a Power vs Volume Question

AOLmrd1241,

Yes of course - a tweeter never needs more than 50 watts....if you remove the ultra LF load from the amp then it will play cleaner louder...

A lot depends on the speakers. There was a thread explaining all this about one week ago but it got nuked.

If your speakers are heavily compressing (like most do) at 200 watts then you gain very little if anything by going to 300 watts...you need the kind of speakers that can use that kind of power and actually turn it into clean sound.

Volume is often constrained by the speakers and not the amp. An extremely well built 85 db SPL sensitivity speaker may actually play louder and more cleanly than a 90 db spl sensitivity speaker with the same 200 watt amp. It doesn't seemv logical but it is true. Driver construction is crucial. Lightweight cheap northern european mass produced drivers with small motors very soon run out of gas!

To add to the discussion;

1) Each additional speakers gives you 3 db SPL

2) Each time you double the distance you lose 6db SPL ( 2 meter is -6 db, 4 meters is -12db )

3) Line arrays drop at 3 db per meter when are very close to the speaker....as you get into farfield they behave just like other speakers

4) The room will help reduce the loss of the sound level with distance through reverberation.

5) Speaker close to a rear wall add up to 3 db SPL in the bass.

6) Speaker in a corner add up to 6 db SPL to the bass.

If you are serious about audio reproduction then consider this: a drum set can produce 115 db SPL and a symphony orchestra can produce 110 db SPL, marching bands and rock concerts can achieve more.

A drummer sits at the back of the stage. A conductor stands several feet back from the orchestra.

A system that can achieve 105 db spl continuous cleanly at the listening position (with 10 db of head room) is roughly what you need to cover all but the most extreme situations.