Amp for pair of 120 watt speakers

[bananaphobia]

Hello. I'm looking for an amp for a pair of 120 watt speakers, and I don't know a whole lot. The speakers are for a tv, and nothing else, and I'd like to control the volume only using the tv remote. I have a few questions.
Does the wattage on the amp have to match the speaker wattage exactly? If so do I want a 120 watt amp or a 240 watt amp (120 per speaker). I know too much power is bad, but does too little hurt anything? I'm leaning towards an amp over a receiver, because I want something small, but that's not an absolute.
If anyone has an amp (or receiver) that you absolutely think I should look into, please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Adam]

Hi. To answer some of your questions:

1. No, the power of the amp doesn't have to match the power rating of the speakers.

2. Having more power than you need in an amp won't hurt the speakers. If you crank the volume, then sure...too much power can hurt them. However, it's nice to have power in reserve...that way, you know that the amp isn't hitting its limits.

3. Having too little power can certainly hurt the speakers. You would hear the speakers sounding strained. An amp that doesn't have enough power to play as loud as you like can clip when pushed to the limit, and that can hurt your speakers.

EDIT: Something that is important is to make sure that the amp can handle the impedance of the speakers. What speakers do you have, or alternatively if you know, what is the rated impedance of the speakers?

 

[bananaphobia]

Hi. To answer some of your questions:



EDIT: Something that is important is to make sure that the amp can handle the impedance of the speakers. What speakers do you have, or alternatively if you know, what is the rated impedance of the speakers?

Sorry, meant to include that. 8 ohms.

 

[Adam]

I forgot to ask - do you know if your TV has a variable audio output (i.e., you can control the output using the TV's volume control)? Some do, some don't. If you're not sure, just let us know which TV you have. We can look into that.

BTW, 8-ohm speakers are great. A lot of equipment can drive those.

Do you know the sensitivity of them (usually rated in dB)? A higher sensitivity means that you need less power to drive them to a certain volume level as compared to a lower sensitivity speaker.

EDIT: Also, what is your budget for the amp?

 

[bananaphobia]

I forgot to ask - do you know if your TV has a variable audio output (i.e., you can control the output using the TV's volume control)? Some do, some don't. If you're not sure, just let us know which TV you have. We can look into that.

BTW, 8-ohm speakers are great. A lot of equipment can drive those.

Do you know the sensitivity of them (usually rated in dB)? A higher sensitivity means that you need less power to drive them to a certain volume level as compared to a lower sensitivity speaker.

EDIT: Also, what is your budget for the amp?

Actually, it's not for me, I'm asking this on behalf of my dad, who knows much less than I do. I'll have to ask him these questions tomorrow, as it's getting late in these parts. I will certainly have more info tomorrow. Thanks for your help so far!

 

[GZA]

I forgot to ask - do you know if your TV has a variable audio output (i.e., you can control the output using the TV's volume control)? Some do, some don't. If you're not sure, just let us know which TV you have. We can look into that.

BTW, 8-ohm speakers are great. A lot of equipment can drive those.

Do you know the sensitivity of them (usually rated in dB)? A higher sensitivity means that you need less power to drive them to a certain volume level as compared to a lower sensitivity speaker.

EDIT: Also, what is your budget for the amp?

Do you think my receiver can handle my speakers or should i upgrade. i only ask because im worried about under powering my and doing damage. my speakers are 8ohms, 250 watts and 90dB and my receiver is 50 watts

 

[Adam]

Do you think my receiver can handle my speakers or should i upgrade. i only ask because im worried about under powering my and doing damage. my speakers are 8ohms, 250 watts and 90dB and my receiver is 50 watts

The underpowering part would almost certainly be obvious to your ears. If you crank up the volume on your amp and the speakers sound strained and distorted...then you are pushing your amp too hard (assuming everything else is working fine). I'm not an expert on clipping and damaging speakers, but others here know a good bit about it.

The rating of the speaker doesn't matter all that much, IMO. Also, 50W isn't really that low for a receiver, if it's RMS. Most of the time, most people are using less than 1W to drive a speaker. Yep, that little. When you crank it up for a great song or a movie, then you are using more power.

In a nutshell - if your system sounds fine, then it is.

 

[bananaphobia]

I forgot to ask - do you know if your TV has a variable audio output (i.e., you can control the output using the TV's volume control)? Some do, some don't. If you're not sure, just let us know which TV you have. We can look into that.

BTW, 8-ohm speakers are great. A lot of equipment can drive those.

Do you know the sensitivity of them (usually rated in dB)? A higher sensitivity means that you need less power to drive them to a certain volume level as compared to a lower sensitivity speaker.

EDIT: Also, what is your budget for the amp?

OK, here we go. I'm not sure if the tv has variable audio output. It's a Samsung LN-T5271F. You can dowload the manual from here.

Sensitivity is 87db, budget is $200 or less.

 

[bigred7078]

Just to clarify,

-the rating on a speaker is a continuous power rating spec. meaning constant
-the rating on a receiver is a variable rated spec. meaning it changes

So say you have a 200 watt per channel amp, and your speakers are rated for 150 watts, this does not mean you will drive your speakers to hard. If you were able to send 200 watts continuous...well..you have one hell of an amp! lol.

As was touched on already, speakers are rated at a variable output. They provide the speakers with as much power as the speakers demands for that moment whether it be an extreme moment in a movie or a partcularly demanding portion of a song.