Pushing the Monitor 50's

zombiemusic

So with the help of the forum and some searching, I am going to be able to get all of my inherited vintage gear repaired and refurbished! (Phase Linear 4000 preamp, and a HK Citation 16 amp.) Of course all of this refebushing is going to cost me most of my income tax check so I am going to have to wait to get my dream speakers (RTi A9 cherry). With that being said, for a better part of a year I will be using my Monitor 50's which will one day be strickly HT, I will also be using a sub to take away some bass stress. My question to you is how much can I push these speakers? The amp is rated at 150 watts min, while the speakers top out at 150 watts. Has anyone had expierience using these for two channel (ok 2.1) listening with such a powerful amp? I just want to know what to watch out for so I don't blow more stuff up.

cfrizz

Hi ZM. You will be just fine with that amp. More speakers are damaged by not having enough power rather than too much. Your ears will give out before the speakers do.

All of my speakers are driven by a 5 channel 405wpc amp! They sound GREAT!

comfortablycurt

Speakers operate most cleanly and efficiently when driven in the upper third of their power handling capacity. So you'll be fine.

zombiemusic

Thanks people. I did not know that about speakers working better closer to their power handling capability, but when you think about it, it does make sence. And Cfrizz how much does that amp of yours weigh?

comfortablycurt

zombiemusic wrote: »

Thanks people. I did not know that about speakers working better closer to their power handling capability, but when you think about it, it does make sence. And Cfrizz how much does that amp of yours weigh?

I'm not familiar with that amp, but I'm going to guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pounds or so.

cfrizz

My Sunfire weighs in at a hefty 43lbs!:D

This is the only reason I have a 5 channel amp. It was at the time, the only one that I can physically lift!

Weight is a very important consideration for me when I'm looking at gear. 40-45lbs is my limit.

It's the reason I don't have a pair of LSI 15's! If I had to move them I wouldn't be able to.

comfortablycurt

cfrizz wrote: »

My Sunfire weighs in at a hefty 43lbs!:D

This is the only reason I have a 5 channel amp. It was at the time, the only one that I can physically lift!

Weight is a very important consideration for me when I'm looking at gear. 40-45lbs is my limit.

It's the reason I don't have a pair of LSI 15's! If I had to move them I wouldn't be able to.

Wow, that's really light. Most of the 5 channel amps I've seen out there weigh upwards of 75 pounds, and more in the neighborhood of 100ish.

How much did that amp run ya? I've been looking at the Sunfires a little bit lately. Sound good? I know they have a great reputation around these parts.

cfrizz

I bought it from a member on here. I think I paid 1800.00. I bought my Sunfire TGP from Audiogon for 1100.00.

It sounds great, looks great, runs nice & cool. I'm a very happy camper!

comfortablycurt

cfrizz wrote: »

I bought it from a member on here. I think I paid 1800.00. I bought my Sunfire TGP from Audiogon for 1100.00.

It sounds great, looks great, runs nice & cool. I'm a very happy camper!

Well maybe I'll have to look into one of these sometime down the line when I can afford to drop 1800 on an amp...lol I think that's a bit out of the ballpark currently though.

I do definitely want to try a Sunfire sometime though. Sunfire is a part of Carver aren't they? I used to use a Carver guitar amp head in my guitar rig...and that thing was badass. One of the few pieces of guitar equipment that I truly regret selling. The range and clarity on that thing was amazing...Oh well,I guess I'll just sit back and be happy with my Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier.

zombiemusic

wow, I guess modern amps can be a lot lighter than the old days. My Citation 16 is about 55lbs I think. And I am going to say that anything Carver did would be good. I am just know sending my Phase Linear 4000 off to get referbished. My dad bought about 35 years ago. and time finally caught up with it. I can not wait to get all of that stuff back. I feel so lacking listening to music now through my cheap HT reciever.

cfrizz

Perfectly understandable. I purchased my amp in July of 2006. I didn't get my prepro until Sept 2007. It took that long for me to wait for it at a price I was willing to pay.

