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New member Username: BrkbeatsciPhiladelphia, PA USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Nov-04 | I was wondering if anyone knew of a company that made home speakers (not PA) that could handle 300W RMS/channel. I just bought an amp, and it is rated at 412 rms/channel, but I imagine that that spec might be if it was struck by lighting while you were playing it. It could be true, but in my experience, amp manufacturers tend to...hmmm...shall we say...exaggerate their products specs, well, some do anyway, at least in cars. Either way, I could turn the amp down, so I opted for headroom. But I am having trouble finding speakers that are A) affordable (14-1600/pair) and B) can handle what I plan to give them. Also, on a sidebar, have passive sub/sat configurations gone by the wayside or what? All I am seeing now are powered subs out the wazoo. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 269 Registered: Feb-04 | It's not wise to pick speakers solely based on power handling. Plus most 100W speakers will handle short peaks of 300W, just make sure you don't bottom-out the woofers. It's actually easier to damage speakers using an under-powered amp (by clipping) than from using an over-powered amp. 300W is only 5 dB more than 100W anyway... |
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New member Username: BrkbeatsciPhiladelphia, PA USA Post Number: 5 Registered: Nov-04 |
I know a lot of people who would think you a heretic for saying that. They (the speakers) aren't being chosen on power handling alone, it was power handling AND affordability, and of course they have to sound good, but I thought that that was implied. I really just need a speaker that is going to sound good and take a beating on a pretty much daily basis that falls within my budget constraints. Would it be easier if I asked what was the worst speaker (in peoples' opinions) in the aforementioned price range? Anyone who wants to, feel free to answer that question. It'll give me an idea of what to stay away from. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 271 Registered: Feb-04 | Steve, You can have 5 dB variability in efficiency between speakers quite easily. And you still seem bent on finding a speaker you can dial in the max on your amp with. Tell you what, if you want loud and be able to take a beating, get yourself a pair of 20 year-old Klipsch La Scala on ebay for about $1000. That's what I use. |
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Will Malven Unregistered guest | Steve, Peter is essentialy correct about the db gain in your amp. You get a 3db gain every time you double the output so that in the 100/300 example it works out to a 4-5db gain. For the amount of money you are spending, I recommend that you check out Definitive Technology speakers www.definitivetechnology.com they are capable of handling massive amounts of power and only sound better as the power goes up. I have a pair of BP 30's (no longer available except on eBay). I began to use them with a B&K reference 4320 (225W/channel) but later bought an Earthquake Cinenova 5 channel amp (300W/channel @ 8ohms, all channels driven-true rating, 600W/channel @4 ohms) for more headroom and the sound was definitely better. I later bi-amped them using 2 channels from the Cinenova for each speaker. We are talking 600W into an 8 ohm load. The BP-30's actually run around 6 ohms so you can see that I was putting in massive amounts of power. The BP 30's are rated at 300-500W but never missed a beat. With that much power, the sound became awsome with delicate highs and massive amounts of bass (no sub) mids became even clearer. Definitive makes great speakers. I am now getting a set of small Magnepans, just to see what all the talk is about. Maggies are also very power hungry speakers so it will be an interesting experiment. Good luck with your search! |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 275 Registered: Feb-04 | Still seems weird to be selecting based on power handling, which doesn't translate to either quality of sound or loudness. For example, Will's BP 30's are rated at an efficiency of 91 dB at 1W/1m. My La Scala's are rated at 104 dB. That 13 dB difference in efficiency means that I only need 15W to drive as loud as his 300W. My amp doesn't have 300W per channel, but it's got more than 15W too! This is just an example. I'm quite sure his BP 30's sound fantastic. It's simply weird to pick a speaker based on that. Anyway, food for thought... |
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New member Username: BrkbeatsciPhiladelphia, PA USA Post Number: 7 Registered: Nov-04 | I Understand where you all are coming from with the sensitivity and all, but I think you are thinking that I want a speaker to be able to play loud based on a 300-400 watt rms range. While this would be nice and almost a given, none of them are going to be "quiet" while getting this power. What I really want is for a speaker to be able to take this kind of power without having to print out a shipping label and haing to get a RA Number after I do. The amp has anti clipping tech built in, so hopefully it won't kill the speakers because of clipping. I just have really bad luck with pushing the volume envelope and winding up with a busted speaker (at least at home speakers). I think that the problem is that I cannot hear the problems in the home that I can hear in a car. Beyond the fact that car and home systems are completely different. So...now that you all know where I am coming from, hopefully you could shed some light on the situation. I checked out the La Scala's and the Definitive tech site. I really liked the fact that the DT's had low extension without a seperate subwoofer, and their power handling was brutish at best, but they do like to charge you for that. So they might have to wait. It's starting to look like I should get my altec horn's fixed and start using the seeburg's again until I can afford a higher point. I like the idea of horns (they hold a place in my heart) but it seems like most people are using the Scala's with tube amps, and that they are fairly unforgiving with noise. I still have no Idea what to get, but I know that it seems like I am going to have to save some more money. Not really liking the idea of buying used speakers, but we'll see. I have to find some places around me that sell this stuff. And the deciding factor is going to be a listen. But if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 276 Registered: Feb-04 | For what's it's worth, I'm not driving La Scala's with tubes. An h/k avr-325 receiver. I also have a Nikko Alpha 220 (120W per channel) power amp which I used to have sole duty driving the Klipsch's. Either of them sound nice with the LS's without needing tubes. The LS's were said to accept peaks of 1000W, but I've never tried that. If you have Altec horns, I'd start with that! |