Will I tangibly benefit from adding power?

[Chrispy]

I understood about half, but got the jist of it. Thank you all for explaining it in layman’s terms to me.

I wish they had a 3 channel for all my fronts. I suppose I could use a 4 if I pair them with the M106s later.

Like this one maybe https://www.buckeyeamp.com/shop/amplifiers/hypex/ncx500/3_channel

 

[MCarden]

Was also wondering if the 90dB was an average or peak reading as well as what weighting. Then again sometimes you just have to buy the amp for yourself BTDT.

I believe it was A with peaks of 94, average mid to upper 80s.

 

[Koeitje]

Yes, that is a common posting. I've not experienced that particularly with many amps and speakers over the years but I'm not expecting the amp to be magic or have capabilities it doesn't. YMMV.

I have experienced it. But that was when one amplifier was starting to clip at very high SPL levels and the other wasn't. When I went to Marantz PM-16 (Class AB 2x110W @ 8 Ohm) to Hypex NC400 (Class D 2x200W @ 8 Ohm) I noticed zero change.

 

[MCarden]

Okay, comforting.

 

[Soandso]

I believe it was A with peaks of 94, average mid to upper 80s.

Maybe use the “Z” weighting instead of dBA which is unweighted. I recall one savvy ASR member specifying that unweighted is more appropriate for testing sound. The dbA and dBC have different readings depending on which frequency is involved. Below is just an example; you can see that complete data for both 1/3rd and also full octave weightings at website nti-audio dot com; titled “Frequency-weightings for sound level measurements”. Citation: below partial chart screen shot for illustration is from nti-audio.

 

[MCarden]

Like this one maybe https://www.buckeyeamp.com/shop/amplifiers/hypex/ncx500/3_channel

It has 380 wpc at 8 ohms while the speakers are listed at 50-350. Is that a conflict?

 

[Chrispy]

It has 380 wpc at 8 ohms while the speakers are listed at 50-350. Is that a conflict?

Not particularly, some rules of thumb say get an amp double your speaker rating, altho that might be a bit much (and a more expensive amp). I certainly wouldn't try to put all the power to the speakers, they likely just won't sound very good at such levels anyways. Such an amp should be fine for a lot of different speakers, tho.

 

[Chrispy]

The volume control is a great way to control how much power....

 

[DanielT]

In addition to what has already been said.

Think about whether you are going to EQ and will therefore need, for example, 3 dB extra headroom for that operation. 3 dB is double the amp power.

Various listening distance and thus more power for the same sound level needs to be taken into account outdoors. Indoors, on the other hand, the listening room functions as a reverb chamber (considering all the reflexes). Thus, the sound level is approximately the same at different listening distances (exceptionally not extremely close to the speaker) in the room. Test it with a dB meter and you'll see. Even a free dB app will do to test it.
Intuitively, one already knows that this is the case. It is enough to walk around the listening room and listen.

 

[MCarden]

I contacted Buckeye, gave them the setup details and this was their reply;
The 3ch NCx500 is a completely different amplifier model/technology than the NC502MP. In nearly all situations, the 4ch NC502MP would be the best choice to make, in my opinion.

I sure appreciate everyone’s expertise and time sharing. Mike

 

[Grandzoltar]

I looked up your pioneer 9040 avr and it's 14 years old. Upgrading to a Denon x4800 with dirac would be the most noticable upgrade. Decoding the lastest codex, hdmi 2.1 and better internal amps. Ability to turn off amp sections for front 3 speakers for a separate amp in the future

 

[MCarden]

I looked up your pioneer 9040 avr and it's 14 years old. Upgrading to a Denon x4800 with dirac would be the most noticable upgrade. Decoding the lastest codex, hdmi 2.1 and better internal amps. Ability to turn off amp sections for front 3 speakers for a separate amp in the future

The Denon capabilities look fantastic. They exceed my familiarity so I’m gonna research and learn something. I have three systems so I can push the Pioneer into the man cave to replace a 40 year old Yamaha. Thank you for going the extra step.