2 channel amp needed?

[thecodeman]

I have a pair of Wharfedale Valdus 500 floor standing speakers. They say "200W program" and if I understand that right, they prefer to have the 200W apiece. Now, I'm only driving them with my Onkyo TX-NR801 receiver, which is about 100w per channel - currently in 5.1 mode; the other 3 speakers are some Polk bookshelf speakers and a Polk subwoofer. Should I look into a 2 channel 200w amplifier for these speakers in order to keep from "underdriving" them? If so, what / who should I look for? Do I have to spend ~$2,500 on one from Monster (I know most of their products are snake oil laden) or even $1,000 for the Rotel RB1080? These speakers are very nice and I aquired them from a friend who was cleaning out his old studio equipment. Thanks in advance!

 

[Seth=L]

I wouldn't worry about underpowering them. Do you ever notice distortion at high volume? Those speakers are pretty efficient, 93db@1watt

 

[thecodeman]

I wouldn't worry about underpowering them. Do you ever notice distortion at high volume? Those speakers are pretty efficient, 93db@1watt

No, I haven't really noticed any distortion with them. Usually, it's "too loud" for everyone before I get to "reference listening" (0db) and spend most of my listening at -30 ~ -20 as noted on the receiver.

Thanks!

 

[MDS]

I have a pair of Wharfedale Valdus 500 floor standing speakers. They say "200W program" and if I understand that right, they prefer to have the 200W apiece. Now, I'm only driving them with my Onkyo TX-NR801 receiver, which is about 100w per channel - currently in 5.1 mode

200w program means that 200 watts is the maximum they can handle - not what they need. If they are indeed 93 dB sensitivity, if you could give them 200 watts per channel your ears would bleed.

Also with a receiver's power rating, 100 wpc is the most it can deliver. The vast majority of time you will only be using a few watts. Only on demanding peaks (transients) of the musical signal will the receiver be called upon to deliver anywhere near 100 wpc. Highly sensitive speakers require very little power to achieve loud volumes. You have no worries with your combination of receiver and speakers.

 

[bandit]

200 watts "program" is almost a worhtless spec. It doesn't doesn't mean the same thing as an amplifier that is rated at 100w RMS. Your current set up should drive these speakers just fine as they are quite effecient.

Bandit.

 

[thecodeman]

Thanks!

Thanks for all the replies guys! I had heard of Wharfedale before, but never heard them in person until I got these in my living room and they are far and above better than the simple bookshelf speakers I had. I just wanted to make sure I was giving them the correct power - coming from the car audio perspective under driving is the worst you can do for a speaker and I wanted to make sure I was ok with power.

 

[Nuglets]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I had heard of Wharfedale before, but never heard them in person until I got these in my living room and they are far and above better than the simple bookshelf speakers I had. I just wanted to make sure I was giving them the correct power - coming from the car audio perspective under driving is the worst you can do for a speaker and I wanted to make sure I was ok with power.

It's not the underpowering that is bad for the speakers. It's when you drive the amplifier to a level where the amplifier clips which gives you problems. If you have an enourmous room or very high preferred listening levels then you may want to consider a larger amp, but you seem to enjoy music at a "normal" level and your speaker's are quite efficient meaning you won't need much power to get relatively loud sound.