chebby
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With my amp and speakers at same distance and placement ...
Not that I would ever contemplate those kind of levels (even just on the transients). I don't want to recreate the SPLs at the front of the mosh pit (with my head in the bass bins) during a Slipknot gig.
If I followed my speaker manufacturer's recommendations to the letter then I would have them placed very close to the corners (10ft distance instead of 9) and that 103.8dB SPL would become 105.9dB !
Not that I would ever contemplate those kind of levels (even just on the transients). I don't want to recreate the SPLs at the front of the mosh pit (with my head in the bass bins) during a Slipknot gig.
If I followed my speaker manufacturer's recommendations to the letter then I would have them placed very close to the corners (10ft distance instead of 9) and that 103.8dB SPL would become 105.9dB !
jonathanRD
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Electro said:
ha ha - this should be 'find out how powerful your amplifier needs to be - to damage your hearing'
My old Rega Brio 2000 at 38w into my RS5's @ 89db, gives a reading of 103, or 99 based on them being almost 4 feet from the walls - which all means what? (although I am planning to upgrade my amp soon).
chebby said:
Now the question is at what THD and FR we are achieving those 105dBs. Not great I reckon.
chebby said:
You mustn't ever go at the symphony, they play music at headbanging levels. The men who composed it wore fluffy wigs and loved loudness, some were even practically deaf. What were they thinking? "Why have 3 violins when you can get 30." And I've heard some even fire canons during concerts! Such vulgarity.
Paulq
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I have learned a lot from this, and other, threads on the same subject.
What I have learned is that nobody actually knows the answer to the question 'what amp do I need for these speakers'? We got technobabble ad infinitum, albeit with good intentions. It deviated a million miles from what most people need to understand to help with the stuff they are looking to buy.
The one thing I am taking away from this thread is that any half decent amp will drive half decent speakers at below ear damaging levels. That's what most of us actually do.
The rest is for the technos and marketing people intent upon parting people with cash.
What I have learned is that nobody actually knows the answer to the question 'what amp do I need for these speakers'? We got technobabble ad infinitum, albeit with good intentions. It deviated a million miles from what most people need to understand to help with the stuff they are looking to buy.
The one thing I am taking away from this thread is that any half decent amp will drive half decent speakers at below ear damaging levels. That's what most of us actually do.
The rest is for the technos and marketing people intent upon parting people with cash.
drummerman said:
Or John Cage's 4'33''.
Seriously thought. If you can't headbang to the Flight of the Bumblebee, what else is there to headbang to?
Paulq said:
In which case it was a worthwhile thread, other than we more or less all agreed on that point on the first page 🙂
Paulq
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We'll disagree. If the point was made and agreed on Page 1 then the other 7 (IMHO) served only to confuse, not to inform.
Anyway, it's saved me some money and I'm off to buy a Unitiqute 2 and some Focal Aria 906's today. 30wpc - no drama *biggrin*
Anyway, it's saved me some money and I'm off to buy a Unitiqute 2 and some Focal Aria 906's today. 30wpc - no drama *biggrin*
Paulq said:
Probably the best response in this thread.
Heck, I used to have an MK1 Denon Micro with the matching Mission made tiny speakers once which I enjoyed immensely.
However, the original question was what is a powerful amplifier. - Imho, for listening approaching loud, anything with 25 - 50w/ch is probably adequate for most people in most circumstances, over 100w/ch 8ohm is powerful, anything over 250w/ch very powerful and arguably unneccessary unless your circumstances differ wildly.
All of the above with speakers of 86 - 88db/1w sensitivity (average floorstander and sensitive stand mount) in an average UK living room.
1000watt peak requirements are what (1) beardy/bold men with (2) pot bellies, (3) frustrated wifes and bags full of magazines/brochures discuss at hifi shows. I exclude myself from the first three and no offense to anyone feeling it may describe them 🙂
chebby
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Somehow powerfull amounted to adequate, mediocre and small and a lot of jabs about masculinity. I've read informative threads about amplifiers and this isn't one of them. Not by a long shot.
Vladimir said:
Got up on the wrong side of the bed my friend? 🙂
I think its inevitable that 'powerful' will be put in context of what is actually necessary for many.
I agree that you can't have to powerful an amplifier. The more the better but not at cost of certain other things which I have found on occasions to lack in such big power generators (but to be present in much smaller units) plus not everyone can afford or need a multi hundred watt product.
There is more to amplifiers than watts unless you need to re-create a live performance in which case there is no substitute other than very sensitive speakers.
Imo.
Paulq said:
You've got it completely the wrong way round. What this thread has established -- and we have the evidence from the horse's mouth -- is that speaker manufacturers routinely understate the amount of power needed to drive their speakers without clipping. The "25W is good enough" line is marketing spiel.
drummerman said:
Never went to sleep since I had work to do. I do sound grumpy apparently. *biggrin*
Ever tried to read one of those 800 page threads on diyaudio.com? Now those are informative, regardless of people having opposing stances.
Paulq
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matt49 said:
I'm not sure I have Matt. The one thing that people on here (and other forums) tend to agree on is 'let your ears make decisions'.
In the last week I have demo'd 3 amps varying in output from 30 - 100 wpc with my very own system with my very own music. At the levels I listen to there was absolutely no discernible difference in their capability to reproduce the sound that I hear. Sure there was some difference in coloration that differentiate different amps' sound signature but that's it. The 30w amp did as good a job as the 100 wpc amp 'for me'.
So I'm afraid I still have the same view. Extra watts do not mean 'better' for most people. It just sells amps and makes dealers richer.
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