guitar speakers are built differently — because guitar amps clip). But mechanical speaker failures come from instantaneous too-much-power events, often in the form of transients.
 
Dynamic range doesn’t overwhelm speakers or systems. Power does.

Power, driving dynamic range too hard will push uncompressed/unlimited peaks too high and lead to clipping. At best clipping will just deteriorate the listening experience. Prolonged clipping can lead to speaker damage.
 
Power, driving dynamic range too hard will push uncompressed/unlimited peaks too high and lead to clipping.
It's exceeding the amp's power capability that causes clipping, whether there's a lot of dynamic range or not.


At best clipping will just deteriorate the listening experience. Prolonged clipping can lead to speaker damage.
Totally true.
 
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