How loud can my speakers take?

[jtatknox]

I have the rig going listed in my sig. The Entech source is about 3 db hotter than most components. The power amp is 10 watts class T. The speakers are rated at 15-80 watts suitable amp power with a max input power of 50 watts (With typical program source, provided the amplifier clips no more than 10% of the time). The frequency response of these speakers is +/- 2 db from 70 Hz to 20 kHz. Low frequency extension is 50 Hz. Therefore, I have a little low end boost of about 3 additional db on the equalizer around 65 Hz to keep the bass convincing.

Now, what I'm curious about is.... How loud is safe for my speakers after they are broken in? If I have the volume control on the T amp at 1/2 way up it is plenty loud for my taste but I want to make sure I don't fatigue my speakers to death within a year with a loud kick drum or something. I'm not hearing any cone cry or anything like that but every time I hear a vibration or a buzz in the room I wince and rush to the volume control. I'm trying to use my best judgement but what I want to hear is "With a class T amp at 10 watts there is no way in hell you can harm your speakers even if you dime the amp." Thanks for your input!

John

 

[883dave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtatknox /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have the rig going listed in my sig. The Entech source is about 3 db hotter than most components. The power amp is 10 watts class T. The speakers are rated at 15-80 watts suitable amp power with a max input power of 50 watts (With typical program source, provided the amplifier clips no more than 10% of the time). The frequency response of these speakers is +/- 2 db from 70 Hz to 20 kHz. Low frequency extension is 50 Hz. Therefore, I have a little low end boost of about 3 additional db on the equalizer around 65 Hz to keep the bass convincing. Now, what I'm curious about is.... How loud is safe for my speakers after they are broken in? If I have the volume control on the T amp at 1/2 way up it is plenty loud for my taste but I want to make sure I don't fatigue my speakers to death within a year with a loud kick drum or something. I'm not hearing any cone cry or anything like that but every time I hear a vibration or a buzz in the room I wince and rush to the volume control. I'm trying to use my best judgement but what I want to hear is "With a class T amp at 10 watts there is no way in hell you can harm your speakers even if you dime the amp." Thanks for your input! John

I checked their website the speakers show either 89 or 86 db????
This means at 1 watt you get either 89 or 86 db spl at 1 meter
2 watts gets you 92 or 89 db
4 watts gets you 95 or 92 db
8 watts gets you 98 or 95 db
16 watts gets you 101 or 98 db

So your safe limit would be 98 or 95 db

you have more chance of harming your speakers by driving your amp into clipping than you do by suppling to much power.

If you are happy with the volume at 1/2 and the music sounds good without distortion, this should be a safe limit.

 

[Fitz]

With most speakers you'll damage your hearing before you damage the speakers, and you can't replace that after you've fatigued it to death.

 

[jtatknox]

So I was going to buy a $30 SPL meter but maybe now I'll just be brave and listen at a level that I enjoy.

 

[fordgtlover]

As already mentioned, amp distortion (clipping) is one of the biggest and quickest killers of speakers. Running the amp at 1/2 volume should be fine and leave a fair amount of headroom for transients that tend to drive the amp into clipping.

BTW - I've not heard the term "cone cry" before. Can you describe what that is?

 

[jtatknox]

From Weber VST:

"As the speaker cone is vibrated by the voice coil, it can generate frequencies of its own that may be strong enough to be audible along with the intended note or signal from the musical instrument. These notes or tones may or may not be harmonically related to the intended note, and in some cases may be either higher or lower in frequency than the intended note. This usually means that the voice coil is driving the cone so hard that it is overcoming any damping and is essentially out of control."

It basically means you are driving your speaker too hard and it is about to blow your voice coil. This sound can be desirable with a guitar amp if you can afford to replace the speakers every night (like Jimi).

 

[Happy Camper]

Until their ears hurt. I guess the voice coil is the ear. A db meter is handy to have any way but a 10 watt continious amp is no danger to a 50 watt continious speaker.

 

[Fitz]

Also, it's things like this that make me happy that my speakers can take 100 watts continuous, and has separate fuses for the tweeters and midrange/bass drivers (and my amp has circuit breakers on the speaker outputs). Of course I rarely put more than 1 watt into them (usually hovering around 0.1-0.3 watts actually), but that's besides the point.

 

[fordgtlover]

With all respect, it is driving an amp into clipping that poses the greatest danger to a speaker. And it is easier to, accidentally or purposely drive a 10 watt amp into clipping than a 100 watt amp.

Therefore, a 10 watt amp poses a greater danger to a 50 watt speaker than a 100 watt amp does.

It is often recommended, as a rule of thumb, that your amp should be capable of delivering twice the power that your speaker can handle to ensure enough headroom to avoid clipping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Until their ears hurt. I guess the voice coil is the ear. A db meter is handy to have any way but a 10 watt continious amp is no danger to a 50 watt continious speaker.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif With all respect, it is driving an amp into clipping that poses the greatest danger to a speaker. And it is easier to, accidentally or purposely drive a 10 watt amp into clipping than a 100 watt amp. Therefore, a 10 watt amp poses a greater danger to a 50 watt speaker than a 100 watt amp does. It is often recommended, as a rule of thumb, that your amp should be capable of delivering twice the power that your speaker can handle to ensure enough headroom to avoid clipping.

Comments based on the listener's volume of 1/2. If you clip an amp, you need a bigger one (based on the desired db). A 10 watt amp shouldn't be expected to put out 100 db. I agree with your analogy of the overdriven amp danger. Usually distortion occurs & makes the music unlistenable before major clipping.

 

[fordgtlover]

OK, fair point. It may just have read to the casual reader that the 10 watt amp posed no danger to the 50 watt speaker, simply because 50 is bigger than 10.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Comments based on the listener's volume of 1/2. If you clip an amp, you need a bigger one (based on the desired db). A 10 watt amp shouldn't be expected to put out 100 db. I agree with your analogy of the overdriven amp danger. Usually distortion occurs & makes the music unlistenable before major clipping.