That was great Paul, I never really understood that before, makes sense now. I keep following your posts and am sure learning a lot about audio and I thought I knew a lot before, ha. Learning all the time and it is fun! Sure appreciate your videos here.
Thank you paul for the insight on speaker matching with AMPS. I have recently purchased a Pylon Audio Amber MK2 speakers for stereo and have also purchased a Marantz Pm7000N 60watts at 8ohms and 80 watts at 4ohms. My speakers are 97db and nominal power of 300watts at 4 ohms. I am very happy with the setup and all my doubts clarified . Thank you for enlightening us
Paul covered this in another way in another video. A small amp driven to clipping is more harmful to speakers than anything short of just a ridiculous power missmatch. Here's what you do. Get an amp that modestly exceeds the speaker's power handling capability and has it's own gain presets. Turn them all the way down. Turn your main volume full up. Ease the preset gains to the highest level that you will reasonably use within the speaker's linear region. Turn down the preamp to the currently desired level. Done. Speakers fully matched to the system and protected from amp clipping and over excursion.
You should calibrate using pink noise at -20dB as the signal. And you can for instance measure at listening position at 85 dB. Then you know that you will never play more than 105dB at listening position. You can of course calibrate using 70, 75. but you must not exceed the max SPL of the speakers ( which sometimes is documented ). There are several videos on youtube that covers how to calibrate studio monitors, and you can do this in the same way. But to be able to do it you need a volume knob on each channel on the power amplifier to be able to do this. And if you can do this, you will be sure, as you said. But I would not try to calibrate while listening to music. Because different music has different loudness levels. Pink noise is controlled.
"I can see clearly now the rain has gone". Thanks for clearing up something that so many people have confused. I wish i had you as an uncle or neighbour.
Great video i have learned so much from watching your videos like ohm matching and so on I have a 90s stereo integrated amp technics SU-G95 Rack Sytem speakers model SB-A55 3 way speaker sytem 260 watt impedance 8 i wanted louder speakers 300 watts i kind of know what to look for matching after watching this video still learning once u think u learned something something else pops up. 5:11
A very long and detailed answer to a very short question, and the correct snswer should have been : "YES. YOU SHOULD USE AN AMP OF 300 WATTS OR LESS". Paul said that on minute 3.50 of the video: "do not acceed the rated power handlig capacity of the speaker in order not to harm it". All the rest of the information is just nice to have. Note that the data of speaker's efficiency is not always indicated, certainly if you buy it second hand.
It is also another problem that the impedance of some speakers are very skewed. So it can vary all the way from 3 to 8 which means that for some frequencies, it might put out many more watts than for other frequencies. And it might be that the efficiency of the speaker is measured at a frequency that is 8 ohm.... it makes a bit more complicated.
Damn, giving you guys a subscription now. Didn't really realize that the speaker impedance mattered on a receiver. Having hooked up a set of JBL 2800 tower speakers to a cheap little sony radio/cd/tape player and it working, didn't think before I bought a new set of speakers. Should have checked my receiver first. Thank god they fall in the impedance rang, but the range seems a little high at 8-16 ohms. Is that just because of how old the receiver is or are there variations on receivers that I should be aware of.
After a kitchen hand took off with my Bose 800 speakers at an officers's club in W. Germany, I had to perform my show with borrowed bookshelf speakers that were driven by a 200W RMS amp. They began to distort at a very low setting on the mixer. So a powerful amp can be used with even 20W speakers as long as the output is kept below clipping level.
For bookshelf speakers, the range is typically 82 to 92db at 1watt/meter. With the Avg I see at 85-86. Alot of Amps under 100 watts are typically used to drive these speakers...with varying results but usually good. Maybe an Amp with more current output, headroom, would be better for discussion as some 100 watt amps can't beat some 50 watt amps. Also, hundreds of watts? Doubt it, at least for home music listening for most people.
QUESTION: I have a system that I'm VERY happy with except for the bass and treble controls on the stereo amp. They don't add much. I'd like to add a non powered mixer between the CD player and the CD input on the amp. ( the mixer has nice preamps and good bass/treble pots) As long as I keep the output to a minimum, do you see any danger of burning out the CD input on the amp? Thanks (Scott, Halifax Nova Scotia)
Hello Paul! What about the impedance? Many 8 Ohms Speaker can go down to about 3 Ohms at certain frequencies and it will influence some amplifiers performance, resulting in a “bad match” experience for the listener
Also keep in mind a speaker can handle much higher short term busts of clean power than its conservatively rated power. Music is peaks and dips. A lower powered amplifier driven into distorted clipping can damage a speaker much easier than an amplifier with more clean power and clean headroom.
