Bi-amping 4 mono power amps in to reference speakers

[Phantomrad]

I have 4 x Audiolab power amps rated 240w at 4 ohms and 2 KEF reference floor standing speakers rated at 300w (at 4 ohms). They are set up passive.
My question. Are 2, 240W amps to much for one speaker or I am I right in thinking that both HF and LF are rated to 300w.
Basically is the speaker receiving 480w at full volume 180w over the 300w rating or can each pair of posts receive 300w.
Would it be fine to turn it up without damage?
I think I am fine but i want to make sure as I don't want to damage them.
I hope I am being clear, sorry.

 

[highfigh]

I have 4 x Audiolab power amps rated 240w at 4 ohms and 2 KEF reference floor standing speakers rated at 300w (at 4 ohms). They are set up passive.
My question. Are 2, 240W amps to much for one speaker or I am I right in thinking that both HF and LF are rated to 300w.
Basically is the speaker receiving 480w at full volume 180w over the 300w rating or can each pair of posts receive 300w.
Would it be fine to turn it up without damage?
I think I am fine but i want to make sure as I don't want to damage them.
I hope I am being clear, sorry.

Your speakers are rated for 300W, full range, total, under some random set of conditions that the manufacturer chose to follow, or maybe they just liked to see a 300W power rating. Speaker power ratings are often wrong, sometimes pure fiction and mostly optimistic. If you look at commercial speaker ratings, they read as if an engineer wrote them. That's because an engineer wrote them, not someone from a marketing department. If you bridge the amplifiers AND operate them at the maximum available power, your speakers will die.

Don't get me wrong- I like KEF speakers, but most manufacturers know that very few people will actually send the full power rating to their speakers but for what you're proposing- do the math.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Your tweeter is definitely not rated for 300W. Luck if it is rated at 20W by itself and more likely at 10W.
So, be careful or you will be replacing tweeters left and right.

Call the speaker maker and ask the power rating of each driver.

 

[PENG]

I have 4 x Audiolab power amps rated 240w at 4 ohms and 2 KEF reference floor standing speakers rated at 300w (at 4 ohms). They are set up passive.
My question. Are 2, 240W amps to much for one speaker or I am I right in thinking that both HF and LF are rated to 300w.

That's been dealt with by others.

Basically is the speaker receiving 480w at full volume 180w over the 300w rating or can each pair of posts receive 300w.

They can receive a lot more than 480 W if you crank the volume right up to maximum and it depends a lot of the input signal, and at above the amp's rated output, distortion could be high. For argument sake, some mp3 from you-tube are recorded at very high level so if you play those even with the volume set relatively low, you can still send more power than the speakers can handle so the answer really is, yes but it depends...

Would it be fine to turn it up without damage?

No it may not be fine at all.

I think I am fine but i want to make sure as I don't want to damage them.
I hope I am being clear, sorry.

If you turn the volume right up to maximum, again it still depends on the input signal, but there is a very good chance you can damage both the speakers and amplifiers though the speaker may blow first acting like fuses and save the amplifiers, or the amplifier may have a good protective scheme to shut itself down before anything blow up in smoke, but why take the chance?

You should use the calculator linked below to estimate the power output to support your listening sound pressure level in your environment.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

 

[KenM10759]

I'm curious to know just which model KEF Reference speaker they are because it would be fun to see how old they are, then find just how impossible it would be to find replacement tweeters, midrange and perhaps woofers.