Speakers don't have watts, amplifiers do. I never heard of a Focal Kansas.
14 responses Add your response
If you're looking at wattage ratings to pick a speaker in this price range, you need to do more research. I assume auto correct changed Kantas to Kansas. There is a lot of info here on the forum and lots of reviews. Or tell us more about what you are trying to accomplish and there are lots of folks here eager to help. Most of your listening will be at 1 watt or so. What amp are you using will be the first question most ask. How loud do you want to listen? Happy New Year, Jerry
|
Power rating is of no value in comparing speakers. First it is pretty arbitrary and well, of no value. The sound quality of speakers is what matters. I would glance at the efficiency just to make sure it is not on the extremes… say < 86 or > 95, otherwise ignor that.
Sonus Faber are very musical speakers… I own these… Focal are a more personal choice that have a hotter high frequency… which adds detail… but must be carefully paired with electronics.
If you are interested in investing in high end audio components I highly recommend Robert Harley's: Complete Guide to High End Audio, book to get a sense of what you are getting into. |
@ghdprentice Thank goodness for this forum where I get to hone my humor to a razor's edge. 😂 |
@erik_squires @mlsstl Is that how you guys get your jollies off by giving a rookie an answer like that? Very strange! |
@yogiboy Its not the only way, I'm versatile. Also, @ghdprentice had already given the correct answer, so, in the context of an entire conversation, my "jollies" (Merry Christmas!) postulated such a ridiculous position that would, hopefully, cause the OP to think about his perspective a little. |
Yogi boy I appreciate you and the two others that gave me some sound advice. I could elaborate a lot more on what I was looking for. The first post that I did I was shocked that it was very professional and helpful. |
OP: Sorry if I sounded rude, or unhelpful, I only meant to reply in jest. I do, really, encourage you not to think of your speakers so much by rated wattage so much as by size, and type (dynamic, electrostatic, horn, etc.). Honestly few of us ever use more than 10 watts while listening to music. In residential speakers the power rating tends to be little more than bragging rights. More important are sensitivity, impedance and bass extension which, together with the size of your room could tell us something about whether it could achieve acceptable listening levels for you. |
I found Erik’s comment funny. I think in the context of other comments… obviously funny.
OP, Solid state amp power and tubed amp power are different on speakers. Solid state amps are big on slam… a solid, instantaneous wall of bass… and the more power your solid state amp has, the more pronounced it will be. For either speaker… 100wpc to 1,000 is great (generally the more the better as long as they are the same quality), assuming you are just playing speakers at normal listening levels… like 65 - 90 db. You do not want to be cranking an amp to nearly 100% for no reason… then you must worry about the number of watts you got.
Tube amps (in general) render bass more realistically…nuanced, like you would hear in a concert. Also, not as much power is required…. (Solid state run out of power easily and quickly and sound bad… the instantaneous wall of bass has a downside). I am running a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Traditional (90db efficiency) with a tube amp in triode mode, so 70 wpc. They are capable of undistorted volumes in excess of 95db (at which point I left the room, when I have had a couple different people over here that loved sound pressure levels at deafening volumes). |