Hello Paul, I love watching your You Tube videos. You have taught me so much. I have a RCA RT2280 Would it be worth getting it fixed its something small not to big a problem. Also do yall work on amps or receivers thats not yalls brand ?
Paul, this was a very helpful video. I appreciate that you take time to share you knowledge. I do have a question about this video. At 3:40 you say, “if you buy a medium efficiency amplifier, say 90 dB, that means you can run that thing at an amplifier that’s 50 to 100 watts...”. Did you really mean, “if you buy a medium efficiency speaker...?” Thanks again.
Is sensitivity similar enough to efficiency to use the terms interchangeably? I just bought some speakers that have a Sensitivity rating of 90dB. Is that more less equivalent?
hey there, just found some old speakers in the loft, these are the specs for them. I have 6 of them in total but don't have a clue what sort of amp I need for them? I've watched the vid but am still struggling a bit lol: Main confusion is with multiple speakers... Does multiple speakers affect what amp I need? Power Handling: 300 Watt RMS System Sensitivity: 91 dB Impedance: 8 Ω
I just got a used Sunn beta bass 105 cab out of nerd purchase and I got a Peavey mini max 600w bass. Low volumes, sounds amazing. But at a show, will it blow out the 15" speaker?
I got some new speakers last week. They're big and should sound really good but they're a bit lacking with my Aiyima a07 class D amp. I think my amp delivers about 130 watts at 6 ohms but these speakers are rated at 250 watts, the speakers are 89db efficient (Yamaha NS-777 floor standing). I ended up wiring up a second pair of 6 ohm speakers to fill out the sound and make it sound richer. It sounds pretty good now but am shopping for a bigger amp, probably a class AB amp next time.
Appreciate the video. I have 4 each 2 ohm speakers and I am assuming they are pretty efficient since they call them premium speakers and I believe Rockford Fosgate made them for Harley Davidson. So 2 are 5.25 fairing speakers and 2 are 5X7's for the saddlebag lids, each 2 ohm rated. Any help on what I should look for as far as specs on the amp would be greatly appreciated. I discovered these four speakers have not been on an amp and I am just trying to go a cheapy route for improved sound, hoping adding an amp would make a nice difference.
Some one I know bought four 5x7 speakers 200w. They added up 4 times 200 thinking they now need 800 watts to get louder better sound. I hoped to find a video explaining this problem. Sometimes you just can't get a person to listen to what you're trying to say, but someone else they might listen too.
Fascinating. I never really knew what went on under the hood with this dB setting. So question: if you have speakers all in the 90s range, let's say 92 for all channels except the rear which is 86 dB sensitivity per 1 meter, would it be more effective (specifically if they were rated for lower wattage amplifier) to offset the more sensitive speakers down *or* would it be more effective to adjust the whole system relative to the amount of dB that those weaker links require and maintain a lower volume of output?
If you have a home cinema system the central unit with the measuring mic will do the job for you but answering your question. In the audio industry you should always bring something down, not up if you have less sensitive speakers you should bring down this more sensitive and then your maximum volume will be limited by your rear speakers power handling. If you do it the other way. You bring your back speakers 6db up, you will have to set master gain to -6 db (to maintain 0db on your rear speakers but 0 db in this case is set by power handling of your rear speakers) so the result will be the same if you bring down your front speakers 6db. The reason for bringing down is to maintain unity gain betwin the units lets say u have dsp unit and power amplifier if you give your power amplifier +6db signal you can potentially overdrive your amp input stage (you can overdrive the output of dsp too) and you will get the distorted signal from the amp even when you set him to -6db ( wich will give 0 db signal on output calculated from your rear speakers handling). Ofc you have to make sure this 0 db is not above your amplifiers max voltage and power handling. Don't forget to take distance from the speakers to you into consideration if one speaker is closer to you u will hear it better so you need to compensate it too.
I have a amplifier that kicks out 25w to my 50w speakers at 8 ohm. Will this be an okay setup? What will the sound quality be like? The speakers are quite large and big drivers. Thanks dude.
great video! i have 4 speakers to connect to amp. one pair speakers having specs: short 60w, long 90w, impedance 6ohm (recommend amp 25-90w). other pair is already mounted on the ceiling hence i have no idea about spec. Qns 1: i am wondering if i should purchase a 60w or 100w amp? Qns 2: by connecting 2 speakers in 1 channel, does it mean the ampilifier wattage will be divided to feed each speaker?
