Can a power amp have too much power, risking damage to a speaker?


I have a McIntosh 402, rated 400 watts continuous per channel. If I use it to drive a pair of Klipshorns or LaScala [specified to handle 100 watts continuous] or similar high-efficiency speakers, do I risk damage to such speakers? 

joelepo

Showing 2 responses by mijostyn

There is no such thing as too much power. It is far more common for an underpowered amp to destroy speakers with clipping which can easily overheat fragile voice coils.

High powered systems are always limited unless you like destroying your ears. K horns will easily destroy your ears before they get into trouble. 

@waytoomuchstuff  That is exactly right. Too little power is more likely to do damage than too much, but there are some caveats that most audiophiles are aware off. With high powered systems it is stuff like dropping the tonearm on the record with the volume up. Or switching to a higher gain source with the volume up.