what happens with speakers that are briefly over powered?

pretzelfisch

I started to look for an amplifier to drive my lsim theater and as part of this I have found calculators like http://www.crownaudio.com/elect-pwr-req.htm which makes it look like I need 650 watts to produce 85db 3 meeters back leaving enough head room to hit the 105 db peaks.
The speakers I have are only rated at 250 watt, so what happens to them during a peak? Does this mean the speaker just cannot play reference level at 4 meters or should I be calculating referance just 1 meter from the speaker and not worry about the actual volume at my seating position?

cfrizz

Don't worry about it. More speakers are ruined by being underpowered rather than the other way around. My speakers are being powered by a Sunfire 405wpc 5 channel amp and they sound terrific. The speakers will only take what they need, what is important is that the power is there for them to take it.

I always recommend getting at least a 200wpc@ 8ohms amplifier. This is usually enough to drive any speaker to their full potential. It's better to have the power and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

So long as you don't get carried away with the volume knob, you will be just fine.

As I suggested in the other thread, since your wife would prefer a new amp, get the 5 channel Emotiva XPA-5 and sit back and enjoy your music and movies for years to come.