Amp and Speakers power ratio

[OmniDir]

I am about to upgrade my system. A salesperson at a very respected audiophile store is recommending me an amplifier that has only 3/4 the nominal power compared to that of the speakers that I am looking at. He says that as long as I don't intend to play at crazy levels, it won't be a problem. Is he correct?

Store: AudioConcept in Stockholm, Sweden
Amplifier: HarmanKardon BDS277 - 65 nominal watts at 8 ohms
Speakers: Grundig Audiorama 9000 - 120 nominal watts at 6 ohms

Everywhere I turn for advice, I am presented with the rule of thumb 2:1 ratio (amp:speakers) for nominal power, with warnings that a too weak an amplifier might damage the speakers. (The amp/speaker combo I'm being recommended roughly has a 3:4 ratio)

My question is this:
Does the 2:1 power ratio apply only at amp clipping levels? Or is important also when playing at moderate levels?

[Irvrobinson]

The ratios are meaningless, mostly because speaker power ratings are meaningless. What matters are the sensitivity and efficiency of the speakers, how large the room is you want to put them in, and how loud you want the sound levels to be. How big is your room?

[twoeyedbob]

Basically any amp can damage any spkr's...if the operator
Has no idea what distortion sounds like...or is deaf.
Most manufacturers measure power in different ways
Therefore making it nigh on impossible to work out these ratio's.
High end stuff is usually measured properly..making it look like
It hardly produces any power

Whereas cheap s**t usually has 2000 WATTS splattered all over the box ,..while actually producing nearer 20 watts.
Basically ....most of these numbers are pretty meaningless.

Expensive,heavy amp with small cheap spkrs...bad
Cheap,lightweight amp with big expensive multidriver tower's..
Also bad

From a quick glance your stuff doesnt look likely to
Cause any problems...whether it sounds any good is another matter

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[markw]

That's the credo that salesman lives by. His quote "He says that as long as I don't intend to play at crazy levels, it won't be a problem." is correct, but it has nothing to do with his self imposed ratio.

Any amp can damage any speakers if one is stupid.

You can have a high powered amp with low power rated speakers or a low powered amp with high power rated speakers.

All you have to do is listen and use your head.

If it starts to sound bad, distorted, funky, or in any way abnormal, turn it down immediately. That's the sound that something is not happy.

[j_garcia]

Can we just make this a sticky or a tip of the day? This one seems to need to be answered at least twice a week.

[twoeyedbob]

Good idea...although from previous experience...it'll still be
Asked twice a week :-(

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[OmniDir]

The room is approx. 40 m2, ceiling is about 2.60 m.

The system will serve both tv/movie watching and music listening. We will be in stereo the sweet spot only when watching tv. But we listen to music a lot also sitting at the dinner table or cooking in the open kitchen. This is why I opted for the omnidirectional Audiorama speakers.

[j_garcia]

40m? That's a big room. Even with a very sensitive speaker, that is going to be hard to fill with 65W, however if you are only interested in average listening levels, it will likely be sufficient.

[twoeyedbob]

The room is approx. 40 m2, ceiling is about 2.60 m.

The system will serve both tv/movie watching and music listening. We will be in stereo the sweet spot only when watching tv. But we listen to music a lot also sitting at the dinner table or cooking in the open kitchen. This is why I opted for the omnidirectional Audiorama speakers.

Most av amp's have the option of a second zone
Surely a Better idea than compromising everything else
?

Sorry if i'm mistaken ...not sure what you have available in sweden...but £899 (uk price) for effectively a
Entry level bluray/2 channel (65watt max ?) receiver ....seems a vast amount of money
I would also be concerned(given they're design) that the spkrs will be particularly low on bass output
Also,.. the effect '360 degree sound' will have on any sort of imaging..or 'sweet spot'
Combine this with a fairly large room......


Not good..imo
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[Irvrobinson]

40m? That's a big room. Even with a very sensitive speaker, that is going to be hard to fill with 65W, however if you are only interested in average listening levels, it will likely be sufficient.

That's not so big, about equivalent to 21ftx20ft (430 sqft) for those of us with a metric aversion. 65W should be okay. I don't think those speakers will play all that loudly with reasonable distortion anyway.