Unmatched wattage ratings, Amp-Speaker

Ceruleance
Ceruleance Posts: 991
edited January 2003 in Electronics
I am looking at picking up an H/K Citation 22 to power my Infinity IL60's. The only problem is the H/K does 200 watts into 8 ohms and my towers are rated at 170. Will I toast my towers if I use the amp? Is there a way to make sure I dont use more than 170 watts from the amplifier (doesnt it have LED's that indicate what its pushing?) Also, were the H/K amplifier of old underrated in power like the new ones are?

Oh Btw, if anyone has a citation 22, citation 16 (preferably 16S) or even a 19 that they might sell, and perhaps the preamp that you are using now as well, I'd appreciate an email.
Post edited by Ceruleance on

Comments

  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    It's always better to have more power than less. More speakers (especially tweets) are toasted by an underpowered amp driven to clipping.

    I wouldn't worry a bit about it. You've got a nice, high current amp and it will drive those speaks easily and cleanly.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited January 2003
    Your speakers will reward you for driving them with ANY H-K Citation.

    Ears instead of LED's works nicely.

    George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
    yep
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • wangotango68
    wangotango68 Posts: 1,056
    edited January 2003
    dude i have my home made 4 inch pipe speakers powered by my sansui au-717 amp and it is sweet as can be.

    scott
  • wangotango68
    wangotango68 Posts: 1,056
    edited January 2003
    and for all you wood chucks out there the wall unit was made by me.

    scott:cool:
  • Ceruleance
    Ceruleance Posts: 991
    edited January 2003
    thanks for the help, will pick up the amp as soon as I see a good deal
  • Ceruleance
    Ceruleance Posts: 991
    edited January 2003
    Oh yeah, forgot to ask in last post, no one answered as to whether H/K's amps were underrated in terms of watts, in the 70's-early90's as they are now. This would be important in case I found a good deal on a 19, as its rated at 100 and my current receiver does 120 in stereo. (Of course the real reason to buy a 19 would be to get another one if I get new speakers and use them as monoblocks..)
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    Yes, Harman Kardon amps are typically underrated. I have an h/k 870 rated at 100 watts into 8 ohms, 200 watts into 4 ohms, and it has the capability of driving even a 2 ohm load safely. It has a huge transformer and 2 huge capacitors and can pass 60 amps of current for a few microseconds.

    Keep in mind, things like high current capacity, slew rate, damping factor, and ability to drive a reactive low-impedance load make much more of a difference than the rated power.

    Doubling the power only gives you a 3 dB increase in volume, so you would never notice the difference between a 100w and a 120w amp - all other things being equal.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
    Care t explain damping factor? I'm a little confused.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • Ceruleance
    Ceruleance Posts: 991
    edited January 2003
    I'd also like to know what slew rate and damping factor are
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    Damping Factor: How well the amp controls speaker motion.

    http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/amps/damping%20factor.pdf

    Slew Rate: How Fast the amp responds to input signals.

    http://ken-gilbert.com/techstuff/slew_rate_explained.htm
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
    perfect! thanks Doc!

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • Ceruleance
    Ceruleance Posts: 991
    edited January 2003
    What great links, I feel smarter already
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    The DF link from Crown was better. The SR link was pretty technical - EE stuff.

    Basically, if the slew rate of an amp is too slow due to insufficient capacitance, then the amp "bends" the shape of the input signal because it cannot respond fast enough. Naturally, this affects the quality of the sound.

    Here I am talking about high quality electronics and I'm running a $300 Kenwood receiver with caps about the size of pennies. Go figure. :-) If I had pre-outs, I'd run my h/k 870 in a second for the mains.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS