2. amps-preamps
  3. 1357077417

How many watts per channel are enough?

I am considering my first tube amp (Prima Luna Prologue 5 or Jolida 502 p). I lean toward the Prima Luna but it only has 34 watts per channel. Is that sufficient to drive my Jm Labs Daline 3.1 speakers (rated at 89db into 8 ohm)? My preamp is a Jolida 5 t. The room is 12 by 24 with high ceilings. I listen primarily to jazz and classical at low to moderate volume. Thank so much for any advice.
hugo1

Showing 3 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Zd542, legally they would all be required to put out at least 100 Watts. I agree that 89 dB isn't that inefficient, but 39 Watts is really on the low side for a room of that size."

I didn't check the UCC before I posted so I'll take your word for the legal aspect of it. Is far as my post, I'm 100% correct. There's no standard for ratings. The question is not if 34 watts are enough but how good those watts are. I'm not guessing on this. You don't have to take my word for it. If you don't believe me look into it.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I have to disagree with some of the other posters. You should have no problem at all driving your speakers with either of the 2 amps you list. Your speakers are not that difficult a load. Also, you really can't rely on watts as a measure of how powerful the amp is. There is no common standard that equipment makers use for their ratings. They all do it their own way. For example, if you took ten 100 wpc at 8 ohm amps from ten different manufacturers and tested them all the same way, every single amp would put out a different amount of watts.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Dymani28,

"Hey, follow K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid), the general rule of thumb is to use double the required RMS output, fuse or breaker protect the speakers, and listen for audible distortion. This setup can even be used to lower THD. If you have 8 Ohm speakers and a 4 Ohm amp you can cut THD in half while maintaining proper power output. I, for instance, use 12 ohm speakers L/C/R/SR/SL on a 8 ohm amp. This technique works wonders for sound quality while maintaining volume levels."

Regarding your post, I have to ask, are you serious or just kidding around. I really don't mean to offend in any way if you are being serious, I just don't think I fully get what you are trying to say here. You use your system for an example. Can you list your components? I do find the post very interesting. Its possible that I'm just not reading it correctly. And like I said before, I'm not at all trying to offend you, even if we end up disagreeing on some things.
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