The Horns and High Powered Amps

[vrod]

Is it safe to use high powered amps with the Horns? I like to play classical music but at low levels and higher powered amps firm up the low frequencies better than low powered ones. What thoughts might the members of this forum have? What is the maximum WPC they can tolerate?

[henry]

I currently use a 35 watt tube amp with no regrets.  Ed has used a high power Pass amp years ago with no problems.  Just be careful with the volume control.  Also, when starting up, turn on the source(s) and preamp first, then turn on the amp in case something upstream passes DC when starting (I had a tube preamp that did that).  That should be a rare issue, but it happened to me and fried my drivers.

PS - Try to avoid Class D amps as some seem to have issues with the speaker crossover.  That's a shame since there are some decent sounding Class D amps these days.

[vrod]

Henry, I was thinking about a Bryston 4BST! I have one with a volume control made for me by Bryston to power a pair of Unity Audio Subwoofers.

[henry]

That sounds like fun.  Bryston should put a grip on the Horns.  I hope there is synergy, you never know until you try. 

[Luddite]

I was thinking about a Bryston 4BST!

The 4BST is rated for 250 WPC, but your Horns are only going to be using a fraction of that potential. Think of it like this: Your wall AC outlet is (generally) on a 15 amp breaker, but you can plug a 7 watt nightlight into it without harm. The light draws no more power than it requires to function.

I've NEVER had an issue with an amp having too much power for any speaker I've ever used. I'd rather have too much than not enough, as amp clipping (especially a SS amp) concerns me far more than excess power. As Henry said, just watch your use of the volume control. At any "normal" level you usually listen at, you'll be fine.

[Capt. Z]

Henry and Luddite made some good points.

I remember Ed talking about higher powered amps and speakers with much lower power ratings.

His comment was that most damaged speaker, especially tweeters are damaged by clipping amps. I believe Ed has bottomed out a driver, but turned back the volume immediately and the driver was ok.

So just use your commonsense and act accordingly.

Merry Christmas ya'll