Is this amp too much for this bookshelf speaker?

[henniferlopez]

I am kind of newbie when it comes to the technical jargon. I've been lurking for a while and dipping my toes into the passive bookshelf speaker market.

Very interested in these speakers.

Have not a single clue if the Benchmark amp will be too much power? Or for class D this Amphion? Excuse my ignorance in advance please.

 

[MAB]

I am kind of newbie when it comes to the technical jargon. I've been lurking for a while and dipping my toes into the passive bookshelf speaker market.

Very interested in these speakers.

Have not a single clue if the Benchmark amp will be too much power? Or for class D this Amphion? Excuse my ignorance in advance please.

Yes, the Benchmark amp will absolutely work.
Any good amp in the 100-200w range will work very well with those Geithain speakers.

 

[radix]

The speakers are rated up to 150W max. I'm not sure if they can really handle that much and still sound good. The Amphion is 700W into 4 ohms, so it's a bit of overkill. The benchmark is rated up to 190W into 4 ohms. That's much closer to the speaker.

That said, the thing to think about is how far away are you from the speakers when listening and how loud to you want to get? There are calculators that figure that out to avoid over-purchasing. Anyway, the benchmark plus those speakers would work.

 

[henniferlopez]

The speakers are rated up to 150W max. I'm not sure if they can really handle that much and still sound good. The Amphion is 700W into 4 ohms, so it's a bit of overkill. The benchmark is rated up to 190W into 4 ohms. That's much closer to the speaker.

That said, the thing to think about is how far away are you from the speakers when listening and how loud to you want to get? There are calculators that figure that out to avoid over-purchasing. Anyway, the benchmark plus those speakers would work.

It says the amphion will work for all of their studio monitors which in their words is achieved by "To reach the needed sonic performance, a proprietary in-house designed buffer stage compliments the merits of the latest Class-D technology." What does that mean? Why is it sooooo much more power? Simply because of the class D. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

 

[radix]

It says the amphion will work for all of their studio monitors which in their words is achieved by "To reach the needed sonic performance, a proprietary in-house designed buffer stage compliments the merits of the latest Class-D technology." What does that mean? Why is it sooooo much more power? Simply because of the class D. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Most amplifiers about double in power from 8-ohm to 4-ohm (there are some notable exceptions that give the same power over all loads). So the Benchmark is 100w @ 8-ohm and the Amphion is 350w @ 8-ohm. Generally, class D can be very powerful while keeping the heat and size down. The Benchmark is not a class D. So the short answer is, yeah the Amphoin is designed as a high-power amp that uses class D technology.

I, personally, have the AHB2 and really enjoy it. I use different speakers though.

In regards to it being "too much", if you always need to keep your volume control < 10% or 25% of the power, you have a very limited range of adjustment.

Using these calculators (https://www.crownaudio.com/en/tools/calculators), if you are 2m from the speakers and you listen to them at 90 dB SPL (pretty loud), then those speakers (85 dB sensitivity) will only need 50W. That includes a 6dB headroom. The benchmark could get them up to about 95dB SPL @ 2m, assuming they could handle that power (159 watts).

If you are further than 2m or want to listen really really loud (like 100 dB at your listening position), then you need bigger speakers. You should think about the distance and loudness first, then pick speakers that work with reasonable amps. Some speakers are much higher sensitivity than 85, and every 3 dB will double the perceived loudness. Finding 89 or 90 dB sensitivity speakers is not too hard.

 

[DVDdoug]

A speaker rated for 100W is supposed to be safe with a 100W amplifier hitting 100W on the program peaks (or any amplifier hitting 100W on the peaks). If you go over 100W you might damage the speaker or if you push the 100W amplifier into clipping it puts-out more average power and the distortion creates harmonics, boosting the power into the tweeter.

But it gets fuzzy because some program material is more dynamic (a higher peak-to-average ratio) and some is less dynamic with a higher average at the same peak, and it also depends on the frequency content because a tweeter can't handle as much power as a woofer.

...I don't know what they mean by Normal Power Capacity and Maximum Power Capacity.

If you don't "go crazy" and listen super-loud, or try to fill a big room with loud music, or let a drunk person at a party control the volume you can usually get-away with extra amplifier power. If you notice the speakers or amplifier distorting, turn it down!

 

[RayDunzl]

Have not a single clue if the Benchmark amp will be too much power?

A 50W Amp and a 1000W Amp, when playing a speaker at the same (normal) loudness, are delivering the same amount of power (prbably a handfull of watts, if even that).

So a "more powerful" amplifier is not, in itself, a problem.

"A little louder" requires the power delivered to the speaker to increase exponentially.

 

[RayDunzl]

Why is it sooooo much more power?

It has been designed to be able to output a higher voltage than the lower powered amplifier..

That is what "more power" boils down to.

 

[radix]

If you have an amp that delivers 1,000 watts and a speaker that only uses 1 to 10 watts, then the amp will only deliver 1 to 10 watts ..... that's all.

Hm, maybe that's a little misleading? The amp only delivers 1-10W because the operator set the volume control on the preamp (or dac or whatever) to a small amount so the input voltage to the amp is low. The amp is always running at full gain (well, some amps have a gain adjust on them). That means you likely have a much higher noise to the speakers because its a much lower input SNR. If you had a lower gain amplifier, you could give it a higher SNR input signal for the same speaker output.