Is 200 WPC enough ??

Robert Scott

I have a pair of SRS-SDA's hooked up to a Denon, POA- 2400 that is rated at 200 WPC,Is this enough power?? I was also told the SDA's are a 4 ohm speaker, whitch would make the Denon produce about 325 WPC. They sound great none the less. any feedback would be great.


Thank's Robert

mantis

Power.........what a topic......how does one know if one has enough or not......

Having alot of power like you already do well it can be answered by yourself.

Does the speakers play loud enough without distorting?

My better question is how does it sound?

This I need More Power thing I think is a MAN thing.....You really don't need it but want the feeling of having it.

How much power do you really need?

for most people a high current 60 watt amp will do the job wth most if not all speakers made.High current is key.Reserve power is key.High watts isn't always the thing to look for.....

TroyD

Your SDA's are fairly efficient for one so they don't *need* a lot of power. The Denon amp you have is more than sufficient.

BDT

F1nut

Robert,

200 wpc is plenty for your SDA's, but if you're not happy with the Denon then grab something else with more power. Rule of thumb, you can never have enough power.



Dan,

In a Zen state of mind tonight or have you been at the tea again?

Tour2ma

RS,

I always err on the side of more power... My motto: Better to have and not need, than to need and not have. The SRS's are nominal 5 ohm, so you have a bit less than 325 continuous going for you... maybe 260 or so is closer, but the headroom factor should be higher than at the 4 ohm rating. Is 260-ish wpc enough??? Maybe.

Some questions to help determine your needs:

Do you have a sub to handle the low end? Deep bass is where the power demands are. If your SRS's are being assisted, their amp's requirements drop.

What do you listen to? Classical, with its sizable dynamic range, is the most demanding music out there. DVD's can be every bit as demanding, especially if no sub is in play and the LFE is routed to the mains.

How loud do you listen? Rock at concert levels can eclipse the demands mantioned above, but at least for these... ummm... "well-traveled" ears, that is no longer the norm. Now concert hall/ movie theater levels, another story. I need 110 dB crescendos in "The Firebird" and FOTR's Sauron explosion... and then the return to 70 and 80 dB "listening" levels.

gidrah

If they "sound great none the less"; and I'm sure they do, don't sweat it. As long as you don't have a very large room and don't listen super loud you're golden.

Then again, Polks lika da' juice. If you're worried, pick up another Denon and bi-amp.

Tour: 110 db peek on Firebird? Your ears have traveled. I metered 100db in my small living room the other day via Fantasia 2000 the other day and thought the house was gonna collapse.

Tour2ma

OK... maybe it was only 108...

gidrah,
I can't find the sensitivity rating for the SRS in the manual. You got? I'm thinking it's like 91dB, but...

F1nut

It's 93dB, pretty damn good.

Tour2ma

Thanks F1...

The old Stereo Review article (which I still need to scan and ship to folks) reported 91 in their test. The article reads, "According to Polk, the actual impedance of the SDA-SRS varies dramatically with the program content and is also somewhat lower when both speakers are driven because of their dynamic interaction."

So listening at 4 m (~13') 1 w will produce 79 dB, ~82 (double the SPL) adding in the second speaker's contribution.

To hit 103 dB, a convenient 21 dB increase or 3 x 7, we're looking at a 2 to the 7th power increase = 128 wpc.

For 106 dB ===> 256 wpc...

Damn... anybody want to buy some amps?

Belay that, the article further says that in single cycle tone burst measurements their reference amp clipped:
- for 100 Hz at 1650 w into 6 ohms;
- for 1000 Hz at 765 w into 20 ohms; and
- for 10 kHz at 1265 w into 5 ohm.
The SRS's only winced at the 10k tone test.

Think I'll keep mine.

What was the question?

RS,
Sorry I went off there. Been cleaner if I said "I agree with gidrah," and went to sleep...

mantis

F1nut
The wind is what changes around here,forgive me.Rocky roads I have traveled as of late.The bumps where/are killing me.


Aside that

This topic is really not that hard.Once you determine that you have the amount of power required to power your speakers,the real question is how it sounds.Loud is loud,and if thats the goal then power up I say.I believe in quality over quanity.

Hear another day

Tour2ma

When is it ever hard once you know the answer?

In my experience in the wonderful world of amps, often, not always, but often, quantity and quality go hand in hand.

TroyD

When in school, people would ask 'is the test hard?'. Well, depends on if you know the material or not.

If we all agreed or there was one 'right' answer, there would be no need for discussion, would there?

BDT