Too Much Power?

northernfox,

The real enemy of any speaker is not too much power but distortion and clipping. The Focal Alto Utopia Be speakers have a rated maximum input rating of 250 watts but can handle significantly more as long as it’s clean power. My older 4 ohm Magnepan 2.7qr speakers have a rated max. power input rating of 300 watts into 8 ohms. I’ve driven them for almost 2 yrs with class D monos rated at 600 watts into 8 ohms and 1,200 watts into 4 ohms. They’re the best amps I’ve ever used on them thus far and I’ve become a big fan of class D amps due to my experiences using 3 different brands (classDaudio, D-Sonic and Emerald Physics).
The Bel Canto Ref 600M mono-blocks, at 300 watts into 8 ohms, will drive your speakers very well and the possibility of them damaging your speakers is close to zero. This is because these amps have extraordinarily low distortion levels (.0003%) and your ears would begin bleeding from the high decibel level before these amps will be driven into clipping. Class D amps have become well known for their capacity to deliver large amounts of clean power to virtually any impedance, even into difficult to drive very low impedance speakers that have impedance curves that dip down to near electrical short range (down to a minimum 2 ohms for the Bel Canto Ref 600).
With the extra power and class D operation, I think the Bel Canto 600Ms will deliver a very neutral and effortless sound quality with improved bass response, a greater dynamic range and increased detail. I think you’ll also notice an extremely low noise floor and a very smooth mid-range and treble that avoids harshness and brightness.

The better current class D amps deliver near reference level performance at relatively inexpensive prices. Only downside I can even think of is they may take a few hundred hours to fully break-in.

Enjoy,
Tim

Hi northernfox,

     At your budget you also may want to consider the D-Sonic M3-1500-M mono-blocks.  Here's a rave review from 6Moons of the M2-1500-M which are the exact same amps as the M3 per D-Sonic owner Dennis Deacon.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/dsonic/1.htmll

     The power may not be needed given your speakers but they also offer the M3-600-M which are 600/1,200 watts at 8/4 ohms.  I own a pair of these and they're the best amps I've ever used on my older Magnepan 2.7qr speakers that are 4 ohms.

     Here's a comparison

M3-1500-M  ($1,375 each, $2,750/pr) 1,500 watts into 8 ohms

M3-600-M  ($1,075 each, $2,150/pr)   600 watts into 8 ohms

Both offer 3 week in-home trials.

Here's their website:

http://www.d-sonic.net/products/mono/

Sorry, never heard the Bel Canto Ref 600 or the Merrill Thors so I can't compare to the D-Sonics.  I do know the D-Sonics are high-end performance at reasonable prices.

Good luck,
  Tim

wolf garcia,

    Sarcasm, as deployed by yourself, can be such an effective tool at illuminating nonsense.

Wonderful stuff, indeed.

I think bo1972 may have been depressing the first world for some time now.

Hi Guido,

     I'm with you, brother.  Life's too short for that stuff.

Later,
 Tim

bo1972,

   You stated:" We live in a world what is getting harder and more greedy each year."

     I want to give you a little grammar tip that'll make your posts easier to read and comprehend.  I notice in many of your posts that you frequently state the word 'what' when the proper word to state is 'that'.  See your quote above as an example.  It's disconcerting and results in your actual meaning being harder to grasp.

     Just trying to help you further improve your communication skills so you can more efficiently convey and scintillate us with your words of wisdom.

Thank you,
  Tim

Hi bo1972,

     I was thinking English might not be your first language.  I understood your posts and certainly meant no offense. My post was meant simply as constructive feedback to improve your English communication skills.

Thank you,
   Tim