Help picking the best Amp power rating for Akai Vintage Speakers

[jkjkjk]

I've had a nice pair of Akai SW 155's for some time now, but unfortunately the vintage sansui amp I was running them passed away recently. My problem is that I'm not entirely sure on the best power rating to look for when shopping for the replacement amp. Going on what I've read (best is here: http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Speakers.htm) anything >12.5 watts per channel is best for these speakers (8 ohm, 50W MUSIC power rating, effectively 25watt rms).

Does this seem right? Will I loose too much low end with such a low amplifier power rating?

I'm playing mostly playing fairly bass heavy electronic music on these and got some really good low end out of them when I borrowed a more powerful amp for a week ... but with some distortion I think.

The best available options so far seems to be a Pioneer E-1000 A/H - 10W per channel .

Any comments would be much appreciated!

JK

[thekid]

Underpowering speakers can be as bad as overpowering them in some ways IMO so if that Pioneer is only 10wpc I'd be careful. It might be fun to try and find a vintage Akai receiver to match up with. I found one while thrifting that was 20-25wpc did not sound bad for the brief time I listened to it. Vintage Akai receivers don't go for too much on the Bay. Staying in the vintage area I'd look at Marantz 22XX series, Pioneer SX series, Sansui (nothing after the Z series) or the Nikko NR series.

Hit your local CL or thrift stores and you might be surprised waht vintage gear is out there that would work well with the Akai's.

Good luck!

[jkjkjk]

Hey thanks for the tip offs... will let you know what I find

[dear43]

I just came upon this site today and saw where you have Akai speakers. I have 4 of the Akai SW155 speakers and love them. I also have an Akai AS-980 4-channel stereo tuner/amplifier that works great with these speakers. I bought them new when I was in the military. I recently retired and my wife & I are trying to "downsize" and looking to get smaller, lighter equipment. The amp works and looks great. It is heavy - 45 lbs. The speakers and amp are a perfect match. If you are interested in the amp I have photos and the original manuals.

[3LB]

I've run 100watt rated speakers on 200wpc amps with no problem. Just don't drive the speakers beyond their limit or the amp into clipping and you'll do no harm.