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Understanding Mcintosh Meters?

This is probably a stupid question, or atleast one I should be able to answer myself, being that I did graduate with a degree in computer engineering, but I recently got a mcintosh ma6450, and was wondering how I make sense of the meters. I understand what they measure, and what it means, but how do i know when I am close to clipping.

Let me explain further. the amp is rated 100wpc, in to 4 ohms and the meters read from .01 to 100 watts with the final mark being 200 watts. But what if my speakers are 8ohms? I know that means my amp produces about 50 watts in to 8ohms, but does that mean that I can only take the meters about 1/2 way before I will clip, or do I go by the decibels, meaning 0db is really the max before clipping, only instead of producing 100wpc (0db corresponds to 100w watts on the meters), the amp is only producing ~50wpc since the speakers are 8ohms.

Hope I explained my question well enough. Thanks for your help.

farjamed

Showing 3 responses by farjamed

farjamed OP
33 posts
 
Thanks for all the responses.

Ok, Now I am little more confused. I thought there was greater danger having an underpowered vs a overpowered amp because the underpowered amp could clip, causing distortion, and that is what damages speakers.

Musicnoise: You said that as long as I am supplying less wattage than my speakers can handle I am fine. So does that mean if my amp is say 50-100 wpc (depending on speaker impedance) and my speakers are rated at 350w power handling, I dont have to worry about frying them with my amp? But then why does everyone say an underpowered amp is more dangerous?

Onemug: Yes, my amp does have powerguard. This means that my speakers should be protected against any spike in the music that may cause the amp to clip? I have already put my volume much louder than I could ever use it in my current living sitation and the powerguard lights did not illuminate, so I am just asking more for peace of mind and understanding.

Thanks for all the help guys.
farjamed OP
33 posts
 
One last related question..

What about amps with a digital readout of the "volume" that shows a db reading. Are these accurate, in the sense that raising it from -35db to -32db is actually doubling the power?

Theo: I am with you, I can't see the needles from where i sit either, but i like the way they look.
farjamed OP
33 posts
 
Ok, so i thought I understood the meters. But apparently they arent as useful as I thought. They arent really measuring anything. They pretty much are just there for looks. Let me explain.

Someone said, the meters could help tell whether your system was hooked up properly, but as long as there is a source being fed into them, they will react to the music regardless of whether or not speakers are even connected.

My left meter has been reading sligtly less than my right meter. I thought maybe when i moved the amp around recently the left speaker wire came a bit loose from the connection. Upon inspection I realized they have nothing to do with speakers being connected or not.

I am confused now.
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