For 90db/w-m speakers, 8wpc won't cut it for me

[skeptic]

It's simple math. A loudspeaker like Audio Note K has a sensitivity of 90 db for one watt input at a distance of one meter, about 3 feet. Not taking into consideration room reflections which mitigate the loudness problem depending on how live the room is, sound level from a conventional direct firing speaker drops off by 6 db every time you double the distance. If you sit 6 feet away, you need 4 watts for 90 db from that speaker. If you sit 12 feet away, you need 16 watts for 90 db. If you have two speakers equally sharing the burden, then you can cut the power each needs in half so 8 wpc will produce 90 db at 12 feet. But orchestral crecendos reach 100 db requiring 10 times the power. So at 12 feet, you would need 80 wpc, at 6 feet, only 20 wpc. Importantly room acoustics can cut this requirement substantially, however, IMO, if you have a 90 db /w-m speaker system, you should consider much more than 8 wpc if you enjoy listening to orchestral music at anywhere near live levels. If you "crank it up" and it clips, no matter how sweet it sounds most of the time, it won't be very sweet when it goes into overload. So before you buy that low powered SET, consider what speakers you will connect them to. This is why I think most professionals advise and I agree that you should match your amplifier to your speakers and not the other way around.

[topspeed]

Skep,

Hey, I get it brother; you don't like Peter Q's toys. I luv ya man, but give it a rest already.

[skeptic]

"you don't like Peter Q's toys"

That's exactly what they are, toys.

BTW, never even having met the guy, I'm getting to not like him either.

[topspeed]

Skeptic, and I'm only saying this because I care, there are plenty of decaffinated brands out there that are just as tasty as the real thing. :)

[skeptic]

And then there's Valium.

Maybe it was the $100,000 pair of A/N 8 watt monoblocks. Maybe it was the $18,000 pair of JBLs which cut off at about 50 or 60 hz. Maybe it was the Mapleshade power cords that looked like they'd been made from a couple of strands of CAT5 telephone wire in a clear plastic tube. Then again, maybe it was the "Chock Full 'O Nuts" with caffeine. I don't know who's crazier, the people who make and sell these things or the people who buy them. (Do such people actually exist?)

[DMK]

This is why I think most professionals advise and I agree that you should match your amplifier to your speakers and not the other way around.

Never is this more true than with SET amps but it is always true regardless of the amp. I'm amazed at all the posts I read where someone has just bought a new amp and then asks what speakers to get to match. Often, this comes out as a result of the poster wanting a particular sound and has nothing to do with power requirements. They're beginning their sonic quest with an amp????? Oh well, at least they're not asking which CD player goes with their new $500 interconnect... or are they?

[Tons of Fun]

"you don't like Peter Q's toys"

That's exactly what they are, toys.

BTW, never even having met the guy, I'm getting to not like him either.

I can assure you that meeting him isn't going to change your opinion of him either. As the owner of a AN-CD2 I've had some interesting experiences getting parts and whilst I briefly tried an Oto SE it was a bit breathless and I'm back on the solid state products of Marantz. Audio Note does produce a good supply of disenchanted engineers for other companies to take up though.

[kexodusc]

Oh well, at least they're not asking which CD player goes with their new $500 interconnect... or are they?

ROFLMAO!!!!

I suppose I can understand building an HT starting with a receiver. And I don't think there's anything wrong with buying an amplifier first for 2-channel provided there's some sort of idea of what speakers you'll end up with. Personally, most amps I've owned and heard have been only very subtle in their sound differences, so I'm not sure how much real difference the amps make. Power and features seem to me to be the biggest differentiating factors. But usually people should have some sort of idea of what speakers they're looking for before they buy an amp, I would think.
But I agree, I wouldn't buy 4 ohm, 84db/w-m speakers after buying an 8 wpc amp that can't drive 4 ohm loads.

As for starting with cables, well that makes perfect sense if you buy "high-end", "true audiophile" gear, I guess...I wouldn't know because I've never owned a $10,000 amp or pair of speakers to test this.
I have to share a story about a friend of mine who bought $280 worth of exotic cables, that are as beautiful as they come, then turned around and bought a $250 Denon CD player.
Not the most effecient and effective allocation of resources in my opinion.
But what do I know?

[markw]

I have to share a story about a friend of mine who bought $280 worth of exotic cables, that are as beautiful as they come, then turned around and bought a $250 Denon CD player.

Not the most effecient and effective allocation of resources in my opinion.

But what do I know?

Apparantly, a heckuva lot more than your friend.