Hungry DIY 4ohm's

[walter duque]

Here are a few amps in your price range on audiogon that might be good for you

2-channel
Adcom GFA-5800

3-channel
B&K Reference 4430

5-channel
Sunfire Cinema Grand

6-channel
ATI1506

7-channel
2 different B&K Reference 200.7 amps, at the same asking price (second amp link)

Nice selection, all good amps.

 

[Haaspac]

After doing some shopping around, I was able to find a brand new Verastarr Studio 6.4 amp for sale for $3k Verastarr Audio - Studio 6.4 Amplifier. It's 600 wpc x6 into 4ohms so thats less than $1 per watt. This is where I get confused. I was under the impression that having a ton of power, more than you need, wasn't a bad thing, but can be a good thing in lowering the noise floor and having a good amount of headroom so as not to overwork the amp etc.

After getting off the phone with my co-worker he says the amp itself is a great deal, but it could be potentially dangerous for the speakers we are building because it is just SO much more power than he feels is necessary. The towers would be fine with all that power but the center and rears just dont need anything close to 600 watts. We listened to the pod races from starwars ep 1 at close to 110db with an onkyo receiver/amp with 220-250wpc and he said to me "did you miss anything in the sound with that much power? Do you really think you need more than double that power?" He went on to say that even though everything is 4ohm, the center and rears really only need 150-200 watts to perform fantastically at high volume, and 600 might actually damage them at high volumes.

 

[walter duque]

After doing some shopping around, I was able to find a brand new Verastarr Studio 6.4 amp for sale for $3k Verastarr Audio - Studio 6.4 Amplifier. It's 600 wpc x6 into 4ohms so thats less than $1 per watt. This is where I get confused. I was under the impression that having a ton of power, more than you need, wasn't a bad thing, but can be a good thing in lowering the noise floor and having a good amount of headroom so as not to overwork the amp etc.

After getting off the phone with my co-worker he says the amp itself is a great deal, but it could be potentially dangerous for the speakers we are building because it is just SO much more power than he feels is necessary. The towers would be fine with all that power but the center and rears just dont need anything close to 600 watts. We listened to the pod races from starwars ep 1 at close to 110db with an onkyo receiver/amp with 220-250wpc and he said to me "did you miss anything in the sound with that much power? Do you really think you need more than double that power?" He went on to say that even though everything is 4ohm, the center and rears really only need 150-200 watts to perform fantastically at high volume, and 600 might actually damage them at high volumes.

I have my center cc-3wc bi-amped with the cinepro. It's rated at 220 watts max. I crank my system into almost clipping and never had a problem. As long as the power is clean you're good to go, at least with my speakers, even my rear surrounds http://www.sourcespeaker.com/LS26.html are getting 350 watts.
When you realize it the most with a high powered amp is when you start going from 0db to +3db and then to +6db. That's when you find out if you got the juice. Most pople do not require that kind of volume, I just like to have it on hand, just in case I feel like I need a good fix.

 

[Haaspac]

Would you put double the power to your rears that you have now? double to the center? When its rated max is 150 and you put 600 continuous to it would that damage it?

 

[GranteedEV]

After doing some shopping around, I was able to find a brand new Verastarr Studio 6.4 amp for sale for $3k Verastarr Audio - Studio 6.4 Amplifier. It's 600 wpc x6 into 4ohms so thats less than $1 per watt. This is where I get confused. I was under the impression that having a ton of power, more than you need, wasn't a bad thing, but can be a good thing in lowering the noise floor and having a good amount of headroom so as not to overwork the amp etc.

After getting off the phone with my co-worker he says the amp itself is a great deal, but it could be potentially dangerous for the speakers we are building because it is just SO much more power than he feels is necessary. The towers would be fine with all that power but the center and rears just dont need anything close to 600 watts. We listened to the pod races from starwars ep 1 at close to 110db with an onkyo receiver/amp with 220-250wpc and he said to me "did you miss anything in the sound with that much power? Do you really think you need more than double that power?" He went on to say that even though everything is 4ohm, the center and rears really only need 150-200 watts to perform fantastically at high volume, and 600 might actually damage them at high volumes.

That verastar looks like a nice deal, with the nice brush finish chassis.

Is 600w too much power? Yes and No. If your amp isn't clipping right now then no it's just redundant but may be nice to have for headroom's sake. If you're listening loud enough to drive the amp into clipping then it's possible you could run a lot of current through your mains with a higher power amp and might just blow them.

I think chances are the only harm you're likely to do is to your wallet. If 3K seems reasonable to you for an amp (to me that's ridiculous) then swing for the fences.

Blowing your speakers has more to do with what you listen to and how loud you choose listen to it, than what amp you're using. My cheapo EMPs are rated for 250w while my amp can push 575w into 4 ohms and not once have I even tripped the tweeter protection circuit or bottomed a woofer. I like having the headroom on tap though. I find the speaker, and then the room, are bigger determinants. in max listenable SPL before the amp. JMO

 

[GranteedEV]

Would you put double the power to your rears that you have now? double to the center? When its rated max is 150 and you put 600 continuous to it would that damage it?

They're not going to get 600 continuous. they might have it on tap during complex passages but otherwise we normally only get 500mW to 5W continuous into our speakers. I think blowing a speaker driver is very difficult without specific content. It might be redundant to have a 600w amp driving them but that's it.

 

[Haaspac]

They're not going to get 600 continuous. they might have it on tap during complex passages but otherwise we normally only get 500mW to 5W continuous into our speakers. I think blowing a speaker driver is very difficult without specific content. It might be redundant to have a 600w amp driving them but that's it.

Then its looking like I'll probably get an xpa-5 at 300-350wpc x5 @4ohm and save myself 2200 bucks. Now I just need a surround pre-pro with xlr outs. Know of one for 1k-ish?

edit: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1324827429&/Onkyo-Pr-SC5508- that looks like a good deal
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1327034648&/Onkyo-PR-SC886-Surround-Preamp does also, I wonder whats the difference between the two.
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1326250298&/Integra-DHC-80.2-audio/video-p integra dhc 80.2 for 1700

 

[walter duque]

Would you put double the power to your rears that you have now? double to the center? When its rated max is 150 and you put 600 continuous to it would that damage it?

My center channel is the only one that I have biamped with 350 wattsX2 into 8 ohms and 500 wattsx2 into 4 ohms. As long as its clean power they will not blow.