Hmmm. I was just estimating this myself. My speakers are about 86db/2.83v/1m, and at my ear position I was just measuring 104db peaks with an 92db average level. At 1m from the lower midrange driver I measured 111db peaks at the same listening level. So what do you think, somewhere between 250 and 500 watts on peaks?
Maybe closer to 20-75, depending on how large your room is, where the peaks lie in the spectrum, how many speakers were playing, and whether or not the signal going to them was in phase. Remember that (Klipsch and a few others excepted) sensitivity ratings are taken from anechoic chambers.
I thought my previous 125w/ch amps sounded a little strained.
Unless you heard "don't hurt me" type noises emanating from the amps themselves (it happens - try, for instance, a loud 5-200Hz swept sine on an 82dB/W/m subwoofer powered by a Dayton 240W plate amp) the amps
did not in fact sound strained. The
loudspeakers did. That is a very non-trivial distinction.
That kind of imprecise language can cause a lot of misconceptions. Amps are just gain blocks. They don't make sound, at least not any desirable sound. (Some do make sound, such as transformer buzz.)
Most folks definitely guess that low bass in music has lower frequencies than it really does. They're usually about 10Hz low. (They guess a 50Hz tone at 40Hz.)
That is true.
I don't trust denon's pre-outs to be all that great. I would get a Marantz SR6006
Don't see an issue there. 3.8V is enough to drive most amps to their full output power. Maybe not a QSC PL380 at its low-gain setting, but basically anything else. Furthermore, the amp's input circuitry cannot take unlimited voltage. Many consumer amps will clip all over an input of 8V. Too much gain on the front end of the amp can be just as bad as too much gain inside the amp.
Even in car audio, where noise is a much bigger problem, 3.8V measured preouts are above the norm. Most are closer to 2V average, 4V peak.
I will be listening to a an even mix of stereo music and home theatre and I think that the phil 3s will allow me to get excellent range without immediately feeling the need for a sub or multiple subs,
Keep in mind that
all two-speaker systems suck in the bass. No exceptions. (Dipoles like the Linkwitz Orions or Emerald Physics are better than monopoles, but still not as good as multiple subwoofers.) Double-digit SPL swings in the modal region are the norm.
Let's take the Revel Ultima Salon/2. We can all agree that it's a superb loudspeaker, and one with notably deep bass extension. Well, here's a very smoothed in-room measurement from the listening room of Dr. Fred Kaplan, who writes Slate's "War Stories" column and is also a contributor to Stereophile:
Revels are the red trace. The blue trace is a lesser and probably more expensive loudspeaker.
If high fidelity is the goal, multiple subs are simply not optional. Fortunately, with multiples one gets increased efficiency and output. So each individual sub doesn't need to be SVS Ultra/Velo DD18+ sized. Rather, something like three of SVS's little sealed XXLS12-based subs, EQ'ed by a miniDSP, will be plenty for most people. So, if you care about high-fidelity audio reproduction, take ~$2k out of your electronics budget by getting a decent receiver (I still say the Anthem I mentioned is the best choice, because it has the best room correction system of all the AVR's mentioned, but none of them will be worse than that Marantz preamp you seem to like) and transfer it to your multisub budget.
Those Philharmonics deserve these Ncore modules
Except maybe for a prettier or smaller case, I fail to see what Hypex modules will do that the aforementioned Crown XLS Drivecore amp won't. (Drivecore over Peavey IPR because it's less of a light show, and the fan does not run continuously.) Only with DIY Hypexes there will be more time invested, higher initial cost, higher labor cost, lower resale value, and a higher likelihood of something going wrong.
Unless one just wants the experience of building an amp, or has very specific size/form-factor requirements that are not addressed by the commercial market at a reasonable cost, there's no reason to do so.
