- Aug 10, 2019
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I see in most reviews that “budget” lower power amps, lets say Rotel RA-04 (40W) and Marantz PM6002 (45W) for example, are typically paired with standmounts (MS Mezzo2s and B&W 685s being good examples of the breed). This may be a stupid question, but why not floorstanders, the likes of MA BR5s or KEF iQ5SEs, or equivalent?
I accept that price for price standmount speakers are probably superior to similarly priced floorstanders, but if aesthetics, more bass, etc were important criteria would floorstanders be a realistic option, or are these amps simply underpowered?
I see that iQ5SEs and BR5s specify power requirements of 15 to 130W and 30 to 120W respectively. So, I assume that a small amp would do the job.
This is where I get confused. Comparing the Mezzo 2s (120W, 89dB) and the BR5s (120W, 90dB) with the same max power handling, wouldn’t the BR5s with their higher sensitivity be easier for a small amp to drive? Or, am I missing something here?
I accept that price for price standmount speakers are probably superior to similarly priced floorstanders, but if aesthetics, more bass, etc were important criteria would floorstanders be a realistic option, or are these amps simply underpowered?
I see that iQ5SEs and BR5s specify power requirements of 15 to 130W and 30 to 120W respectively. So, I assume that a small amp would do the job.
This is where I get confused. Comparing the Mezzo 2s (120W, 89dB) and the BR5s (120W, 90dB) with the same max power handling, wouldn’t the BR5s with their higher sensitivity be easier for a small amp to drive? Or, am I missing something here?