Why do my speakers sound distorted to certain surround sound music?

I asked this before but got no reply, so I'll just try to ask it differently: why do my speakers distort when I listen to music at the same dB levels. For example when I listen to Genesis 5.1 surround sound there is a gross distortion and clipping from my speakers, but when I listen to Elton John at a higher volume there is absolutely no distortion. Another horrible example is when I listen to Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits, Money for Nothing and Walk Of Life sound exceptionally awesome but the next track, Your Latest Trick, which has a sax intro sounds horribly clipped and distorted.
Is this a problem with my speakers and/or receiver? Or does everyone go through this like I do?

My original question was this:

I recently bought a Yamaha Natural Sound AV Receiver RX-V467 that I hooked up with my Sony Blu Ray BDP S370 and my Sony CD Player CDP-CE405.
My speakers are a 5.1 Yamaha NX-E440 (Impedance 6 Ohms – Nominal Input 40 Watts – Maximum Input 80 Watts) for the 4 speakers (two front and two rear/surround)

My center channel is NX-C440(Impedance 6 Ohms – Nominal Input 40 Watts – Maximum Input 100 Watts )

The Sub Woofer is SW-P440 (45 Watts – 50/60 Hz)

I bought this in the nature that I have tons of 5.1 SACDs and DVDs and I finally tried out the sound and it sounds unbelievable.
However, whenever I listen to any of my 5.1 Genesis DVDs quite loudly I get a lot of hissing from my speakers (I’m not sure what the correct term for this distortion is, but it sounds a lot like clipping when the music is at its peak in decibels), but when I listen to other 5.1 music it sounds perfectly fine, although this is not with every other 5.1 CD out there.
Is it a problem with the Genesis mastering? (Maybe mixed too loudly) or is it compatibility between my receiver and speakers?

I really am a huge amateur with these sound system terms and do not know a whole lot about these, so maybe there is something wrong with my equipment.

Another problem I’m having is with the Ziggy Stardust 5.1 SACD, but in this case, the music is quite low, so low that the bass drum sounds clipped as well, but nothing else. I generally have to listen to this album at +6.0 volume, will there be repercussions with my speakers and/or receiver if I keep listening to these at the indicated volumes?
Maybe I should get better speakers or something of the sort, what do you think of my current set-up (the one I detailed above) for audio listening?

One more issue: whenever I hook up my good headphones to my receiver it sounds AWFUL. I mean my Sony discman sounds a lot better. Is this an issue with headphones? Should I get expensive audiophile headphones like Grados? My current headphones are active noise cancelling Audio-Technica which sound great with MP3 players.

Thanks everyone!

 

Jeepers! You're listening to stuff at +6????

That's like as high as the volume dial goes.

That is a low-end receiver, and you're trying to blow the roof off with it. No surprise that you're running out of juice and clipping. If you keep doing it you're going to blow the tweeters on your speakers if you haven't already. Turn the volume down.

If you want to listen THAT loud, you need a much more capable receiver, and those are small not very powerful speakers either.

Surround recievers, like most any receiver, uses only one power supply to drive all the channels. If you're using all the channels, it will run out of steam faster than just driving one or two.

Basically, you're trying to listen too loud on a system not nearly capable enough of playing as loud as it seems you're trying to drive it.

Also, this should be obvious but make sure that all your speakers are set to SMALL in the receiver settings.

 

I think the speakers are the problem. I searched for them; they are old and hard to find. When I did find them they turned out to be best suited for small micro-systems.

It won't be cheap, but you need to replace them, including the subwoofer. Especially the subwoofer.

If you want to keep that modest-power receiver (I think it's OK), you need to select speakers with favorable specifications. High impedance/resistance (8 ohms or more), and high efficiency/sensitivity (90 db or more). I can recommend brands like Energy, NHT or Klipsch, but I noticed you're in Bolivia and your shopping choices may be limited. Hopefully there's a local retailer of some kind who can help direct you to efficient speakers. If you're on a budget and/or you like to play loud, look for these specs.

For a sub, I'd normally recommend one of the online manufacturers (SVS, Hsu, Rythmik), but shipping to Bolivia for a heavy object might be costly.

If you would consider buying online, and live with shipping costs, these two are reputable. And all their brands will perform better than those Yamaha speakers:

http://www.accessories4less.com/
http://www.audioadvisor.com/ (look for demos or discounts or closeouts)

Good luck.

 

Yes, I sometimes listen to music at +6dB and my sound system goes up to +15dB, so it's really high. It's about at -25dB that an acceptable sound for listening to surround sound is available, so I kind of have to listen to music at +6dB.

Music starts clipping and distorting at -4.5dB for the Genesis albums and at -3dB for the Dire Straits album.

