How loud can I 'safely' play my Dynaudio Focus 140


Hello folks,

A random question from a total newbie. Did a quick search here but, still had some lingering questions so here goes.

Just recently traded in a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s for a pair of Focus 140s and was wondering how loud I can crank these guys up without stressing them out. I don't have a fancy powerful amp but, I tend to listen to music at a fairly loud level and was curious as to if that listening style hurts the speakers at all. To clarify, when I mean loud, it isn't to the point where the sound gets distorted and I can't hear myself think so I'm assuming everything is cool but, I wanted to see what others think.

What are the rules of thumb when it comes to taking care of speakers? Are there any tell tale signs to look out for in order to avoid frying a tweeter or blowing a woofer out aside from obvious sonic distortions?

On a random side note, if anybody has any suggestions on a great amp to match the Focus 140s with please let me know!

Just started working on putting together a stereo system and so far loving every minute of it!

Thanks!!
ucsb21
Keep in mind that there are limits to all speakers, even for undistorted signals. If you hook up kilowatt monoblocks to those speakers and crank it up you will cook the speakers irrespective of distortion.
Cdd,

Yes that it pretty impressive for a small two way. It us a testament to the driver build quality from Dynaudio that it can play so loud.

I am not sure 100-105 db SPL all day long is a good idea, however, for the peaks that occur in good dynamic recordings it would likely be more exhilarating/realistic/lively with a speaker that is less stressed/compressed or dull sounding.

You are right that pro speakers are spec'd for loudness. At modest volumes there are all kinds of choices that play well with low distortion. The choices only become limited at quite high volumes (overkill for many audiophiles no doubt).
Any thoughts on Classe products? thought I'd throw one more name out there to see if anybody has had any experience with them. Their CAP 2100 looks interesting.