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Maggies...Measured Amp Power Requirements

Just how many watts does it really take to drive Maggies? Two things made me investigate this…first: on a visit to the cellar (my system’s boiler room) I noticed that the clip leds on my 600 watt CarverPro ZR1600 amps were flashing when I played the system very loud…second: I wondered if using a higher subwoofer crossover frequency would make it possible to try a tube amp for the Maggies. Some people say a good 100 – 150 watt tube amp can sound good. My Maggies are MG1.6.

With the SW crossover frequency set to 45 Hz, and the maximum measured SPL at 96 dB, I measured up to 38 vrms across the speaker terminals. This represents 361 watts, rms.

With 38 vrms measured, the peak voltage would be at least 1.5*38 which is 57 volts.
This voltage would suggest a power amp capable of 812 watts peak (briefly). So the clipping led was telling the truth.

Moving the subwoofer crossover frequency up to 100 Hz brought the maximum rms voltage down to 26 vrms. This represents 169 watts. The corresponding peak voltage would be 39 volts, and the peak power requirement would be 380 watts.

I conclude that people who use tube amps with Maggies do not play them loudly. Another factor to consider is clipping recovery characteristics of the amp. Tube amps do naturally recover better than solid state amps, so a little clipping may not be the end of the world.

I also conclude that I can forget about trying tube amps with my Maggies. Shucks. Now what will I do with all that money?
eldartford

Showing 1 response by loontoon

loontoon
301 posts
 
No blown tweets, I also drove them better than expected with a Cary SLA 70, read 35 watts/channel.

So I like loud but I like my ears and the Cary got them past the point where they had to be. In fact they sounded very good. Better than any 35 watt amp has a right to make maggies sound.

1st turn it down. At 85+db your into the ear damage range if you listen very long. That's average level, peaks will go to ?????

I am negotiating a 300W pair of mono toobs so, if I buy them I will report a gain in a couple of weeks.

loon
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