Is more or less better?
- Thread starter Ashish
- Start date
Hi Ashish,
Its not all about watts. Some amps drive better even though they may be modestly powered. Depends on the way its made. I presume u are referring to solid state amps.
What amps have u shortlisted for ur speakers? How sensitive are ur speakers? If they are closer to 90db then a 100 watt amp will be more than sufficient in a reasonably sized room.
Regards
Its not all about watts. Some amps drive better even though they may be modestly powered. Depends on the way its made. I presume u are referring to solid state amps.
What amps have u shortlisted for ur speakers? How sensitive are ur speakers? If they are closer to 90db then a 100 watt amp will be more than sufficient in a reasonably sized room.
Regards
As Dinyaar mentioned, if its 90dB, a 100W is more than enough, in fact its an overkill. Just make sure that whichever amp it is can supply enough current, in short go for a high current amp, it need not be a high wattage amp.
cheers
cheers
awedeophile
Active Member
As Dinyaar rightly pointed out, this depends on the sensitivity of your speakers. Use the following calculator to see the sound pressure level with reference to the speaker sensitivity and amplifier power (Watts).
Peak SPL Calculator
A speaker with a sensitivity of 85 db SPL will need 300 Watts to give the same output level as a speaker with a 100 db SPL driven with 10 Watts!
Also are your speakers 4 ohms or 8 ohms? You need double the power to get the same output level at 4 ohms as against 8 ohms.
Peak SPL Calculator
A speaker with a sensitivity of 85 db SPL will need 300 Watts to give the same output level as a speaker with a 100 db SPL driven with 10 Watts!
Also are your speakers 4 ohms or 8 ohms? You need double the power to get the same output level at 4 ohms as against 8 ohms.
awedeophile
Active Member
For a given output a speaker will draw twice as much current from the amplifier at 4 ohms than at 8 ohms, all other parameters being equal.
Ohms Law - I=V/R
Ohms Law - I=V/R
Dear Friends,
What I meant to ask was what is better for speaker (health), more wattage or less wattage from amp. I understand if the amp is under powered it would cause clipping and blow the drivers. If the amp is more powerful and someone does full/high volume the drivers would bottom-out and blow.
What is safer?
What I meant to ask was what is better for speaker (health), more wattage or less wattage from amp. I understand if the amp is under powered it would cause clipping and blow the drivers. If the amp is more powerful and someone does full/high volume the drivers would bottom-out and blow.
What is safer?
Hi Ashish,
A bigger amp is safer. Ur speakers manual says they can be driven by an amp in the power range of 15 to 150. Now say a 40 w integrated amp may clip if run hard and could damage ur speaker. Be practical and use common sense in system matching. Generally speakers dont just blow unless really abused.
Having said that if someone takes the volume to the maximum u will do damage so u have to be careful. Most budget amps have such high gains that by say 12.O clock volume position u are at close to max output, beyond is pure distortion.Anyway most amps have some sort of protection inbuilt.
As i said earlier buy a high current amp in the power range of 100-120 wpc and it should be more than enough for all ur needs.
Regards
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Thanks Odyssey, thanks Dinyaar,
Well by now you people must have realised that I am a rookie in the world of HiFi asking basic fundamental questions
.
Regarding the specs details of my speakers (MS 906i FS) ,
? Sensitivity 90 db
? Impedance 4-8Ω
For Amps I am considering CA Azur 540A (Vr 2) Or CA Azur 640A (Vr 2)
? think they are solid state (can you confirm please, by looking at their specs)
? Current - what does it mean :
o Slew rate? For 540A it is > 30V/uS, and for 640A it is = 30V/uS, or
o Does it mean Line? - 330mV for both or
o Power output? For 540A it is 60 watts into 8 Ohms & 90 watts into 4 Ohms, for 640A it is 75 watts into 8 Ohms & 120 watts into 4 Ohms.
Looks like I should go for 640A, right?
Well by now you people must have realised that I am a rookie in the world of HiFi asking basic fundamental questions
. Regarding the specs details of my speakers (MS 906i FS) ,
? Sensitivity 90 db
? Impedance 4-8Ω
For Amps I am considering CA Azur 540A (Vr 2) Or CA Azur 640A (Vr 2)
? think they are solid state (can you confirm please, by looking at their specs)
? Current - what does it mean :
o Slew rate? For 540A it is > 30V/uS, and for 640A it is = 30V/uS, or
o Does it mean Line? - 330mV for both or
o Power output? For 540A it is 60 watts into 8 Ohms & 90 watts into 4 Ohms, for 640A it is 75 watts into 8 Ohms & 120 watts into 4 Ohms.
Looks like I should go for 640A, right?
