Hey guys, i've got some B&W 603's paired with an Harmon/Kardon HK 970 integrated amp which are both about 4 years old...
I just want to say that I don't know anything about the technical workings of hi-fi equipment like ohms and watts and sensitivity and the rest and unfortunately i don't really care about it. I've tried to learn but it makes my head hurt and for me, takes the fun out of listening to tunes in good sound quality.
Anyway... to my question...
Have heard some stuff about underpowering speakers and i was wanting to know whether this set up is well matched (in simple terms preferably :p )
Tedstyler, the underpowering of speakers comes into play only if you make demands of the amp which make it clip or heavily distort.
A clipping amp will blow tweeters (first).
If you are really rocking, you MAY hear the sound audibly distort, and thats the dangerous part. That amp is good and powerful, it would be very loud in an average room by that point.
B&W's - in general and as a line - prefer high current amplifiers. For an integrated amplifier the HK does a good job delivering current on demand, much better than some separate power amplifiers. The B&W's tend towards higher electrical sensitivity which should make the HK work well in terms of volume levels. However, if you are consistently clipping the amplifier due to high listening levels and high demand material, then you should consider making some changes.
For the improvement from a 'poor room' to a good room, you could decrease your need for volume by 4-6 Db. You get more feel good, sound good with far less volume.