There is ONE Yamaha store in my region, I'm not kidding, and no other audio stores elsewhere, so I had to go there and I asked for the best receiver and speakers they could offer. Obviously there were better speakers, but the guy running the joint recommended me the ones detailed in my description and they didn't come cheap!
I had to pay 600 bucks for the 5.1 speakers and an extra 750 bucks for the receiver, so I am pretty much out of cash for the next few years.

Anyways, what a drag. Thanks everyone! I appreciate it very much!

 

I think we have a different perspective on prices. 1150 is not a lot of money for audio equipment from my point of view.

So, I would turn the volume down, basically, or you'll end up with blown speakers or a toasted receiver.

 

And start saving for better speakers. US$2000 would be a reasonable budget for a VERY modest entry-level 5.1 speaker system.

Sorry, I wish I could suggest a better alternative.

 

Surround demands more and if you like loud, demands more real power which costs more money.

 

I guess in Bolivia stuff is expensive.
His receiver is $350 in USA new.
With 105 watts x 5 channels
If the op was in the USA, i would say he could find a great older used (non-HDMI) receiver with lots of power dirt cheap.
maybe NOT in Bolivia.

I agree the current combo is not cutting it, and the op is having clipping.
So either more efficient speakers, or a better amp with at least 200 watts per to the front channels, and 100 per for each surround channel to 8 ohms, with 4 ohm capable.
Another way would be to power the fronts with another amp. And leave the surround to the receiver.
Then the surround might not run out of steam, with the main channels not doing much.
If your receiver has pre-outs to run a separate two channel amp, that might be a solution.

 

I think the short answer is that the clipping and distortion are actually encoded onto the Genesis surround discs, I'm afraid to say. They are all mixed and mastered with tons of compression and clip throughout. (exception being the live albums which sound a lot cleaner.)

All the equipment in the world won't get you a nice clean sound out of those remixes.

The fact that the Elton album sounds fine at the same volume suggests that there's not a problem with your euipment.

 

I agree. I would not use the Genesis discs (except maybe the Peter Gabriel box) as test discs.

 

The "Brothers In Arms" SACD/DVD-A has a ton of compression throughout. Avoid using that disc for anything at all!

Here's "Walk of Life", "Your Latest Trick" is just as bad.

 

Thanks everyone for your answers. I'm confused, is my current receiver and speakers combo bad? What is exactly "run out of steam"? Another thing, there is absolutely no distortion and clipping whenever I watch movies. For example I was watching Saving Private Ryan the other night and couldn't believe the sound! It was amazing and the dBs were at -8dB, I'm guessing not bad at all.

Another thing, if I get bigger speakers and bigger receiver will the distortion and clipping remain when listening to music? Or will it completely disappear?

Thanks everyone.

 

Trust me- it's the Genesis discs. If your equipment sounds great on some discs and not others, it has to be the discs.

 

Hola desde Los Angeles!

All good brand receivers like Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo have basically the same power output. Why?!?

Well, hearing is logarithmic. Most people can barely hear 3 dB of volume difference-that would be like changing from 75 watts to 150 watts. And all receivers have compromised power supplies. So if you want more power than a receiver you have to upgrade to like a 5x200 watt separate amplifier. That will be VERY expensive in Bolivia.

So focusing on the speakers is good advice. I'm a professional speaker engineer, so let me explain a few things. The speakers you have are small and moderate in quality. (I know you paid a lot down there, but I mean just in general). They are not designed to play super loud. Especially, the woofers are far too small to output significant bass. Loud bass means moving LOTS of air, and your speakers just can't. I suspect the "clipping" you hear is not clipping at all but your little woofers hitting physical extremes of their motion. If your receiver is not set for "SMALL" mains and center and surround, they will die. Even if set to "SMALL" they are still inadequate to output the mid-bass frequencies very loud.

Meanwhile, the subwoofer does not have enough power or a beefy enough cone to play bass very loud either.

Given that import duties make everything so expensive to you, I strongly suggest building your own speakers if you possibly can. I should think you could find woodworkers who could make nice cabinets by you.

The best would be 5 large towers. Then the design could be much more efficient, and play much louder with your same receiver. Can you fit something like that? If so, PM me and I can send you to another forum specialized for that.
(Perdon pero no se como buscar si hay un distribuidor de partes de parlantes en Bolivia. No se los terminos tecnicos en Espanol).

About your first original question, it is just coincidence that some discs sound bad and some don't. The factors mentioned above are true: some discs are recorded louder and just sound bad. Other songs are exciting some kind of problem in your speakers I think.

But definitely your receiver is fine (I'm assuming it is not damaged or defective) and your speakers are weak.

Your second question: most receivers' headphones used to be simply connected to the speaker outputs with a big resistor in series, which then does not sound too good depending on the headphones. Can you try them with other receivers at the dealer you bought the Yamaha from? Especially another of the same receiver? Maybe the receiver's headphone part is defective, if you have like a distorted sound even at medium volume.