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To much wattage for B & W 805s ??

After hearing the new 805S I'm thinking of purchasing. My problem is that I just bought a Madrigal Proceed HPA-2 (250wpc that doubles to 500wpc).. 0.1% THD) The B&W brochure advises using no more than a 120wpc amp. I rarely, if ever go near 11 o'clock on my volume setting. I have not yet sold my BPA-2 (125wpc) but would of course prefer to use the bigger amp. With all the dynamics in classical music would I have to worry about damaging the speakers. Would it be recommended I use the smaller amp and stay within B&W's guidelines. I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you! (and I apologize if this has been discussed, but I couldn't find it in another thread.)
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Showing 1 response by rushton

rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
There's no insolvable danger to using the higher power amps, but you will need to exercise caution. Music played at reasonable volumes will not present a problem. But an unanticipated spike or "thump" will now have enough power behind it possibly to blow a driver or melt a voice coil not built to absorb the amount of energy the amps are capable of delivering. So excercise caution in turning equipment on and off (e.g., turn down the volume control, turn amps off first, etc.), and enjoy the greater dynamic headroom and authority the higher powered amp can offer.
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