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mattyleggett
02-02-2010, 04:51 AM
Hello,
My amp is 35w + 35 watts RMS and 8ohms so what power speakers should I buy? Obviously I am a beginner to all this so please explain so that I can understand.
Regards Matt.

Mr Peabody
02-02-2010, 05:21 AM
Actually the power of your amp isn't that important to buying speakers. What brand amp is it? RMS is like the average or continuous power rating meaning at times it could peak to nearly double that. Most any speaker will be fine as long as you don't turn the amp up to the point it distorts the sound, commonly called "clipping". Clipping will blow your tweeters.

With only 35 watts what will be important is the efficiency or sensitivity rating given in SPL, I would personally recommend staying with a speaker 89dB or greater. Unless you have some kind of high current under rated amp.

Knowing the type of amp will help with speaker recommendations.

mattyleggett
02-02-2010, 05:49 AM
Hi,
Thanks for your help. The amp is an old Sony TA-AX4 amplifier.
Regards Matt.

02audionoob
02-02-2010, 05:59 AM
As stated already, just about any speakers you're interested in is going to be fine with regard to power. In your search you'll need to think about the answers to questions like these....

Do you want floorstanding or bookshelf? Do you want a subwoofer? What's your budget? How big is the room?

mattyleggett
02-02-2010, 06:10 AM
Thanks for your help 02audionoob. My next step was to look at the different types of speakers and room size etc but I’m always reading scare stories about amps blowing up speakers so to be honest I wanted to put my mind at rest, as I'm no expert as you have probably guessed

02audionoob
02-02-2010, 06:20 AM
Most speakers you'll find are going to have recommendations for maximums like 75 to 125 watts and many will have minimum recommendations like 5 or 10 watts. These are all comfortably suited for the 35-watt Sony. That efficiency number Mr. Peabody mentioned is important, though. Don't forget that one.

mattyleggett
02-02-2010, 06:29 AM
I have much more of an idea about amps & speakers than I did a few hours ago so thanks to the both of you.
Regards Matt.

Mr Peabody
02-02-2010, 05:54 PM
With the Sony I'd stay with my original range of sensitivity of 89dB or higher. It will probably also be best to stay with an 8 ohm speaker if possible.

What price range are you looking at? Paradigm might be a good choice if you stay with the entry models. Going higher up may require a larger amp. If you want loud Klipsch is about your best choice but may tend to be bright but if the amp has tone controls you can trim that some.

The Mordaunt Short 902i has become a popular budget bookshelf speaker here and sells around $225.00. It meets all your needs except impedance and it may not bother your amp. Lower than 8 ohms draws more current. If the Sony is vintage with discrete circuits (meaning no IC's) it will probably be fine.

If you have a local Craigslist don't dismiss a good buy there. I often see people selling older Kenwwod, Infinity, Fisher etc for cheap. Might be a good way to pick up floorstanding speakers cheap.