In this video from 2017 Paul says don’t get too high watt an amp to avoid speaker damage. In more recent videos, he says go big or go home. One final time, please clarify. Thanks much.
I've read from several sources that the required power doubles for every +3 dB needed. So a speaker with a sensitivity of 90 dB (1 W, 1 m) will consume half the power compared to a similar speaker with a sensitivity of 87 dB (1 W, 1 m) when both are playing the same material at the same volume. On the other hand, turning the amplifier up to gain +3 dB will double the wattage used unless the speaker or the amplifier is reaching its limits. 1 dB is very close to the smallest noticeable change in sound pressure. 3 dB is certainly noticeable but not very much of a change either. So, a small change in speaker sensitivity (or preferable listening level or dynamic range of records or room acoustics) could make a big difference in required amplifier power. Is this generally correct?
You are right - it is only 3 dB less in sound pressure an d it is so much as double less power drawn from amplifier. And it my be at 10 times less THD. That is someting to think about when purchasing power amp. because with grow of used electrical power up the reconstruction of sound quality starts to be problematic due to sizes of powerfull speakers. In reality we experience mostly sound coming from point-like sources. Much power requires more speakers so the size of radiating sound field is growing to much larger making perfection of sound impossible. For gaining reality sound I use minimum dimension speakers limited only by low tones efficiency and amplifiers not more than them at max 10% of capability. The art of sound reconstruction starts with speaker high efficency and little dimension of radiated sound field, not the high power.. For this pupose is developed by me crossover.
I think I learnt this while I was a teenager. Ever since then, I'd only want hi eff speakers. How u do it is like, count how many doubles u can make starting from 1 watt, then 2, 4, 8, 16. In this example, there are four increments of 3 dB, and multiplying them gets u 12 dB, 12 here meaning u can have 12 dB of dynamics above yr speaker's efficiency quote. So for my JBL 4320, running at 96 dB@1watt at 1 metre, if I have n amp of 15 watts or so, my system gets me 108 dB tops.
Hi Paul! I have old Bose pls1210, its said 85w. I connect it with my Sennheiser hd6xx through 6.3mm and its sound pretty nice. Is 85w too much, i mean if there is any chance it harm my headphones? Thanks for reading ❤❤❤
Can I run a pair of 8 ohms and 6 ohms speakers at the same time? My amp is rated for 4-8 ohms. Owners manual says I can run 2 pairs of 8 ohms but not to mix 4 ohms and 8 ohms. Cambridge AXR85 amp. Only 85 watts per channel. Don't really crank it up...seems to be running cool enough/no sign of overheating. I appreciate your technical expertise and really enjoy channel.
I just purchased the Graham ls 6 speakers and am planning to pair them with a NAD C399 amplifier. The speakers are 8 ohm with an impedance of 87 db’s and recommended amplifier power of 50-150 watts. The NAD C399 has continuous power of 180 watts per channel into 4/8 ohms. Would that pairing work even though the speakers’ recommended amplifier range (50-150 watts per channel) is lower than the NAD’s (180 watts)?
Hi Paul, I have a Denon AV Receiver 6700, currently it is set up as 5.1.4 with all 6ohms speakers and now I would like to add 2 rear surrounds to make it as 7.1.4. I have pair of Denon Speakers that came along with my Denon CEOL RCD-N8 Receiver, it's a 6ohms 60W RMS and 120W Peak. My question is to know whether I shall connect it with my Denon AV Receiver or not, because the Surround output is mentioned as 175W + 17W at 6ohms with 2 channels driven. Could you please advise. Thank you.
Hello Paul, I really learnt a lot from this video…thanks a bunch!! Just have a question … I have a Sony TA AX310 amplifier which has an output of 32W (RMS) per channel with an impedance of 8ohms. Signal to Noise ratio is 70dB. Kindly suggest what speakers would be best suited. I am a music lover and wish to enjoy my collection of songs…warm regards from India 🇮🇳
Hi, I am setting up a marantz sr6015 with 5.1.2, where I am using thx504L for centre ch and thx 502L for front leg and right. Rp 402s for surround and cs18 C for the atmos ceiling speakers.. Here I am not too sure abt the centre speaker, if it is appropriate for this amp or I should go with thx 502-L? Because in the description it is recommended for 150w amp?
