Amp outlet power source

H

HipSonic

Audioholic Intern
Partly that your speakers don't just run at 8 ohms, they dip to 4ohms too. Why do you need the headroom particularly? You plan on playing at ear bleeding levels constantly? Bridging speakers limits your ability for lower impedance, too. The 2502 per channel should be quite fine.
Maybe @earbleeding levels...lol! Seriously, though you probably just saved me 500.00
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
The amp says that it outputs 440 watts per channel, the max power handling of the speakers is 600 watts, so I figured if I run the amps in bridge mode I benefit from the extra headroom unless there is a factor that I'm not considering. That said, I am here to be educated if there's something I am missing, please advise.
You should never reach the point of not having enough power. If you do, you're either intentionally trying to deafen yourself or you truly don't understand the relationship between power and output level.

The fact that your speakers can handle 600W means nothing if you don't operate it at high SPL. That number comes from being tested in some way (it's not a universal testing method)- it's not a requirement. If each of your speakers outputs 93.5dB @1Watt (that's called 'sensitivity', not 'efficiency'), they'll output 113.5dB @100Watts, and you'll add another 6dB because you have two speakers and two channels. That comes to 119.5dB if the speakers were in an open, non-reverberant space, or a smaller place where the sound is absorbed but you aren't, you're in a building made for human occupancy, so you'll actually exceed 120dB. That number used to be called 'The threshold of pain' but now, it has been reduced to 'The threshold of feeling', which means you can feel the pressure in your ears. It's also well above the sound level that can cause permanent hearing damage and if you live near other people, it's definitely going to annoy the hell out of them.
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
The amp says that it outputs 440 watts per channel, the max power handling of the speakers is 600 watts, so I figured if I run the amps in bridge mode I benefit from the extra headroom unless there is a factor that I'm not considering. That said, I am here to be educated if there's something I am missing, please advise.
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to speaker ratings is that there's the numbers on the nameplate, and then there's the reality of what will happen if you press your luck. You said your speakers are rated at 600 watts. That's pretty much the rating where your tweeters will melt in to a pile of goo. If you apply max power, you could not only make your ears bleed but melt your tweeters in to table coasters.

Since you have indicated you put in dedicated 20 amp circuits (high fives, very cool idea if you have the coin) I would assume you still have a few coins left in your pocket to pick up a couple of very useful tools. I would recommend getting a Sound Pressure Meter. Typically, back in the olden days of yore, we got our SPL meters from Radio Shack. I think they're dead now, but ebay and the internet have gobs of pressure meters. Spend a couple of bucks and then fire up the meter and see what db of sound level you start to produce as you crank the system up.

I'm willing to wager that for music, once you cross a certain threshold, far from any power maximums, you will be pushing a sound level that's hazardous to your hearing. Pay attention to that meter. If you push over a safe level, it truly can damage your ears.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should :)
 
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