Is my amp enough for my speakers?

[WideEyedToad]

I have Kef q300 bookshelf speakers. The size and front ports work great for my space. I've had them a few years and generally like the sound. I just feel like they are underpowered.
I'm pushing them with a Peachtree nova65se.
The kefs requirement is 15 to 120 watts, so the peachtree is about half that.

Is it advisable to add an amp to the peachtree? Or just get a new 2 channel amp to begin with?
The peachtree sounds very nice, looks simple and is simple, which was the reason I got it.
Is it worth it to get a more modern stereo with new tech?
I am running bluetooth currently, with a BT dongle with aptX (peachtree), using Tidal on my s25 ultra smart phone.
My listening space is about 24'x16'. And the speakers are in the middle, on the side of a 72" TV. Svs sb2000 subwoofer for the low end.

What would you do to make this sound louder and better on a budget? Let's say $1000 give or take.

 

[Jokke]

If it sounds good, what more do you need?

 

[Beave]

Your amp is probably enough to blow those speakers (if you play any bass-heavy content at high volumes).

A more powerful amp would just let you blow your speakers even easier.

Spending $1000 or so on an amp to power speakers that were sold on closeout for something like $300/pair is not a good use of resources.

If you're not happy with the sound, the first places to look are new speakers and EQ.

 

[WideEyedToad]

If it sounds good, what more do you need?

Volume. I want more volume.

 

[WideEyedToad]

Your amp is probably enough to blow those speakers (if you play any bass-heavy content at high volumes).

A more powerful amp would just let you blow your speakers even easier.

Spending $1000 or so on an amp to power speakers that were sold on closeout for something like $300/pair is not a good use of resources.

If you're not happy with the sound, the first places to look are new speakers and EQ.

But isn't my amp being 65 watts per channel limiting my choices in speakers?
Sorry I'm not very knowledgeable with this.

I enjoy music at high volume, and would like a little more without starting over, or least the least amount of replacing/upgrading.

 

[Beave]

How big is the room, and how far away from the speakers are you sitting?

The KEF Q300 works well in a smaller room, at lower volumes, and/or when sitting close to them. They don't work so well in filling a large room with sound, especially in the bass.

Again, speakers are where the biggest differences are to be heard.

 

[WideEyedToad]

How big is the room, and how far away from the speakers are you sitting?

The KEF Q300 works well in a smaller room, at lower volumes, and/or when sitting close to them. They don't work so well in filling a large room with sound, especially in the bass.

Again, speakers are where the biggest differences are to be heard.

I'm about 10' away from the speakers.

 

[Beave]

Also, are you using a subwoofer? If so, how do you have it set up with your Peachtree amp?

 

[WideEyedToad]

Svs sb2000.

So what bookshelf speakers would you recommend that would sound louder, but still have great sound?

 

[Beave]

How do you have the subwoofer setup with the Peachtree? I don't see any subwoofer outputs for it.

 

[WideEyedToad]

Preout and 12v trigger.

 

[WideEyedToad]

Will this allow me to play music directly instead of bluetooth? Better sound?

 

[kyuu]

But isn't my amp being 65 watts per channel limiting my choices in speakers?
Sorry I'm not very knowledgeable with this.

I enjoy music at high volume, and would like a little more without starting over, or least the least amount of replacing/upgrading.

Are you maxing out the volume controls on both the phone and the amp and are not getting loud enough? If so, this is a gain problem, not a power problem. It's a common misconception that you need a lot of power to get loud. Let's take a look at what just 1 Watt of power gets you in terms of SPL:

So without taking room gain into account at all, you can expect 80dB at the listening position with your speakers and the amp putting out just 1 Watt. Let's see the peak SPL at full power:

98.5dB peak. That's a little shy of the rule-of-thumb 20dB of headroom for transient peaks, but close enough that I doubt there will be much of a difference.

Honestly, if you want more volume your best bet is probably to get a different source that can provide a hotter signal (i.e. more gain) into the amp than your phone does over Bluetooth. However, after looking at the amp in question it's probably a poor performing amp whose frequency response is dependent on the load impedance and probably a bit of a distortion factory (e.g. a tube amp).

For a big upgrade in performance and usability I'd recommend just getting a Wiim Amp Pro. As a bonus, the 120W will enable you to listen at 80dB average SPL and get just over 21dB in headroom for dynamic peaks.

 

[WideEyedToad]

Are you maxing out the volume controls on both the phone and the amp and are not getting loud enough? If so, this is a gain problem, not a power problem. It's a common misconception that you need a lot of power to get loud. Let's take a look at what just 1 Watt of power gets you in terms of SPL:

View attachment 474002

So without taking room gain into account at all, you can expect 80dB at the listening position with your speakers and the amp putting out just 1 Watt. Let's see the peak SPL at full power:

View attachment 474003

98.5dB peak. That's a little shy of the rule-of-thumb 20dB of headroom for transient peaks, but close enough that I doubt there will be much of a difference.

