[romesaz]

Alright, I've got a pair of Energy Encore 2's. They're older than the current ones available, and I believe their power rating is 100 watts at either 4 or 8 ohms (I'd check, but i'm not at home right now).
Also, i may have stumbled onto an incredible deal on a Bryston amp. I'm not 100% sure which model it is, but I believe it may be the 3B SST. Now the power rating on that one is 150W at 8ohms.

My question is, is there any possibility of damaging the speakers if I were to connect'em to the amp? And are there any owners of this amp, or anyone with specifical knowledge as to whether I'd be able to decrease the power input on the amp (without having to disassemble it

).

Also, I dont have a preamp at the moment, and was wondering if that'd be a huge issue. Being a Uni student, I cant exactly afford the highest end audio stuff (you may be surprised then that I'm considering bryston, but believe me, its an incredible deal. I can get this amp for 300 CND, so...)

I believe it does have optical in, so I was gonna use the optical out on my av 710 (I know, not the best possible source, but I gotta make due).

Thanks in advance!

 

[jefemeister]

amplifier wattage has virtually nothing to do with wattage handling of the speakers. Don't worry about it. In fact, there's an old adage that underpowering your speakers is much more dangerous than overpowering them.

 

[romesaz]

I've heard that adage

but I was still worried, just because I've never had experience with it. They're unfortunately underpowered now, but thats why I'm considering this huge upgrade.
Thanks,
and any more info is also welcomed

 

[soundboy]

The specs on a speaker will only give you a guideline of its performance. Are your Energy Encore something like the speaker in the below link?

http://www.energy-speakers.com/sourc...l_brochure.pdf

While the notion that too little power damage a speaker more than too much power, forcing too much out of a small speaker (i.e. playing at concert level volume or trying to fill a huge room with sound) can also damage the speaker. Under normal (whatever that means) situations, the amp usually isn't putting out much power (less than 10 watts/channel). The extra wattage is there for the sudden peaks or any volume change, and in fact, amps generally can deliver more wattage than specified for a really short period of time (or what they called "headroom"). At the same time, the drivers of speakers (tweeters, midranges and woofers) generally can't withstand extreme high power for extended period of time either. Tweeters can usually withstand a couple of hundred watts for a milli-second. However, extend that duration of time and you will see that almost no tweeter can survive such torture.

So I don't see a problem with the Bryston powering the Energy. Both are quality Canadian brands that produce high quality components.

 

[romesaz]

Yup, those look like the speakers I have (the encores, not the excels), thought I was positive that impendance on them was either, 4, 6, or 8. though I guess it wouldnt really be a huge issue.

Also, I wanted to edit my previous reply, but I might as well ask in this one.
Is a pre-amp necessary?
Or can I forego one, at least for the time being?

 

[soundboy]

Is the Bryston an integrated amp or a power amp?

A preamp is needed for source selection and volume control (a preamp is also known as a control amplifier). An integrated amp combines the power amp and the preamp onto one chassis.

 

[romesaz]

I believe its a power amp. like I stated above, I havent gotten the model number specifically yet, waiting on seller. Im speculating its the 3b sst, which is a power amp, so I guess I'd need a preamp as well
hmm...any recommendations for good bargain preamps? oooh man

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by romesaz hmm...any recommendations for good bargain preamps? oooh man

You're in trouble now.....

Not familiar on quality of separates myself, although I heard Adcom and Parasound preamp are quite good. You may want to check out NAD or Rotel.

 

[jefemeister]

you need some way to control the volume or else it's only going to play one way and that's probably damn loud. You can get away without a preamp in two circumstances: you have an integrated amp (which you don't) or your source has built-in volume control. The Chaintech has volume control of sorts (via your computer) but you said you're using the digital output. In that case you need an external DAC. Where does that come in for you?

 

[romesaz]

Don't have an external DAC...hmm... I guess now I gotta hunt around for either a DAC or pre-amp. ohhhh god. lol
Just when I thought my worries could be solved.
Well, I guess first I actually have to HAVE the amp, before I start looking for anything else.

Yeah, NAD and Rotel are quite pricey also, if i'm not mistaken, and where i'd be able to find one quick in Toronto, at a bargain price is a mystery.
Still open to suggestions

 

[soundboy]

DAC and preamp are 2 different components. Most preamp will not accept a digital input and they lack any internal processing capability, such as converting digital signals to analog ones. Same with a DAC, they usually don't have source switching or volume control capabilities neither.

Here's just something I will suggest....not necessarily the best solution. See if you can find a used (or new) home theater receiver with pre-outs. Recent home theater receivers will accept digital inputs, do the digital >>> analog conversion internally with their own DAC (may not be of highest quality), and feed the signal to the pre-outs so that you can connect your power amp to it. It's relatively inexpensive (a new Pioneer 815 HT receiver with above features goes for US$250.00), especially if you can find a pre-owned one.

 

[tennisets]

Uhh, why wouldn't he just use the analog output on his soundcard and control the volume on the computer? The only reason he was going to use the optical out of his soundcard was that he thought the amplifier he's getting has optical in, which it most certainly does not. You don't need to buy a preamp or a DAC, just a cable (what kind depends on what kind of output the AV 710 has).

 

[romesaz]

Sorry for bringing back the dead, I had another question though about opinion.

A friend of mine has found a NAD 1300 series preamp for about $200CND. I was wondering if this was actually a good price for it, and If the preamp was worth the consideration.
Advice is appreciated as always, Thanks!