xpa-5 + 150 watts speakers?

[manu]

hey brothers i have xpa-5 but want to know that will 200 watts damage my polk fxia4 surrounds with 150 watts max power
and one more thing as xpr-7 and xpr-5 is on the way will i can drive my polk speaker with 400 watts of power for 200 watts max power capacity speakers if i buy xpr-7 for 7.1 setup?
please reply guys i'm waiting..

[paintedklown]

Welcome to the forum manu.

There is no such thing as having too much power.

You will experience better transients, and have plenty of headroom available for the demanding dynamics in music and todays movie soundtracks. Just keep an eye on the volume level (and an ear on your speakers, if they begin to stress or make mechanical noises, then turn the volume down a bit) and you should be ok.

Will these amps blow your speakers if you play them too loudly?

Probably.

[manu]

bro thanks

[erict]

Just to touch a little further on this. Rule of thumb is to have an amp rated at twice your speaker rating. Now most of us don't fall into this but a couple of things to remember is, it is highly unlikely you would blow your speakers. Most speaker damage is done by overdriving an AVR to the point of clipping. Clipping and distortion is where the damage is done to any speaker. Driving any speaker with clean power with additional headroom will make your speakers sign will bliss ;D I would guarantee your ears would start to bleed before I would worry, IMO.

[DYohn]

This is a pet peeve of mine...

The truth is is it NOT a clipped signal or distortion that damages loudspeaker voice coils all by itself. It is power that damages voice coils. You can run a 100% clipped square-wave signal or a 100% distorted signal all day and all night without speaker damage as long as the total power remains below the thermal and mechanical limits of the speaker. Just ask any electric guitar player if distortion damages their rig. It is ABSOLUTELY and ONLY excessive power that damages loudspeakers. The reason to use larger power amplifiers is to allow operating the loudspeaker closer to its limits before you reach the limits of the amp and to have "head room" for dynamic peaks and transients so that the signal remains listenable. But if you don't recognize when an amp is over driving a speaker, then a 200 watt amp can absolutely blow a 100 watt speaker even if the signal is perfectly clean. The danger of using too small an amp and driving it into clipping is that once some amps start clipping, they can send straight rail voltage through to the speaker and drive it with more power than you think it can deliver. So if you drive your amps to their limits you will hit the speaker with more power than what you think is possible given the amp's rating, and if the thermal limit of the speaker is below that power level then damage can result when the operator thinks they are "safe."

High power amps can and will destroy loudspeaker voice coils. It is heat that damages a voice coil, and unless you drive a screwdriver through it not much else.

[manu]

so u guys mean to say is 400 watts for 200 watts speakers can do damage right

[erict]

Sept 13, 2010 17:53:22 GMT -5 manu said:

so u guys mean to say is 400 watts for 200 watts speakers can do damage right

The point I was trying to make was, an amp rated beyond your speakers rating wouldn't blow your speakers under normal conditions. You would really have to crank it but then it more then likely would be unbearable to listen to, hence the bleeding ears

[manu]

thanks brother one off topic question
what is the reference volume for umc-1 i use to listen to around 50 (0-80)

[jlafrenz]

Sept 13, 2010 18:14:18 GMT -5 manu said:

thanks brother one off topic question
what is the reference volume for umc-1 i use to listen to around 50 (0-80)

There is no specific answer for this as it depends on your room and speakers. The reference volume will be different for everyone. The way to find out would be to play a test tone and then turn the volume up until you hit 75db. This would be the first step in level matching your speakers too.

[paintedklown]

Sept 13, 2010 17:40:57 GMT -5 DYohn said:

This is a pet peeve of mine...

The truth is is it NOT a clipped signal or distortion that damages loudspeaker voice coils all by itself. It is power that damages voice coils. You can run a 100% clipped square-wave signal or a 100% distorted signal all day and all night without speaker damage as long as the total power remains below the thermal and mechanical limits of the speaker. Just ask any electric guitar player if distortion damages their rig. It is ABSOLUTELY and ONLY excessive power that damages loudspeakers. The reason to use larger power amplifiers is to allow operating the loudspeaker closer to its limits before you reach the limits of the amp and to have "head room" for dynamic peaks and transients so that the signal remains listenable. But if you don't recognize when an amp is over driving a speaker, then a 200 watt amp can absolutely blow a 100 watt speaker even if the signal is perfectly clean. The danger of using too small an amp and driving it into clipping is that once some amps start clipping, they can send straight rail voltage through to the speaker and drive it with more power than you think it can deliver. So if you drive your amps to their limits you will hit the speaker with more power than what you think is possible given the amp's rating, and if the thermal limit of the speaker is below that power level then damage can result when the operator thinks they are "safe."

High power amps can and will destroy loudspeaker voice coils. It is heat that damages a voice coil, and unless you drive a screwdriver through it not much else.

I agree with this 100%. I like to listen at loud volumes and I can hear my B&W 684 towers begin to stress (being pushed by UPA-1 amps that are bi-wired) before my ears are ready to give up. I need some speakers that like to go LOUD...

[manu]

i have to buy radio shack spl metre then right

[jlafrenz]

Sept 13, 2010 19:15:23 GMT -5 manu said:

i have to buy radio shack spl metre then right

The Radio Shack SPL meter is very common, but there are several meters available.

[NorthStar]

Sept 13, 2010 17:40:57 GMT -5 DYohn said:

This is a pet peeve of mine...

The truth is is it NOT a clipped signal or distortion that damages loudspeaker voice coils all by itself. It is power that damages voice coils. You can run a 100% clipped square-wave signal or a 100% distorted signal all day and all night without speaker damage as long as the total power remains below the thermal and mechanical limits of the speaker. Just ask any electric guitar player if distortion damages their rig. It is ABSOLUTELY and ONLY excessive power that damages loudspeakers. The reason to use larger power amplifiers is to allow operating the loudspeaker closer to its limits before you reach the limits of the amp and to have "head room" for dynamic peaks and transients so that the signal remains listenable. But if you don't recognize when an amp is over driving a speaker, then a 200 watt amp can absolutely blow a 100 watt speaker even if the signal is perfectly clean. The danger of using too small an amp and driving it into clipping is that once some amps start clipping, they can send straight rail voltage through to the speaker and drive it with more power than you think it can deliver. So if you drive your amps to their limits you will hit the speaker with more power than what you think is possible given the amp's rating, and if the thermal limit of the speaker is below that power level then damage can result when the operator thinks they are "safe."

High power amps can and will destroy loudspeaker voice coils. It is heat that damages a voice coil, and unless you drive a screwdriver through it not much else.

Excellent post David!

* If I may add; you have better chance to blow your tweeters with a lower power amp than a higher rating one, all in the proper perspective.

Also, some tweeters are much more robust in their construction and cooling system than others.