Honestly, if you want more volume your best bet is probably to get a different source that can provide a hotter signal (i.e. more gain) into the amp than your phone does over Bluetooth. However, after looking at the amp in question it's probably a poor performing amp whose frequency response is dependent on the load impedance and probably a bit of a distortion factory (e.g. a tube amp).

For a big upgrade in performance and usability I'd recommend just getting a Wiim Amp Pro. As a bonus, the 120W will enable you to listen at 80dB average SPL and get just over 21dB in headroom for dynamic peaks.

Is that something I could plug my phone directly into? Or have to use a Bluetooth dongle?

 

[JeremyFife]

As others have said, there's nothing really wrong with your Amp and you should have enough power.

Two areas to look at if you want louder:

• more sensitive speakers (their efficiency in turning watts into SPL). Your Kefs are rated 88dB which is not inefficient. You can get speakers with higher sensitivity, and a speaker upgrade is almost always a good thing too.
• Input. Probably the simplest change. Do you know what your Bluetooth dongle outputs? A common standard now is 2v, anything less and you are throttling your Amp (not giving it enough input - so no wonder that it can't give your expected output). Dongles can be less than 2v.

Can you try any other line-in sources (CD Player if there's one around?) and see if the volume is better?

Personally, I'd try a WiiM Mini ($90) connected to your optical input - stream Tidal from that. You'll get a hotter signal plus many other benefits.

 

[Roland68]

I have Kef q300 bookshelf speakers. The size and front ports work great for my space. I've had them a few years and generally like the sound. I just feel like they are underpowered.
I'm pushing them with a Peachtree nova65se.
The kefs requirement is 15 to 120 watts, so the peachtree is about half that.

Is it advisable to add an amp to the peachtree? Or just get a new 2 channel amp to begin with?
The peachtree sounds very nice, looks simple and is simple, which was the reason I got it.
Is it worth it to get a more modern stereo with new tech?
I am running bluetooth currently, with a BT dongle with aptX (peachtree), using Tidal on my s25 ultra smart phone.
My listening space is about 24'x16'. And the speakers are in the middle, on the side of a 72" TV. Svs sb2000 subwoofer for the low end.

What would you do to make this sound louder and better on a budget? Let's say $1000 give or take.

You write that you find your speakers too weak, but they're just small bookshelf speakers. You need either larger speakers or half an active subwoofer for support.
Because no matter how much power you give your Kef Q300 to overcome its weakness, it will only damage it in the long run.

Get a pair of Heco Aurora 700s or 1000s (depending on the room size), for example, and your amplifier will have enough power to get the neighbors in trouble.

 

[Power Pop 23]

As others have said, there's nothing really wrong with your Amp and you should have enough power.

Two areas to look at if you want louder:

• more sensitive speakers (their efficiency in turning watts into SPL). Your Kefs are rated 88dB which is not inefficient. You can get speakers with higher sensitivity, and a speaker upgrade is almost always a good thing too.
• Input. Probably the simplest change. Do you know what your Bluetooth dongle outputs? A common standard now is 2v, anything less and you are throttling your Amp (not giving it enough input - so no wonder that it can't give your expected output). Dongles can be less than 2v.

Can you try any other line-in sources (CD Player if there's one around?) and see if the volume is better?

Personally, I'd try a WiiM Mini ($90) connected to your optical input - stream Tidal from that. You'll get a hotter signal plus many other benefits.

Agreed. Consider first trying another source. A WiiM Mini can also apply room correction to your listening space.

 

[pjug]

Are you maxing out the volume controls on both the phone and the amp and are not getting loud enough? If so, this is a gain problem, not a power problem.

I think @kyuu is probably correct. FWIW I have the same problem with bluetooth giving very low volume in my car. I think it is a common problem with bluetooth devices. I would try the wired connection and see if that solves the issue.

 

[kyuu]

Is that something I could plug my phone directly into? Or have to use a Bluetooth dongle?

You wouldn't need a Bluetooth dongle, the Wiims all have Bluetooth built-in. You can also just play music directly from any of the major streaming services (Tidal/Spotify/Quboz Connect) or from a UPnP/DLNA music server. Or, if you're using a local music library but don't have a server, you can load the music onto a USB dongle and plug that in. Finally, the Wiim app will be able to see any music stored locally on your phone and you can play it via wifi if both your phone and the Wiim are on the same wifi network.

 

[Power Pop 23]

The O/P is using the AptX Bluetooth codec and as I understand it, WiiM supports the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs, if that matters.....