Most guys don't have that kind of patience.:p

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Well maybe I'll have to look into one of these sometime down the line when I can afford to drop 1800 on an amp...lol I think that's a bit out of the ballpark currently though.

comfortablycurt

cfrizz wrote: »

Perfectly understandable. I purchased my amp in July of 2006. I didn't get my prepro until Sept 2007. It took that long for me to wait for it at a price I was willing to pay.

Most guys don't have that kind of patience.:p

That's kind of what I've been thinking about. I've been planning on upgrading my Onk 606 to an 806 so that I have the pre-amp outputs, now I'm just thinking I might save up to get a pre-amp, and just leave it to the side until I can save up enough for a power amp as well. I don't know...time will tell I guess. It would be hard to stare at an unusable preamp for a few months...lol...I'm sure my end results would be much better though.

I like to think I'm a fairly patient guy though...so I'm sure I could manage it...:p

cfrizz

Oh, I guess I should point out that I ran everything off of a Denon 3802 which did have preouts until I could buy the prepro. So I was lucky in that aspect.

I have been very luck with all of my purchases, mostly because I have NEVER just gotten whatever was the cheapest thing on the market. When I got my Denon, I wanted something that could match the Rotel separates that I had in place. Needless to say the Denon cost over $900.00. It would have cost 1100.00 but the week I bought it they had marked it down.

I didn't even know that it had preouts, till someone on here told me that it did.:D Now I know a lot more about the subject & I make sure I do my research before making a purchase.

A lot of bad purchases can be avoided with a lot of patience & proper research.:)

comfortablycurt wrote: »

That's kind of what I've been thinking about. I've been planning on upgrading my Onk 606 to an 806 so that I have the pre-amp outputs, now I'm just thinking I might save up to get a pre-amp, and just leave it to the side until I can save up enough for a power amp as well. I don't know...time will tell I guess. It would be hard to stare at an unusable preamp for a few months...lol...I'm sure my end results would be much better though.

I like to think I'm a fairly patient guy though...so I'm sure I could manage it...:p

comfortablycurt

cfrizz wrote: »

Oh, I guess I should point out that I ran everything off of a Denon 3802 which did have preouts until I could buy the prepro. So I was lucky in that aspect.

I have been very luck with all of my purchases, mostly because I have NEVER just gotten whatever was the cheapest thing on the market. When I got my Denon, I wanted something that could match the Rotel separates that I had in place. Needless to say the Denon cost over $900.00. It would have cost 1100.00 but the week I bought it they had marked it down.

I didn't even know that it had preouts, till someone on here told me that it did.:D Now I know a lot more about the subject & I make sure I do my research before making a purchase.

A lot of bad purchases can be avoided with a lot of patience & proper research.:)

Yeah, that's my problem. I didn't really research it enough when I bought my 606. In hindsight I wish I would have waited a little longer until I could afford the 806, but you know what they say about hindsight, it's always 20/20.

So I don't know if I should just get a pre/pro and just leave it to the side until I can afford a power amp, or just get the 806...I'm not in a huge hurry to do either one anyway, so I guess I've got some time to figure it out.

cfrizz

I just looked at your system. You could get the 806 now, it won't have any trouble pushing your speakers.

Then once you have rebuilt the funds you can get the amp. Then once you have rebuilt the funds again you can get the prepro.

Unless you truly want an all separates system. Good luck with whatever you decide.

comfortablycurt

That's what I'll probably end up doing. After I get the RTi setup that I want this spring I think the next thing on my list will be an 806. Then a poweramp, and then a pre. The 806 will probably end up becoming my bedroom system after that...which I won't have any problems with.:D

Mike21

Unless you need 4 HDMI ins, consider getting a new-in-box 805 instead of the 806. The 805 has better amplification (same wattage, but 805 sounds better) and will be cheaper on eBay than the 806.