Hi,
Ya they are all solid state. Ya 90db is good as u can now choose from many amps as ur speakers are efficient. Hear both the CA amps and take a call. I know they are genarally paired with MS but hear other budget amps from Nad, Marantz too. A high current amp is generally a class A/B amp and can drive speakers with low impedance which draw more current(measured in volts) from the amps.
Dont complicate things just hear a few amps in the price range.
I personally would not opt for a CA amp as i find they lack drive. A Nad(though less cleaner) is more robust and stable and a marantz is musical too.
Lastly i have not heard the NAD or marantz with ur speaker so its best if u can audition them urself but dont just go and buy the CA as magazines suggest they are best paired with MS.
Ya they are all solid state. Ya 90db is good as u can now choose from many amps as ur speakers are efficient. Hear both the CA amps and take a call. I know they are genarally paired with MS but hear other budget amps from Nad, Marantz too. A high current amp is generally a class A/B amp and can drive speakers with low impedance which draw more current(measured in volts) from the amps.
Dont complicate things just hear a few amps in the price range.
I personally would not opt for a CA amp as i find they lack drive. A Nad(though less cleaner) is more robust and stable and a marantz is musical too.
Lastly i have not heard the NAD or marantz with ur speaker so its best if u can audition them urself but dont just go and buy the CA as magazines suggest they are best paired with MS.
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Ive heard MS speakers (i think they were 904s) driven by a NAD amp (C350) at my friends place which sounded pretty good so it may be worth your while to audition NAD.
In terms of speaker power - IMHO i think its more likely that a lower powered amp will be turned up too high and clip and damage speakers than a higher powered one being turned up too high and damaging them simply because the lower powered one may not go loud enough!
regards
In terms of speaker power - IMHO i think its more likely that a lower powered amp will be turned up too high and clip and damage speakers than a higher powered one being turned up too high and damaging them simply because the lower powered one may not go loud enough!
regards
square_wave
Well-Known Member
I feel at this level of amplifiers (30 to 50k), Nad, CA and Marantz are all pretty much similar. They all vary slightly in terms of voicing and it depends on what the listener wants.
His question is related to power.
What is better ? More or less ?
Simple question but the answer could be complex. Because ??all watts are not similar?. Technically all ??watts? should be same but it is not. It all depends on the amps and its design.
For example a 25watt class A sugden A21 will have more drive than a 60 watt CA and will not clip at higher volume levels. So if you ask which amp can damage the speakers at high volume levels by clipping ? The CA or Sugden ?
The answer is of course CA. But the CA looks more powerful on paper right ? The truth is that the sugden is a better design with fantastic drive capabilities. It costs four times the CA.
Another example, a 6owatt NAD vs a 150watt NAD. Of course the 60watter will clip faster and fry your tweeters sooner.
So I guess, if you are looking at the same line of amps from the same manufacturer, the higher powered one will give you more dynamics and head-room without clipping than the lower one. But if you compare across lines, the answer may not be so easy because other factors like better power supply, current capabilities and other design parameters may swing in favor of the lower powered amp from a more expensive line.
Common observation is that most people blow their speakers with lower powered amps than with higher powered ones. People generally turn down the volume when it gets deafening. With a high powered amp, at deafening levels there is no clipping so nothing happens to the speaker but the lower powered one will be constantly clipping and can potentially fry the drivers. This is the reason why Nad amps comes with a soft clip switch which you turn on while partying at high volumes..
)
His question is related to power.
What is better ? More or less ?
Simple question but the answer could be complex. Because ??all watts are not similar?. Technically all ??watts? should be same but it is not. It all depends on the amps and its design.
For example a 25watt class A sugden A21 will have more drive than a 60 watt CA and will not clip at higher volume levels. So if you ask which amp can damage the speakers at high volume levels by clipping ? The CA or Sugden ?
The answer is of course CA. But the CA looks more powerful on paper right ? The truth is that the sugden is a better design with fantastic drive capabilities. It costs four times the CA.
Another example, a 6owatt NAD vs a 150watt NAD. Of course the 60watter will clip faster and fry your tweeters sooner.
So I guess, if you are looking at the same line of amps from the same manufacturer, the higher powered one will give you more dynamics and head-room without clipping than the lower one. But if you compare across lines, the answer may not be so easy because other factors like better power supply, current capabilities and other design parameters may swing in favor of the lower powered amp from a more expensive line.
Common observation is that most people blow their speakers with lower powered amps than with higher powered ones. People generally turn down the volume when it gets deafening. With a high powered amp, at deafening levels there is no clipping so nothing happens to the speaker but the lower powered one will be constantly clipping and can potentially fry the drivers. This is the reason why Nad amps comes with a soft clip switch which you turn on while partying at high volumes..
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